‘It is the metaphysical distinction between act and potency that brings depth to being, since it reveals to us that being is not just a fact that is or is not in a shallow binary fashion, but is something that hides in itself a treasure, potency namely, that can be increasingly brought to light through a process of actualization.’
An extraordinary life blessed with unshakeable faith, dedicated to selflessly serving the community: meet Dr. István Horváth, a pillar of the New Brunswick Hungarian American community, and his family.
Zsolt Jakabffy answered God’s calling twice: first, when he became a pastor, and then when he moved to California from Transylvania, with the mission of helping the local Hungarian community preserve both their Christian faith and their Hungarian identity. An interview with the reverend who is also the principal of the Hungarian Sunday school,
In October 1951, Zoltán Vasvári, a.k.a. ‘Zolibá’, a former Hungarian military officer, gathered the sons of many Hungarian families in his New York apartment to introduce them to Hungarian scouting. Viktor Fischer joined the first patrol in the spring of 1952, and, as he puts it, ‘the scout bug has remained’ in him ever since. A conversation about a long and fruitful life, dedicated to teaching and to the Hungarian American community of the New York area.
‘The diaspora mentality finds the meaning of Hungarian identity in the traditional folk values and advocates these throughout the world. It doesn’t isolate itself either from the world or from present-day Hungary but nurtures contacts with both; builds and maintains relationships everywhere. The idea of a “borderless homeland” means “Wherever there is a Hungarian, there is Hungary.”’
A grand exhibition titled Fine Dining: Food Stories of Ancient China will be on display at the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest from 16 October 2024 until 19 January 2025. This unique exhibition features about 90 artefacts from the collection of the National Museum of China, from ancient to modern times, offering visitors a chance to get acquinted with China’s ancient culinary traditions.
Although it must be acknowledged that King Rudolf of Germany owed his victory primarily to his perseverance and strategic talent, there is no doubt that the Hungarian auxiliaries compensated for the small size of his army and seriously confused the Bohemian King Ottokar II. It is highly probable that without the thousands of Hungarian auxiliaries, the German King would not have undertaken the clash at the time and place he did.
‘Hungarians who are looking for a way through this civilizational crisis should turn for wisdom and inspiration to a medieval poet who also lived through a period of tumultuous change, and who found a way out of the ‘dark wood’ of confusion by rediscovering faith in God, and in the things of eternity. Dante was not a Magyar, but like Magyars, he was European—one of the greatest Europeans who ever lived. He speaks to us today, across a sea of time, soaring above the heads of the bustling crowd of aggressive dwarves, and what his booming voice says is: Return.’
Although no Hungarian films have been selected for the competition, there will still be Hungarian connections. According to the festival programme, Slovak–Czech co-production Emma and the Death’s-Head Hawkmoth directed by Bratislava-based Iveta Grófová, will compete for the main prize. One of the lead roles is played by Hungarian actress Alexandra Borbély, who was born in Nyitra (Nitra), Slovakia.
‘Before the term “liberal” became ideological, it referred to much more general, non-political characteristics: open-mindedness, generosity, and the like…Liberalism, however, marked the triumphant beginnings of modernity, which aimed to create a political morality called “the conception of rational choice as the generator of political order”.’