BIOGRAPHIES by Rozalia Makai
Istvan Varga & Rozalia Makai website

The Life of Prof.dr. Ferenc Kiss
Kossuth-prize medical professor in Hungary
(1889-1966)

by Rozalia Makai

On the basis of the books entitled
"You are the salt of the Earth"
and "Living stones"



He was born in a simple peasant family in Nagyszalonta on 7 September 1889. A Bible congregation was held at their house for more decades, where simple peasant prophets preached the Word of God, without any scholar education, though, on behalf of God. His parents in faith had an extremely great effect on his childhood, and especially his two grandmothers, who were "fundamental spiritual women" and straordinarily knew the Bible.

He attended his schools in Nagyszalonta, Székelyudvarhely and Kolozsvár. He received his medical doctor degree in 1913, and became a professor's assistant. In 1917 he became a doctor's assistant in Budapest. From 1919 he was an assistant lecturer at the Anatomy Institute in Budapest. God "called" him here at a big meeting and talk held with Mr János Victor in Ráday street in 1919. Then it was proved that the Word seeds sown in Nagyszalonta were fallen into a good soil, because he accepted Jesus Christ his Lord and Saviour when he was 30 years old. With this his life turned to a completely new direction.


In 1922 he married a girl from Szeged, Miss Gizella Kartmann.
In 1923 a Christian Brotherhood Church came into being starting with a very small group, where the congregational purity, the discipline of the life in Christ could be realized - in unity, love between brothers and sisters. For four years the church held the meetings in his work-room, and he received the permission from the Anatomy Directorship for this. God blessed the work of the gospel in the room dedicated to Him. He got stronger in mercy.

The way he heard explaining the Word twice at conferences abroad (in Wiedenest, England and Scottland) had a great effect on his preaching services. In Wiedenest where the Brothers' Church Bible School took place, Mr Ferenc Kiss saw that the time arrived for him to satisfy the Word of the Bible to confess his faith, and to get baptised too.



In September 1929, forty years old, he was an appointed professor in Szeged, because the University of Kolozsvár had been transferred to Szeged. He was appointed because he received his degree in Kolozsvár, and he had the best knowledge of the collections of Kolozsvár, since as a third year student he already continuously worked as a demostrator until his conferring the degree of doctor.

At his University lectures the lecture halls were always full, and he was very respected. The medicine students only knew at the exam how hard person their anatomy professor was! In Frankfurt he held lecture in German at the Anatomy conference, after that in Switzerland he had a look at the collection of the Anatomy Institutes, of which he reported at home. Afterwards, Paris, Amsterdam, London came. The acknowledgements he gained in the western universities, through national and foreign specialized medical papers, also extended his national fame. In front of his listeners of limited number, he spoke about his experiences in faith:
"I am, by the grace of God, able to make researches in two worlds with great pleasure, because if someone appreciates the physical and chemical perceptions, he should appreciate the experiences in the field of the spirit. If someone appreciates his body and the phenomenon of the life of the soul, he should think it over that considering all our life on the earth, the soul and spiritual part play the leading role of this, because the leadership of our life in a body depends on our inner man without any doubt. Over the limit of the natural science another, similarly big world begins, where we do not manage with the mikroscope lens or any instruments, there the eyes of faith lead us in the light of the declarations of God. These two worlds are in each other's neighbourhood..."


That time, early spring time, demonstrations against the Jewish occured at the universities. The leaders of these went into the lecture halls with huge shoutings, naturally at facultates where the teachers did not know them. They were shouting until the teacher went out of the room. From there they went to a big meeting. A group with such an aim entered the Anatomy Institute in Kossuth street too. The medicine students took part of a dissection exercise. The Institute Director Professor Kiss went out to the corridor and asked the demonstrators not to disturb the teaching. One of them was probably very imprudent because, despite of this, with his company he continued to go towards the dissecting-room. On the wall a board was saying:
Entrance to the dissecting-rooms is forbidden for strangers!
However, there the Professor was standing in their way and after some discussion "the doctor professor in white coat brought the *chief-comrade* to self-restraint by a proper slap." In every case, the demonstrators went away. He "scolded Fatherly" the university student who was dragged into a false direction by the racial hatred. Otherwise, later it came to light that the *chief-comrade* was a reserve ensign and law university student.


In the city people talked about that the "honourable lord" explained the Holy Bible to some people in his own work-room. The group became doubled soon, because not only medicine men took part in the Bible lessons. He felt necessary to publish the prescious word-explanations. From 1931 he was the director of the Anatomy Institute in Budapest. In 1932 they received the permission for a paper, and they published a small book of ten pages entitled "GRACE AN TRUTH", and on the front page there is a quotation:
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17) Ten books were published every year until 1944. The received light was growing in his life, and he made it yield fruit for the good of his people and every believer. He openly declared:
"I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts." (Psalm 119:63)
He defended the persecuted (for example he saved the lives of 120 brothers condemned to death towards the end of the second world war, that he did not even know personally), in the middle of the horrors of the persecutions of the Jewish people, he did everything in order to help them, not caring about that this espousal of him can also have fatal consequences on him.



This word was written above his bed: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." (1John 3:16)

He also served his people and country as an excellent doctor professor. As a sign of the sincere respect, he received Kossuth-prize in 1952. In 1959 on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, his 50 years professional service and 30 years professor work was celebrated at the Anatomy Institute in Budapest, of which he was director for a long time, and of which he remain member until the end of his life. There he said:
"in my Christian view the practical social conception and the affection for our people are dominating, and I am happy that the authority of today look at this with appreciation and with the conviction that they can always count on me..." this was true like this because within the Anatomy Institute the government wanted to create a separate research department, bound to his person.
Prof. Bertalan Csillik emeritus dr. med. habil. noted the followings: "Prof. dr. Ferenc Kiss Ferenc's really great scientific discovery - that can be read in this article:
"Ferenc Kiss, A. Láng: Innervation of collageneous fibers, Ideggyógyászati Szemle 7: 73-74. 1954., - has been proved by numerous electronmicroscopyc and electron- immunhistochemical examinations since then."
He received two prizes from the French Academy of Science, the English Medicine Academy elected him to as correspondent member, and he spent two months in the Soviet Union with great respect. He wrote eight university books, and his Anatomy Atlas written together with Mr Janos Szentagothai was translated in more than ten languages. By means of his travels, he visited half of the world, and he also served with the Word everywhere. He always had time for the brothers and sisters, but in case of any discussion, he exclusively accepted the Bible as the only authority. In the spirit of the Word he worked on the realization of the Association of the Free Churches, and on the union and help for the different evangelical movements. He was preparing to the church in Budapest on 6 April 1966, when the Lord called him home. He had been prepairing for this, because he said more times:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)


"The true people's memory is blessed!"

Compiled by Rozalia Makai      http://www.vargamakai.com

Translated by Eva Varga


THE THREE CROSSES by Dr. Ferenc Kiss
medical professor in Hungary




JESUS IS MY LIFE
(song)

Jesus is my life, strength, peace.
Jesus is my companion, my joy.
I trust in You. You are the Lord.
I do not have any fears any more because You live in me.
I do not have any fears any more because You live in me.

Jesus lives!
Halleluja! MARANATHA!

Translated by Eva Varga

Dr. Kiss Ferenc Kossuth-díjas
orvosprofesszor élete (1889-1966)