Responsible publisher: Prof. dr. habil. Dienes Dénes Editor in charge: Prof. dr. habil. Judit Balogh Published by: Tiszáninneni Református Egyházkerület Tudományos Gyűjteményei (Scientific Collections of the Reformed Church District of Tiszáninneni)
Tiszáninneni Református Egyházkerület Tudományos Gyűjteményei
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The “new directions” in church history writing in the 1930s
Section: Studies Categories: Study Keywords: church history, historiography, 1930s The study examines church history writing in the 1930s. It presents the debates between theologians and “lay” historians, focusing on the state of the discipline, which also reflected the problematic relationship between theological and historical knowledge, between religious faith and scientific understanding. It alludes to the use and meaning of the permanent adjectives prevalent in the discipline (“Catholic” and “Protestant”), and then, via studies written by the young scholars of the journal Regnum, published by the Panel of Hungarian Catholic Historians, it illustrates the thematic and methodological opportunities that intellectual history, ethnographic history and social historiography offered to innovatory church history writing.
Copyright (c) 2022 Tamás Csíki https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Andrea Orosz: József Kováts. Az életrajz és az életmű feltérképezése [Exploring his biography and oeuvre]
Section: Review Andrea Orosz’s monograph presents the life and work of a poet and Calvinist pastor who was popular in his time but who was forgotten relatively shortly after his death. Although the name of József Kováts, often referred to by posterity as “rhyme-blacksmith Kováts” (his last name meaning “blacksmith”) who died tragically young, appears sometimes in encyclopedia articles and studies, there is a lot of misinformation about him. Andrea Orosz’s volume attempts to collect and analyze all possible sources to complete and correct our present knowledge about Kováts as far as possible.
Copyright (c) 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Zakar, Péter: the diocese of Csanád in the age of the revolution and war of independence of 1848/1849. Gondolat Kiadó, Budapest, 2021. p. 321
Section: Review Review of Péter Zakar’s book on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Csanád in the age of the Revolution and War of Independence of 1848/1849.
Section: Studies Keywords: religious persecution of Christians, Egypt, Iraq, theology of fleeing, typology of fleeing, fleeing in the Bible, persecuted Christians This article ponders the theological reasoning behind fleeing from religious persecution. It emerged as a reaction to questions raised about the legitimacy and purpose behind the fleeing of Christians from the Middle East. We compared the types of fleeing and their underlying reasons mentioned in the Bible with stories of persecuted Christians fleeing from Iraq and Egypt, and we identified four different theological approaches – the ”Salvation at stake” approach, the Altruistic/common sense approach, the “Hearing God’s voice” approach, and an Opportunistic approach. Our aim is to provide an opportunity for the persecuted as well as those ministering to them to navigate among the different reasoning options the persecuted take when considering fleeing.
Education and vocational training of girls and women in Vác – The possibilities of catholic vocational training in the 20th century
Section: Studies Keywords: women’s education, women’s vocational training, vocational training in commerce, secondary commercial school In Vác, the education of girls began in the mid-18th century. From the 1810s, girls attended separate schools and classes. Their teacher was the cantor, also known as the conductor at the time. From the mid-19th century onwards, novice teachers were the tutors for girls. In the second half of the century there were several private girls’ schools in town. The Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul order was active in Vác from 1880, first caring for the poor, then running a kindergarten from 1881 and a school from 1882, teaching needlework to girls. In 1886, Bertalan Virter’s bequest was used to raise a new building on Miklós Square for a girls’ secondary school, and from 1894 they also started a girls’ higher elementary school. A new girls’ school building was erected in 1905 from the foundation of Count Károly Csáky, bishop of Vác, and named Karolina in memory of the bishop’s mother. During the First World War, in 1916, the first women’s trade course was started in Vác in the Karolina building, but it was organized by Piarist teachers until 1919. In 1924, the Vác Israelite Higher Elementary School started a one-year course for women on commerce. In 1925, the one-year Catholic trade course was also resumed at the Karolina until 1932. In 1933, the Daughters of Charity also organized their first women’s commercial training course. We can read about the course in the school bulletins too, and we know that there were members of the Daughters of Charity as well among the teachers. From the academic year 1934–35, a two-year course was introduced, which evolved into a four-year commercial secondary school for women in 1937. In 1938, it moved to the old building of the Karolina on Miklós Square. Between 1936 and 1942, the Daughters of Charity also ran a women’s industrial school in Vác, which was closed due to lack of interest. The development of girls’ education also contributed to the development of boys’ education. The schools of the Daughters of Charity also contributed to the cultural and social life of the town. In addition, these schools helped Vác to become a school town, because they had students not only from Vác and its surroundings, but also from other counties.
Theology and enlightenment: laudations of Sámuel Decsy, Sámuel Benedek and Zsigmond Szabó in a theological dissertation from Frankfurt an der Oder
Section: Studies Keywords: Enlightenment, theology, cultural transfer, Eastern Europe, Frankfurt an der Oder This essay aims to share Sámuel Decsy’s (1742–1816), Sámuel Benedek’s and Zsigmond Szabó’s Latin poems. Being uncharted by research until now, these pieces of poetry were first published in the appendix of the 1771 inaugural dissertation (Dissertatio Inauguralis Theologico Historica De Cura Dei Singulari Circa Genus Messiae) of the theologians Johann Isaac Ludwig Causse (1728–1802) and Hermann Nonnen (1738–1781). Exploring the multiple implications of the dissertation, the essay is divided into three parts. Building on the findings of my research, the first part presents the wider intellectual context, with special regard to the interplays between theological education and Enlightenment in Frankfurt an der Oder. The second part pays particular attention to the careers of Johann Isaac Ludwig Causse and Hermann Nonnen, as well as the main characteristics of the dissertation published under their name. Finally, the third part seeks to expound the connection between the dissertation and the writers of the poems. In the appendix, the original Latin transcription of the poems is published. In my paper, it will be argued that in the eighteenth-century Frankfurt an der Oder, Theological Enlightenment played an indisputable role in the transmission of secular knowledge. In this way, the examination of theological education and knowledge production is taken into account as an inescapable aspect in the apprehension of cultural transfer processes of Eastern Europe.
Fasting and breaking fast in the Hungarian reform era
Section: Studies Keywords: fasting, breaking fast, the Hungarian Reform Era, ecclesiastical rules In the first half of the 19th century, almost half of the days of the year, about 150 days, were subject to some kind of qualitative and quantitative dietary restriction, i.e. a day of strict fasting or mild abstinence, in accordance with the orders of the Catholic Church. However, by this time, because of the spread of Enlightenment ideas and also for other practical reasons, believers were increasingly neglecting the fasting regulations. The clergy fought this negative trend mostly via the Catholic press of the time, emphasizing the beneficial effects of fasting, but this proved to be insufficient. Therefore, in 1848, a very different solution had already been proposed: during the preparatory work for the planned national synod, many suggested that the number of fasting days should be reduced, hoping that this would ease the burden on the devotees and reduce the number of fasting days broken. However, ultimately this was not discussed in more detail and its possible implementation also did not take place at the time.
Relationships of György Martonfalvi Tóth and Sámuel Köleséri, sr. in the light of the poetry collections compiled for their death
Section: Studies Keywords: György Martonfalvi Tóth, Sámuel Köleséri, Sr., poetry collection This paper focuses on the elegy collections mourning the two childhood friends, Sámuel Köleséri, Sr. and György Martonfalvi Tóth. Based on the information extracted from the elegies, I am trying to delineate the microsocial context that surrounded these two prominent figures of the 17th century intellectual scene of Debrecen (Samuel Köleséri, Sr. and György Martonfalvi Tóth). In the analysis of elegy collections, several sets of texts are available at the same time to explore the private relationships of the deceased. In addition to the Latin language elegies and their signatures, the Latin prefaces and Hungarian poetic lamentations accompanying the documents are also very informative in this respect. The voice of family members, childhood friends, schoolmates, close acquaintances, colleagues, students and patrons of the deceased calls out from the poems, providing some novel information and data on the family relations, external and internal characteristics, biographical data, circumstances and cause of death of these two men. Furthermore, the study also touches upon the poetic-rhetorical form and the peculiarities of the poems, as well as the topical expressions in the characterization of the departed, thus pointing out the conformity to or deviations from the peculiarities registered in previous literary analyses.
Maléth Ágnes: A Magyar Királyság és a Szentszék kapcsolata I. Károly korában [Ágnes Maléth: The relationship between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Holy See in the age of Charles I]
Section: Review Keywords: Charles I, royal representation, forms of papal representation, church income policy, politics of the succession, questions of faith Papal-Hungarian relations in the first half of the 14th century have not been the focus of much research so far. This has changed with the launch of a new book, published in 2020 as part of the DeLegatOnline Könyvek [DeLegatOnline Books] series. The monograph is based on Ágnes Maléth’s doctoral dissertation defended in 2017, which has since undergone a significant transformation in both its content and structure. Maléth’s book provides an in-depth analysis of Charles I’s relations with the Holy See, and a broadly thematic approach based on identifying the representatives who had a decisive role in the relations between the Avignon Curia and the Hungarian royal court, outlining the contemporary focal points of the relations between the papacy and the Kingdom of Hungary.
Frenyó Zoltán (szerk.): Konzervatív arcképek [Zoltán Frenyó (ed.): Conservative portraits]
Section: Review Keywords: Zoltán Frenyó, Christianity, conservatism, neotomism Zoltán Frenyó’s book Konzervatív arcképek [Conservative Portraits] presents the ideology of conservatism and its changes from the end of the 18th to the end of the 20th century via short biographies of 74 Hungarian and foreign thinkers and by delineating their political, philosophical and ideological profiles.
Marianna Ács: Even the stones... Women’s education in the higher elementary girls’ school and boarding school of the reformed presbytery of upper Baranya (1916–1948)
Section: Review Keywords: Reformed church, Reformed Presbytery of Upper Baranya, higher elementary girls’ school, school history, women’s education, religious education, Siklós Review of Ács Marianna’s book Még a kövek is… Nőnevelés a Felsőbaranyai Református Egyházmegye polgári leányiskolájában és internátusában (1916–1948) [Even the Stones... Women’s Education in The Higher Elementary Girls’ School and Boarding School of the Reformed Presbytery of Upper Baranya (1916–1948)].
Egyház – irodalom – tudomány. Kis János (1770–1846) [Church – literature – science. János Kis (1770–1846)]
Section: Review Keywords: János Kis (1770–1846), Lutheran Church, literature, science promotion The volume commemorates the former bishop, poet and organizer of science, János Kis. The work of the almost completely forgotten clergyman was quoted at a conference in the fall of 2020, examining the oeuvre from a number of disciplines. The purpose of the gap-filling publication, which contains an edited version of the speeches made there, is to enable John the Little to regain his worthy place in both the ecclesiastical and secular spheres by exploring this oeuvre.
Heiner Lück: Alma Leucorea. A history of the Wittenberg University from 1502 to 1817.
Section: Review Categories: Review Keywords: Heiner Lück, history of Wittenberg University A comprehensive monograph on the history of the Wittenberg University from Heiner Lück, Professor Emeritus at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.
Sándor Imre’s vision of “The inner state of the hungarians” (1914) and “The spiritual obstacles to working together” (1923)
Section: Ears of corn Categories: Catches Keywords: Sándor Imre, national cooperation This publication is an abridged version of two lectures given by Sándor Imre, Hungarian educator and cultural educator. Sándor Imre’s basic idea was to educate people to establish a national consciousness in order to remedy social divisions.
Documents about the forced resignation of Imre Szabó, reformed deacon, pastor of the budapest-fasor congregation in 1951
Section: Document Keywords: Imre Szabó, pastor’s forced resignation, Reformed Christianity Imre Szabó (1891–1955) was the first deacon of the Reformed Presbytery of Budapest and pastor of the Budapest Fasor Reformed Congregation for more than twenty-eight years, serving the Gospel faithfully throughout the upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century and the tragic turns in his own life. His oeuvre left a lasting mark on the 20th century history of Hungarian Reformed Christianity, but church history writing has so far failed to thoroughly explore and evaluate his pastoral and church-organizing ministry.
The effect of a Hailstorm: The origin of the holy well of Jászberény
Section: Notice Keywords: church construction, beliefs, weather, Jászberény The aim of the study is to present the intertwining of faith and nature in the pre-Enlightenment folk spirit of Jászság in the context of the history of the church in Szentkút (meaning “Holy Well” in Hungarian). By exploring the assumed and real reasons for the emergence of the holy well in Jászberény, and comparing the economic conditions of the time and the needs of the locals, the interconnection of the profane and the sacred world is revealed.
Section: Notice Categories: Press release Keywords: Reformed college, fire, Reformed education The history of Hungarian Reformed higher education begins with 1531, the year in which the schools of Sárospatak and Pápa were taken over from their former owners, and, complemented by Debrecen in 1538, became the source of all that has been achieved in the field of education in the Reformed scene. Barely 30 years after the beginnings, the first tragic fire has already happened. In this paper, I examine the history of fires in our Reformed colleges and their wide-ranging impact from a historical and theological perspective. College fires followed each other from Debrecen (1564, 1802), Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca) (1655, 1798), Nagyenyed (Aiud) (1704) and Pápa (1788) up until the fatal burning down of the Ráday College: Budapest (2019). Following the incalculable destruction and the unimaginable sacrifices, the buildings that were destroyed by fire, were rebuilt as an example of sacrifice and collaboration to become spiritual beacons of Reformed education and Hungarian culture, revived both physically and spiritually.
The First World War in the hungarian protestant press
Section: Studies Keywords: First World War, Protestant press The study examines how the Hungarian Protestant press reacted to the series of social changes caused by the First World War. The first reaction in 1914 was an overflowing patriotic enthusiasm and a general justification for the war, which, however, underwent significant changes later on. At that time, the Protestant press was an internal forum for a narrow group of pastors and intellectuals with close ties to the church, where critical and self-critical opinions could appear due to the relatively limited publicity. As the initial enthusiasm waned, especially from 1916 onwards, the authors increasingly expressed doubts about the leadership of the joint army, the pastoral care of Protestant soldiers, and the power of social solidarity, while warning their colleagues in the congregations of the importance of intensive pastoral care, community organization and showing a good example.
The remembrance of István Szegedi Kis (1505–1572) on the 450th anniversary of his death
Section: Studies Keywords: István Szegedi Kis, Helvetic Confession, Reformation at the border strongholds, Ottoman rule, Turkish captivity, Ráckeve, superintendent, religious disputes, Seraphinus Panthanus, theological literature, Máté Skarica István Szegedi Kis was the first to systematize the doctrines of the Helvetic Confession-based theology in Hungary. After his studies at the Wittenberg University, he returned to Hungary, where he first worked as a teacher and ran a school, then became a pastor in Laskó (Lug) in 1554 and in Kálmáncsa in 1558. Between 1561 and 1563, he was held captive by the Turks. In accordance with the will of the Ottomans, he spent the last decade of his life in Ráckeve, where he served as a preacher and superintendent of the Lower Danubian Church District. Initially, he embraced the Wittenberg school, but by the second half of the 1550s he was almost certainly a follower of the Helvetic Confession. His theological works written in Latin were published abroad after his death, making him a well-known figure throughout Europe. Some of his Hungarian psalm translations and poems have also survived. His biography was written in Latin by his pupil, Máté Skarica, who also drew a portrait of his master.
The struggle over the ecclesiastical provisions of the treaty of Vienna. Notes on the precursors of the first article
Section: Studies Keywords: Treaty of Vienna, regulation of religious practice The treaty that played a key role in the regulation of religious practice in Hungary, and which was signed as the result of negotiations between the rebels led by István Bocskai and the Habsburg government in 1605–1606, is still only known from the sources published by Árpád Károlyi and through his narrative. This resource was based on the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of the 19th century. The re-reading of the authentic sources, and the inclusion of some new ones in the research, has led to new findings that allow for a different possible interpretation of the events. This implies a much greater and more positive role for the Hungarian Council and Ferenc Forgách in particular in shaping events.
A földre épített vaspálya. Balogh Margit: Az Apát úr – Pehm (Mindszenty) József zalaegerszegi évei, Göcseji Múzeum, Zalaegerszeg, 2019., 608. o.
Section: Review Categories: Review Keywords: József Mindszenty, years in Zalaegerszeg, history of history, personality history We can know József Mindszenty as a priest at Zalaegerszeg by a very thorough analysis. The work is not just a biography, more than that. A contemporary history and personality story.
Copyright (c) 2021 Dudás Róbert Gyula (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Katreničová Anabela: Ján Jambor z Rožňavy O strážení piatich zmyslov (Rozsnyai Jámbor János Öt érzékünk megóvásáról), Univerzita P. J. Šafárika, Košice (Kassa), 2019, 196 o.
Section: Review Categories: Review Keywords: János Rozsnyai Jámbor, senses, sins, history of origin The work of font painter and book copier János Jámbor Rosnyai (15th century): Tractatulus de custodia quinque sensuum = Öt érzékünk megóvásáról – is not his original own work. The real author is Nikolaus von Dinkelsbühl and Thomas Ebendorfer de Haselbach. Rosnyai studied at the University of Viennawhere he became acquainted with the said work.
Copyright (c) 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Kálmán Peregrin: Mindszenty, Tomek, Barankovics – Arcvonások és fordulópontok a keleti politika világában. Budapest, Szent István Társulat, 2020, 195. o.
Section: Review Categories: Review Keywords: József Mindszenty, Vince Tomek, Antal Barankovics, diary entries In his latest book, Kálmán Peregrin writes about József Mindszenty, his two contemporaries, the Piarist monk Vince Tomek and the social democratic politician Antal Barankovics - through diary notes and correspondence. The book also provides additional additions to the history of the church of the period, the situation of Hungarian emigration, and the events of Mindszenty’s departure and arrival from abroad.
Gloria – Credo – Ratio – Utilitas. Takács Gábor: „…sem gloria, sem credo…” Egyházmodernizáció és felvilágosodás. Egyházreformeri célkitűzések a felvilágosodás korában. META Könyvek. Pécs, 2021. 198. o.
Section: Review Keywords: Enlightenment, Catholic Church, different views of the clergy, contemporary documents The main merit of the volume discussed here is that it presents the Catholic intellectual thinking of the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century through contemporary texts, which enables a more complex, differentiated interpretation of the Enlightenment. The volume is in fact a source publication, where the edited circulars shed light upon the path taken by the Catholic Church in its relation towards the Enlightenment from sympathy to harsh criticism and open confrontation. At the same time, we also get an eclectic picture on how different positions the representatives of the clergy expressed, depending on the challenges they responded in different eras and along different principles.
Foundation of the Saint Anne Chapel in Süly (1521)
Section: Notice Categories: Press release The study provides so far unknown information to the history of the Saint Anna Chapel in Süly (a village in Pozsony county, today Sulany in Slovakia). According to previous literature, the chapel was built in the 14th century, however its foundation charter was issued only two centuries later, on 30th July 1521. King Ulászló II donated the village to his chamberer Istvan Acel from Erdöskereki, a noble man from Zaránd county, around 1504, who made here in the next decade his residence and probably at the end of 1514 became the castellan of Pozsony castle. He is also the founder of the chapel in question and its construction took place presumably during 1521.
The cholera epidemic of 1831 and its consequences in Zemplén County, especially in the district of Varannó
Section: Studies Categories: Study Keywords: cholera, epidemic, peasantry, church, uprising The cholera epidemic of 1831 had serious consequences in the Kingdom of Hungary, primarily in Zemplén County. Although the authorities did their utmost to deal with the epidemic, the large number of deaths and existing social tensions led to an uprising among the peasants. The uninformed population believed that officials, clergy, and landowners were deliberately creating a situation that would lead to the death of the people. Many of them were killed during the uprising. In many places, officials and clergy were unable to regain the trust of the population even after the uprising. The cholera epidemic and peasant uprising that raged in the summer of 1831 still raise interesting questions today, not only for social and political history, but also from the perspective of church history.
Copyright (c) 2026 Kónya Péter (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Letter from Deputy Reformed Bishop Gabriel Báthory Jr. to the Facultas Theologica of the now defunct Frisian University in Franeker (Nagykőrös, 6 December 1856)
Section: Document Categories: Documentum Keywords: Peregrinatio hungarica, Franeker University, Josephus/ József Kosdi, Gabriel/ Gábor Báthory junior, Church History, University History Josephus/ József Kosdi can be considered the last Student from Hungary who enrolled officially (1794) at Franeker University. The last one also of more than 1.200 Hungarian and Transylvanian Students, visiting Franeker since the start of the University in 1585. Unfortunately in 1811 the University had to close its gates on the authority of the French Emperor Napoleon, the Ruler of the Netherlands at that time. That this fact remained unknown in Hungary is evident from a letter, in December 1856 sent by the Hungarian Reformed Deputy Bishop Gabriel/ Gábor Báthory junior to the Professors of the Faculty of Theology (Facultas Theologica) in Franeker. In this letter Báthory is asking if there are still study opportunities at the Faculty for Students from Hungary, specifically, if there are any Stipendia still available for them.
Copyright (c) 2026 Postma Ferenc (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Obscure Early Decade and a Half of the Sárospatak Princely Press
Section: Notice Categories: Press release Keywords: Sárospatak, printing history, György I. Rákóczi, Johann Heinrich Alsted, Constantin Schaum, György Renius This study examines the earliest phase in the history of the princely press at Sárospatak. A newly identified source from the papers of Samuel Hartlib appears to confirm that, contrary to earlier assumptions, a printing press was already operating in Sárospatak for a brief period in the 1630s, where work was begun on the printing of Johann Heinrich Alsted’s Colophon de reformatione. The project, however, was interrupted, and the volume remained unfinished. According to Hartlib’s note, “Alsted did print an excellent work in divinity which suffered great interruptions, the printer in Hungary at Patak stabbing his man, for which hee was executed.”
Copyright (c) 2026 Dienes Dénes, Kovács Áron (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Section: Review Categories: Review Keywords: Catholic religious life, Piarist Order, 20th century The review examines the critical edition of Sándor Sík's Collected Plays I–III (Kairosz Publishing, 2025), edited by András Koltai and Ferenc Bozók. The three volumes not only present Sík's dramatic works with philological precision, but also place them in the context of the centuries-old tradition of drama at Piarist schools. The study pays particular attention to the plays Testvérek (Brothers) and Podolini diákok (Podolini Students), which bring issues of religion, morality, and community to the stage. The review highlights the exemplary nature of the publication's scholarly apparatus, while also pointing out the lack of illustrations, which could have added nuance to the visual dimension of the order's theater. Overall, the publication is interpreted as a fruitful encounter between the archives and the stage, which not only documents the past but also opens up new theatrical possibilities: through this edition, Sík's dramas can not only be read but also performed again.
Copyright (c) 2026 Balla János (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Studies on Society, Ethnicities, and Churches in the Bácska, Kalocsa–Sárköz, and Kiskunság Regions
Section: Review Categories: Review On the occasion of János Bárth's 80th birthday, a thematic selection of 40 studies from the past 20 years was published in a 400-page volume.
Copyright (c) 2026 Fábián Borbála (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0