COURAGE

savienojot kolekcijas

“Miért nem danoltok? – Maria Fesztivál (August 31–13 September 1984, Budapest, Belvárosi Ifjúsági Ház). Balázs Györe, Ákos Szilágyi and Endre Szkárosi took part in the acoustic poetry evening, where a selection from the phonic collection of Artpool was also presented.

A volume of Jonynas’ writings was published in 1984, edited by one of his students, the famous Lithuanian historian Vytautas Merkys. It includes several previously unpublished works: Jonynas’ autobiography, and the article ‘Lithuanian historiography’. It also contains several letters from Jonynas from the interwar period to various foreign historians. Jonynas’ most important work ‘Vytautas’ Household’ was published for the first time in Soviet Lithuania. Practically all the documents were taken from the Jonynas collection.

In the period 1981–1984, significant restoration work on the interior of the Black Church took place with the financial help of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland (Federal Republic of Germany). Due to this work, the Black Church could not be used by its parishioners during this period. On 27 May 1984, the church was re-opened with a festive event and a religious service that marked both the 600th anniversary of the beginning of the construction and the re-inauguration of the Church. The religious service was conducted by Bishop Albert Klein of the Evangelical Church A.C. in Romania. This event represented a significant moment in the history of the Black Church Restoration Ad Hoc Collection due to the fact that it was the occasion for the publication of several articles in the local press popularising the history of the restoration process and its achievements. These articles made use of the documents and photos in the collection preserved within the Black Church archives.

The collection attracted the attention of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who visited the Keston College in 1984. Thatcher attended a reception in Church House, Westminster on April 25, 1984. The photo was taken by Derek Davis, most likely, a hired photographer. According to a Keston News Service report (No. 198, 3 May 1984), this reception was held in order to mark Rev. Michael Bourdeaux’s announcement as the recipient of the 1984 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Sir Sigmund Sternberg and the Bishop of London hosted the event, as chair and co-chair of the newly formed “Friends of Keston College.”  200 distinguished guests were in attendance, among them Margaret Thatcher. She used the opportunity to praise the work of Keston College, noting that she often quoted information provided by Keston in meetings with other heads of government because of its reliability. Margaret Thatcher is associated with the systematic economic policies of neoliberalism that emerged under the Thatcher and Ronald Reagan governments. Neoliberalism confronted the planned economies of Socialist governments throughout the decades in which the Keston Institute was most active. These linkages between the Thatcher government and the Keston College/Institute highlight the intersection of religion and ideology with the politics of neoliberalism and human rights.