Református–unitárius templomviták (1615–1648)

Author(s): Dávid Molnár / Language(s): Issue: 1/2014

When the Transylvanian Diet of 1630 recognized the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Unitarian religious minorities in Székely Land, Transylvania, one of the results was the increase in debates concerning local church buildings. As a consequence, peace between the denominations of the area of the Székely and Saxon Dioceses was more fragile than elsewhere, however the debates quickly spread to the counties too. Th e Calvinist-Unitarian church debates are known to us almost exclusively from Calvinist sources, while the Unitarian sources have remained unexamined. Th is paper relies on sources available in the Kolozsvár (Cluj) Archive of the Hungarian Unitarian Church to observe the events from the Unitarian perspective and demonstrate the Unitarian stand taken in particular debates. Th is paper concludes that the Reformation in Cluj cannot be examined on terms that have so far been customary. Th is is because the leaders of the Unitarian Church supplicated so oft en to the Prince of Transylvania for resolution concerning issues of peripheral congregations that this can only mean that the periphery was as important for them as the center. It may be no accident that the great years of Unitarian book publishing (1632–1636) overlapped with the period between the enactment of the 44th Article of 1630 and the forceful church occupation of Tamás Nemes in 1636. Th is is the period when the Unitarians still had hope, and the prince had not yet realized that the domestic political factors of Transylvania that were established by the institution of Recepta Religio in the 16th century (and had maintained order) now changed in the beginning of the second third of the 17th century, aft er the Peace Treaty of Borosjenő.

Márton Áron az igazság őre, az üldözöttek védelmezője és népének jó pásztora

Author(s): József Marton / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2016

In the prayer dedicated to Márton Áron’s canonization, the author, Archbishop Bálint Lajos, attributed three features to the former Bishop of Alba Iulia: the guardian of truth, the protector of the persecuted, and a good shepherd of his people. All three features are exceptionally embodied by Márton Áron. He was the guardian of truth both in his speeches and in his deeds as a leading priest. Imitating Christ, he learned and practiced true humanity (human nature). In all circumstances he was ready to stand up for the truth. During the most critical times, he put it this way: “To a priest of Christ, it is a duty one cannot refuse to stand up for the truth and to see in his fellow man – irrespective of the confession they belong to or language they speak – his brother.” His words always found support in his life, accepting the prison and his house arrest, too. Márton Áron was a defender of the persecuted, although a signifi cant period of his bishopric, he was the subject of persecution. He raised his voice for Hungarians, Jews, Romanians and Germans alike who were persecuted in Transylvania. Márton Áron was a good shepherd for the Christians entrusted to him. Th e people in Transylvania, even people of other religions, soon discovered in him an apostle of Christ, the good shepherd. But Márton Áron did his best not to deceive these people. He remained constantly true to the great promise he made when he was consecrated as bishop: “I promise I want to see my brother in all struggling people, and I will help them as much as I could.” Márton Áron fought for justice for the suff ering people – this is how he became a good shepherd. As the Good Shepherd – faithful to his slogan (Non recuso laborem) – he never turned down work and the suff ering implied by it. We trust that the features attributed to him in the canonization prayer are highly adequate to the Servant of God, Bishop Márton Áron.

Márton Áron püspöki titkár bérmálási jelentései 1931-ben az udvarhelyi és tordai esperességekben

Author(s): László Koncsag / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2016

P. Hugo Josef Pitel OPraem ve vzpomínkách současníků

Author(s): Jiří Rajmund Tretera / Language(s): Czech Issue: 69/2017

Küzdelem a fekete halállal

Author(s): Sándor Ferenczi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

In 1717–1720 there was a huge plague epidemic in the Transylvanian Roman Catholic Diocese: 19,043 people died, while the total number of the believers was 46,906. In the first part of the article the author presents how the leaders of Transylvania, the Gubernium tried to stop the epidemic. The Next part of the article presents archive data about those dead due to the plague, priests and lay people. The last part of the article deals with the pastoral approach of the diocese after the plague.

Zombory László papi karrierizmusa

Author(s): József Marton / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

Born in Satu Mare (1886) and ordained as a priest for the Transylvanian Diocese in Vienna in 1908, László Zombory was highly appreciated by G. Károly Mailáth before the latter knew him better. Established in Kolozsvár between 1910 and 1926, László Zombory occupied various clerical functions,mostly performing roles that attracted public attention. He also performed an unforgettable role in organising the League of the Roman Catholic Transylvanian People (1921–1922), whose executive director was for four years. To protect the interests of the Catholic League, he had to spend longer periods of time in Bucharest. His excellent manners enabled him to establish relationships with Romanian politicians. He used these relations for and against in order to solve the problems encountered by the Transylvanian priests. There were people whom he helped, but more than once, his honestly working clerical peers spoke ill of him. That was why he had to leave the Transylvania (Alba Iulia) diocese. In 1926, he ended up in Bucharest, which – aft er misunderstandings with the Archbishop Alexandru Cisar – he left for the United States of America. In religious and government circles, he did everything to be bishop of Alba Iulia. In 1935, the newspapers wrote that he was the most suitable candidate for the position of bishop. But good God acted differently. László Zombory is the most classic example of clerical careerism.

Nagyböjt 2. vasárnapja (A polgári erényekről)

Author(s): Áron Márton / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

Fr. Bálint Salvator OFM, a kommunisták foglya

Author(s): Csaba-Zsolt Licz / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

The life of the Franciscan friar Bálint Salvator was not an easy one. He lived in a time full of unrest. He lived through II. World War II, the division of Transylvania, the terror of communism. I do not want to write a «biography» with a political taste, but I want to show a man, who was totally a Franciscan friar.As I searched in the documents about his life, I realized: there is much what we can learn from him. Father Salvator’s life is for me like an “open book”, from which we can read a lots of things. He loved the science passionately, he gained great knowledge in theology, but next to all of this there was his simple life, his humility which demanded respect.Whatever times where passing by, he never denied himself, especially his calling. He also fought against communist power. It was very important for him – which he always adhered to – the educating of the young brothers in order.He was always delighted when new members entered to the Transylvanian Order of Franciscans. In Communist times, however difficult it was, he wore his burden. Not only did he carry the burden of the Order on his shoulders, but he fought for the cause of the Church too.In Communist times, he directed the Transylvanian Diocese with the Bishop Márton Áron. At liberation (1989) he was like a «bridge» between the old and the new life.

Törésvonalak a Mindszenty-tisztelők érvelési rendszerében

Author(s): Ádám Somorjai / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

2016. október 20-21.

Author(s): Dávid Diósi,József Marton / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

Betekintés a ditrói hitvallásos iskola életébe a huszadik század elejétől 1920-ig

Author(s): István András / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

L’articolo seguente e il risultato di una ricerca in corso, nell’Archivio Arcivescovile, tramite la quale cerchiamo di presentare la vita, le diffi colta della Scuola Cattolica di Ditró nei primi anni del secolo ventesimo fino a 1920. In questo periodo possiamo vedere gli sviluppi nell’educazione, che sono arrivati anche a Ditró, ma anche i problemi, le soff erenze della guerra mondiale. L’originalita di questa ricerca e che fi n adesso non conoscevamo questi documenti. Tramite i documenti trovati possiamo ricostruire il passato della Scuola Cattolica di Ditró, dove il parroco, i viceparroci, gli insegnanti hanno cercato di sviluppare la cultura e di dare un futuro ai bambini e al popolo.

Nagy Vilmos, az egykori Bernát testvér vallomása a medgyesi ferencesek meghurcoltatásáról

Author(s): Szabolcs Csíki / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Széchenyi Miklós püspök alapvégrendelete

Author(s): Zsolt Sipos / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

„Morzsák” a medgyesi ferences kolostor két világháború közötti történetéből

Author(s): Szabolcs Csíki / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Najwyższa władza w Kościele a organy wspomagające ją

Author(s): Kazimierz Dullak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 16/2011

The study brings closer the hierarchical constitution of the church and shows the position of the collegial body within that constitution. To effectively and fruitfully serve within the church, the supreme church authority employs single persons and teams called to deal with specific issues. The mutual dependence of the teams mentioned above deserves special attention: it works both ways: dependence of the persons holding an office on the collegial bodies and vice versa.

A Bölöni-kódexről és egy unitárius énekeskönyvről

Author(s): Mihály Etlinger / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2018

Both the structure and the contents of the Bölöni codex (between 1615–1621) present numerous problems. Th e codex was copied by diff erent hands, it is partially truncated, and the extant texts are not arranged in a chronological order. Earlier research failed to properly establish either the structure or the source of the codex. Its texts seem to be most closely related to the Unitarian hymnal tradition, however, a detailed comparison with the songs in the Unitarian hymnal of 1616, known today as the earliest such songbook, reveals a high number of textual diff erences. This paper establishes the origins of the Bölöni codex based on the available data, and compares its textual variants with the contemporary Protestant hymn tradition. Based on the synoptic reading and the structural as well as transcriptional characteristics of the codex, the proposed conclusion is that the direct or indirect source of the Bölöni codex must be a now unavailable Unitarian hymn book which was most likely published between 1593 and 1601.

A Heltai-nyomda Apokalipszis-kommentárjairól

Author(s): Tamás Túri / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2018

The study investigates two Apocalypse commentaries from the 17th century, which were printed in Kolozsvár according to the Unitarian bibliographies. On the title page of the Brevis dissertatio… (1625, RMK II, 436) probably written by the Socinian Andreas Voidovius (1565–1622?) the “Claudipoli” is a false place of the printing, because neither the type of the letters nor the tail-piece correspond to the works by Heltai’s printing house. There is no data about the reception on this print in Kolozsvár, but short review of the Brevis dissertatio… is required, because it explains the Rev 13. and 17. similar to the Lutheran historical interpretations and it enriches the reticent Socinian commentaries. The work has a radical place among the Unitarian commentaries, because it prophesised the fall of the Antichrist in ca. 1630. The Explicatio locorum aliquot diffi ciliorum in Apocalypsi (1644) is reviewed by the History of the Unitarian Church, written by János Kénosi Tőzsér (1708–1772) and István Uzoni Fosztó (1729–1778) in the 18th century, although the Explicatio… was not printed in Kolozsvár. This moderate chiliastic commentary was published as an appendix of the Dutch Collegiant Daniel De Breen (1594–1664)’s Amica disputatio adversus Judaeos…, which aimed to convert the Jews. The book had major reception among the Unitarians: it is found in more copies among the Unitarian manuscripts and prints in the Library of Academy in Cluj-Napoca. De Breen’s activity was a part of the spiritual-mystical period of the Collegiant movement, so the emergence of the Amica disputatio… among the Transylvanian Unitarians is appraisable as the Unitarian reception of the spiritualist literature in the 18th century. However, there is no information about its infl uence on the Unitarian writings yet.

Enyedi György: Explicationes locorum Veteris et Novi Testamenti.

Author(s): Borbála Lovas / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2018

The Explicationes Locorum Veteris et Novi Testamenti, the main exegetical work of György Enyedi (1555–1597), the third Unitarian bishop of Transylvania, was printed in four editions during the 16th and 17th centuries. For centuries it was a fundamental source for Unitarian exegesis, in spite of the scandals that followed the printing of almost every edition. The Heltai Press in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), Transylvania printed the first Latin edition in 1598 (without the date, place of publication, or the printer’s name on the title page). Early in the 17th century, Máté Toroczkai (1553–1616), the fifth Transylvanian Unitarian bishop, translated the Explicationes into Hungarian, and the Heltai press printed this version in 1619 and 1620. The 1619 edition was initially banned, and Unitarians were ordered to reprint the title page without the place of publication, or the printer’s name. The primary focus of this article is the second Latin edition which was the only edition printed outside of Transylvania, and again was printed without a date or place of publication, or the printer’s name. It has long been thought that it was printed in Groningen (Netherlands) c. 1670 or 1684 owing to mentions of the edition in both the Bibliotheca Anti-Trinitariorum (1684), by Christoph Sand (1644–1680), and the Historia bibliothecae Fabricianae (1717–1724), by Johann Fabrizius (1644–1729). Studies of surviving copies in England, the Netherlands, the United States of America, and Canada suggest new and unique perspectives on the history of the reception of Enyedi’s theological work in Europe and America, and of the printing of Transylvanian Unitarian works outside of the Transylvanian Unitarian community.

Unitárius könyvnyomtatás a gubernium idején

Author(s): Dávid Molnár / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2018

The Press of Andrásné Kmita (the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century) became a focus of interest when three unknown relevant documents were found in the archives of the Hungarian Unitarian Church thanks to Lehel Molnár. Péter Perger (1974–) examined these documents and he gave an answer to questions regarding to the history of the Kmita press. This study complements Perger’s scholarly achievements, and presents new documents from the archives of the Kolozsvár-Belváros congregation in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca).

Újabb adatok a kolozsvári unitárius nyomda történetéhez

Author(s): Péter Perger / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2018

This article presents the results of research into documents recently acquired by the Hungarian Unitarian Archives in Kolozsvár concerning the acquisition and installation of the Kmita Press (the end of the 17th century) in the Unitarian’s printing workshop in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca). The archive’s documents contain examples of registrated typefaces, initials, and ornaments that were printed on the press. The documents also contain many examples of printers’ salaries, as well as numbers of copies of the workshop’s editions. This research shows that the Unitarian typography in Kolozsvár became perhaps the most documented printing in Hungary in the hand-press period.