The event started with a devotion by Methodist pastor Mihály Sztupkay, who chose to introduce his words with the motto of his church: Carry each other's burdens (Gal. 6:1-2). Klára Cselovszkyné Tarr, Vice-President of CPCE (Community of Protestant Churches in Europe), followed him and answered the main question posed at the festive church service in Berlin "What was needed to establish the Concord?"
Afterward, Béla Harmathy, one of the signatories of the Concord, and Gusztáv Bölcskei, Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Church in Hungary, presented their speeches. Béla Harmathy gave a presentation about the circumstances surrounding 1973, and explained that it was originally planned to gather to a conference, but eventually a document about Protestant unity was signed instead. Gusztáv Bölcskei asked three main questions in his presentation: Where is the single European Protestant voice? What does the Leuenberg Fellowship means to Hungarians? Can we offer, with Protestant sobriety, an alternative needed in this secularized world?
The presentations were followed by a discussion during which Lutheran Bishop Péter Gáncs expressed his hopes concerning the positive effects of the anniversary. Vilmos Fischl, General Secretary of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary highlighted the start of the discussion. Afterward, Lutheran Bishop Tamás Fabiny spoke about the connection between reformation and tolerance. The conference ended with Thomas Grief's presentation, historian and editor of the Bavarian Protestant Sonntagsblatt Weekly, who visits typically Protestant places under the project "Europa reformata."
Veronika Prozserin
Amy Lester