Templom Örző (Hungarian for Guardian of the Church) came about as the direct result of notification by Bishop Lennon of Cleveland, Ohio that St. Emeric Church was slated to be closed.  Early in 2009, parishioners heard that when the parish closed, the assets from its treasury would be taken by the diocese. 

At this point, several of the parishioners looked into what could be done to thwart the bishop’s efforts and to finance a counter action.  When speaking of contributions, our original thoughts were the following: We found out that the diocese is the owner of the church buildings as well as any assets to it, including the money in its treasury. Upon closing, this money would be confiscated by the diocese.  We felt that we no longer wanted to contribute to the office of a bishop who was closing us down.  St. Emeric’s had enough money to stay alive for several years.

As a result, Templom Orzo was initially incorporated on April 26, 2009.

As a 501 (c) 3 corporation (link to Articles of Incorporation here),  its aim is directed several ways.  The Mission Statement (link to the Mission Statement) explains that the corporation was created to financially assist in all services, including legal, to defend against the closing of St. Emeric Church. 

The organization seeks to aid in the continuation of the spiritual life and activities of parishioners and in the preservation of their Hungarian culture and heritage.

It fought hard to keep St. Emeric’s open.  This occurred on three levels: through the appeals process, through this non-profit called Templom Orzo, and membership in a coalition of churches slated to be closed, called Endangered Catholics. First, there is the Appeals process.   St. Emeric’s Pastor, Fr. Sandor Siklodi, with a group of individuals, filed an initial appeal with the diocese on October 8, 2007.  This appeal on the first level was denied.  The parish did receive a letter from the bishop on March 12, 2009 indicating that the church will be closed on June 30, 2010.

The second level appeal was then sent to the Vatican in May of 2009.  Should the Appeal from the Vatican come back supporting the bishop’s decision to close us, we have the option of filing a third and final appeal to the Vatican.  This Appeal would cost approximately $10,000.  It is this costly because of its requirements that it be filed in Latin and adhere to Canon Law.  This necessitates the retention of a Canon Lawyer. 

Finally, Templom Orzo is represented in the coalition of churches called Endangered Catholics. They are the group which sponsored the Wednesday evening protests from 4-6 p.m. in front of St. John’s Cathedral. 

At this juncture, it is necessary to understand that in Northeast Ohio, there were 7 Hungarian churches.  Six of those were closed.  The one remaining – St. Elizabeth’s of Hungary, which is a National Landmark, was proposed to become the center of Hungarian religious life.  Our concern here was and is, is that the pastor, Fr. Antal, would be retiring, which would possibly result in the new priest not being Hungarian. Through these likely changes, the congregation and its spiritual leader will not remain Hungarian.  Thus the last church will be lost to the Hungarian Community.  We will be left with only a building but with no Hungarian activity inside.  One can parallel the Buckeye Road area to this situation. There is a sign on Buckeye that says “Hungarian” community but only the buildings remain without the people and the culture to make it Hungarian.

By losing all of our churches, the edifices marking our presence in all those 8 communities will be gone forever.  These church buildings are not only beautiful monuments attesting to the faith of the Hungarian people but also historical buildings from a bygone era which should be preserved. The interiors of some of these churches are absolutely beautiful.  These buildings are OURS and we should be able to mark them for history. They ARE the physical imprint of our Hungarian culture into the American cultural web.