"Our Church is sharing in the pain of the mourning relatives of victims and the whole American people following the horrible terrorist attacks in the United States. On behalf of the Hungarian Reformed World Federation and the Kirfilyhagomellek Reformed Church District, we express our deepest sympathy with the US Government, the US Embassy in Bucharest as well as the American sister churches - the Presbyterian Church, the American Reformed churches, and - not at least - our partner-church in Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Presbytery.

We are shocked however in our mourning upon the innocent civilian victims by those speculations which regarding these dreadful horrors are inquisitive about who is opposed to whom and how acceptable or justified these terrorist attacks were. In our view no excuse or rational explanation can be given to the attacks against New York and Washington. In this case we cannot speak about the opposition of states, political forces or "legal" adversaries, but about something that Paul the Apostle formulated in the Epistle to the Ephesians: "Fox we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of violence [...text blurred] of these demonic powers prove that the devastating power of death took aim not only to America but to the entire humanity, to life itself.

In the spirit of our faith we condemn any kind of revenge. The fact that the terrorists did not make any preliminary stipulations this time tells that they wanted to set an example to the United States with tools of intimidation.

In the same time, we reject acting as one's own judge, because if we give space to it even for the smallest extent, we contribute to the justification of violence anal terror. That would mean that all become defenseless, because any dark power could feel authorized to use the tools of horror.

There is no space for revenge and acting as one's own judge in the civilized world. Our Christian faith is the religion of love, which precludes both - furthermore it advocates love towards enemies.

The perpetrators of the terrorist attacks without preliminaries wanted to intimidate the world. 'But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul' (Hebrews 10:39) - we do confess with the Apostle. We must fight against terrorism with the power of Christian faith and humanists - for 'the saving of the soul'.

Nagyvárad/Oradea, September 12, 2001 László Tökés, Bishop
President of the Hungarian Reformed World Federation"

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