The Service of Evangelism, the Evangelism of Service : The Influence of John R. Mott, Hendrik Kraemer, Willem A. Visser 't Hooft and Johannes C. Hoekendijk on the Development of the Understanding of Mission in the Reformed Church in Hungary (1910-1968)

Abstract

The Reformed Church in Hungary - a Protestant church in Central and Eastern Europe - had to struggle to find ways of fulfilling her call in thecontext of two ideological dictatorships - Nazism and Communism – in the 20th century. This study offers an introduction to the development of the understanding of mission in this church, in the period between1910 and 1968, and discusses the role of the emerging ecumenical movement in this process. Four outstanding figures of this movement– John R. Mott, Hendrik Kraemer, Johannes C. Hoekendijk and Willem A. Visser ‘t Hooft - are singled out and their influence is studied in depth, based on research done in archives in Hungary, in the Netherlands, in Switzerland and in the USA. The results of the research shed light on the theological reflection on what Christian mission means in the special context of a Protestant church in Central and Eastern Europe and it offers a contribution to the research of the role the ecumenical movement played in that region in the last century.