Bishop Károly Fekete Visits South Korea

Bishop Károly Fekete visited Seoul, Korea, together with a joint delegation of the Debrecen Reformed Theological University and the Great Church Congregation in Debrecen.

Bishop Fekete preached the Word of God in the Sunday morning service in one of the most populous Reformed parishes in Korea and the world. He interpreted the scriptural message based on Psalm 90 to the 7,500 congregation present, which was also broadcast on the internet and television. He stressed that the Hungarian and Korean Reformed Christian communities are united by the conviction that God is good to us. In a world full of suffering, wars, and a series of violations of human dignity, our only consolation is that through Christ, we can confess: "Immanuel - God is with us." After the homily, the bishop prayed, "King of our hearts, Christ...in the breadth of your hand stretched out on the cross we all fit. Koreans and Hungarians, Seoul and Debrecen, Myungsung congregation and Great Church Congregation in Debrecen, for your mighty hand holds all people and all countries."

On Sunday evening, the closing worship service for the Myungsung congregation's dawn prayer service series was held from 7 pm. For the previous week, the members of the congregation had gathered for worship every morning beginning at 6 am to pray for the renewal of the Korean church and world Christianity, including the Reformed Church in Hungary. The closing service was led by the church's senior pastor, Kim Ha-Na. On this occasion, Kim Sam-Whan, the founding pastor of the Myungsung congregation, who is now retired, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Debrecen Reformed University of Theology. In the laudation, which was delivered by Bishop Károly Fekete, also in his capacity as a professor of the university, it was said that Pastor Kim earned the title of honorary doctor by "belonging to the group of our Reformed Christian brothers and sisters and fellow ministers 'who are exemplary for the Debrecen Reformed Theological University by their human conduct, their Christian life and their life's work.'" The doctoral reception, during which Kim Sam-Whan wore the Hungarian Reformed robe, was presided over by the Rector of the University, Levente Béla Baráth, who also presented the degree to the honorary doctor. The ceremony was also graced by the presence of the moderator (bishop) of the Presbyterian Church of Korea.

Thanks are due to Myungsung Presbyterian Church for the fraternal hospitality that the Bishop and the other members of the Hungarian reformed delegation experienced and to Jeong Chae Hwa, pastor of the the Korean church in Budapest, for organizing the visit.