"If European Christians abandon their posts, both European Christian Churches and democratic nation-states in Europe will fall. Religious freedom and European political democracy will also be lost," Laszlo Kover, speaker of Hungary's National Assembly, stated at the Religious Freedom Day commemoration event on Monday in Turda (Torda), Romania.
The city of Turda (Torda) paid tribute with a special anniversary church service, commemorating the 1568 resolution of the Transylvanian Diet, which was the first in Europe to enshrine the principle of freedom of conscience into law. House Speaker Kover called it an uplifting experience to speak on behalf of the Hungarian Parliament at the event.
He noted that 457 years ago, the Transylvanian Diet articulated and codified a new concept of freedom, opening a new chapter in the history of Christian culture in Europe.
Laszlo Kover emphasized that every nation has its vital ideals that enrich the world, and the early modern-era, Hungarian concept of religious freedom was formulated here in Torda.
Similarly, he noted, the modern Hungarian concept of political freedom was expressed in 1852 by Lajos Kossuth, who famously stated: “Everything for the people and by the people. Nothing about the people without the people.” The speaker called this democracy, reflecting the dominant spirit of our age.
The politician elaborated that both Hungarian concepts of freedom share a fundamental similarity: the notion of community. The religious freedom conceived in Torda was centered on the community, as the Diet here at the time granted the right to elect preachers to local congregations. "Similarly, Hungarian political freedom also positions the people, as a community, at the heart of democracy."
The foundations of modern universal human rights—such as individual freedom of conscience and religious liberty, as well as universal suffrage—undeniably include the building blocks of these Hungarian ideals of religious and political freedom, he stressed.
In his speech, Laszlo Kover pointed out that throughout history, Hungarians have learned that it is impossible to live without ideals and dangerous to live with illusions. He argued that Hungarians have no illusions about the state of Christianity or of European freedom. “The spirit of the Antichrist and de-Christianization are rampant in Europe. Europeans are being urged to reject God's gift of faith, to become rootless and detached, and to give up their strongest political self-defense mechanism—European democracy,” the Hungarian house speaker stated, urging attendees to become shapers of politics rather than passively enduring it.
He concluded that if the divine wisdom granted to the lawmakers of the historic Transylvanian Diet is similarly bestowed upon Hungarians, Romanians, and other Central European nations, they will defend their ideals of freedom, their faith, and states.
After the event, Laszlo Kover told Hungarian public media that the 1568 law of religious freedom is a world-renowned achievement of Hungarians, one they should be justly proud of.
At the celebratory service in the Unitarian Church in Turda (Torda), Pastor Istvan Lajos Jozsa opened with a prayer, followed by a sermon by Sandor Kovacs, rector of the Protestant Theological Institute.
He noted that in 1568, the law in Torda focused on affirming not the right of individuals but the right of communities to hear God's word freely. He emphasized that the legacy of Torda teaches that tolerance does not mean abandoning faith but testifying to it.
Bishop Istvan Kovacs of the Hungarian Unitarian Church expressed gratitude for the Hungarian Parliament’s decision to make Religious Freedom Day a national day of celebration.
He underlined that divine truth became clear to the heads of Transylvanian estates when they created the law on religious freedom. Bishop Vilmos Jozsef Kolumban of the Transylvanian Reformed Church District, speaking on behalf of Protestant Churches, reminded attendees that Transylvania was once rife with religious disputes but its people eventually realized they could only build a future for all by working together. He emphasized that the resolution of the Diet of Torda is not just a glorious memorial of the past but also an assurance for the future.
After the church service, attendees proceeded to the Religious Freedom Monument, where Emod Farkas, chief curator of the Hungarian Unitarian Church spoke about its symbolism before a wreath-laying ceremony.
