A sepsikilyéni középkori eredetű unitárius templomról és helyreállításáról
The Sepsikilyén Medieval Unitarian Church and its Restorations

Summary/Abstract: The article is dedicated to the memory of architect László Máté (1957–2007). The small village of Sepsikilyén (Chilieni) lies a few kilometers south of Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfântu Gheorghe). It was first recorded under the name Kylien in the register of Papal tithes from 1333. A 1977 earthquake damaged the church. Between 1978 and the early 1980s archeological research was performed on the building, which discovered that it was originally a single-nave church – possibly from the 13th century – with no tower, and ending in an elongated semicircular apse. The walls of the nave, which are still standing today, were decorated with early 15th century murals. Scenes from the Legend of Saint László are on the upper section of the northern and western walls. The lower section, starting from the southern wall and filling the majority of the eastern half of the northern side, has restored scenes from the life of Jesus. The church was first remodeled at the end of the 15th century: replacing the old semicircular apse with a polygonal sanctuary. The walls of the nave were also raised, and a Late Gothic stone framed portal was opened. The year 1497 inscribed into the keystone of the southern portal’s pointed arch may be the date of a phase of the remodeling, and its completion may have been during the first decade of the 16th century. In the last decade of the 1500’s, the congregation, by then converted to the Unitarian faith, took over the church in this state. In 1799 a major renovation of the church began, including the completion of the painted wooden ceiling. In 1802 the work was interrupted by another earthquake which collapsed the sanctuary’s vault. It was replaced by new painted wooden plank ceiling similar to that of the nave. In 1829 a wooden-framed bell tower with brick walls was integrated into the western façade. The most recent restoration work on this historic church began in 1994. In addition to the discovery and restoration of the Legend of Saint László and the other murals, the other important result was the reconstruction of the former Late Gothic southern portal.

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