Our Pastor
Rt. Rev. Stefan (Istvan) M. Torok
On behalf of our Congregation I extend a welcome to our website.
As you browse through these pages, you will discover where we came from, who we are and what we believe. You may even discover a lot of what we have in common.
Have a wonderful time.
Rev. Torok was born on May 9, 1947 in a small village of Csicser (Cicarovce) in Ung County of Slovakia, formerly Upper Hungary (Felvidek), as a firstborn son of Iren (Toth) and Istvan Torok.
He grew up in a very religious family where he recognized the importance of the Word of God at an early age, which led him to surrender his life to the Lord at the age of 14. This area which was now part of Czechoslovakia was under Communist rule at the time, and all religious growth was discouraged and pushed to a minimum, which did not make his decision to follow his Lord an easy one. So, he found that not even worldly powers or forces could diminish one’s faith.
After graduating from the Nagy-Kapos (Velke Kapusany) High School, he entered the Komensky Theological Seminary, in Prague in 1965 and started his studies for the Christian ministry.
In the summer of 1968, he received an invitation to study in Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna, God changed the course of his life when Soviet forces invaded his homeland. He never returned to his family. He received an invitation to complete his studies in the United States and serve as pastor in our Hungarian congregations.
He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree of Ministry in 1971 at the New York Theological Seminary. During his seminary years he was a student assistant at the New York 82nd Street Church, at Cliffside- West New York, and at the Magyar Reformed Church of Perth Amboy as student pastor under the mentorship of Rt. Rev. Dezso Abraham, Bishop.
He was called to a full time ministry at the Hungarian Reformed Church of Roebling, NJ and was ordained to the Christian Ministry on April 9, 1972. While in Roebling, his daughter Ilona was born from a previous marriage. After three and a half years in Roebling, he was called to be the pastor of the Magyar Reformed Church of Perth Amboy, New Jersey on June 9,1974. In 1983 the congregation joyfully witnessed his marriage to Cynthia Banyacski (daughter of the church’s organist) with whom he shares his life and ministry.
In addition to his ministerial duties, he served in several positions within the Hungarian Reformed Church in America as Dean, General Secretary of the Synod and president of the American Hungarian Reformed Ministerial Association. In 2002 he bid farewell to the congregation and accepted a position in Washington, DC as President, CEO of the church affiliated Insurance Company of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America.
In 2005 he returned to his ministry and served area congregations in Carteret, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York. Upon the retirement of Rev. Albert W. Kovacs, he was called to serve the Hungarian Reformed Church of Woodbridge and the John Calvin Magyar Reformed Church of Perth Amboy.
Once again, he reached out to serve also the greater community this time in the Calvin Synod Conference of the United Church of Christ as elected Dean of the Eastern Classis, General Secretary of the Synod and in his present position as Auxiliary Bishop of the Calvin Synod and Editor of the church’s publication the Calvin Synod Herald. He also serves on the board of the Bethlen (Home) Communities.
Rev. Torok and his wife Cindy
Rev Torok’s Installation at
John Calvin Perth Amboy
Rev. Torok’s Installation at
Woodbridge, New Jersey