# CHURCH HISTORY #### CHRISTIAN CHURCHES FOLK BELIEFS MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LIFE ### CHRISTIAN CHURCHES #### The Reformation in Europe ##### The Catholic Church before the Reformation The turn of the 15th and 16th century is one of the most contradictory periods in the history of Europe. Besides the Renaissance which shocked the world view of the middle ages, the geographical discoveries that gave new dimensions to the stereoscopic boundaries, or the Ottoman advance that was threatening the continent - the most important changes were the growing interest in religion. According to modern historiography the causes for the Reformation were due to neither the decline of the Catholic Church nor to the "anti-feudal struggle latent in religion" but rather to the new religious needs that appeared in the 15th century as well as in the demand to reform the Church structures of the middle ages. The first significant Church reforms took place in Italy and Spain, where the prelates who lived exemplary lives and the committed seculars stood up against the ignorance and sinfulness of the church. Hence to characterise the 16th and 17th centuries merely in terms of the counter Reformation would be misleading, since the Catholic reform striving towards internal revival appeared prior to the Reformation. These revival movements usually started off from the bottom up and their most important manifestations were the reforms of the old monastic orders, the foundation of laic religious groups which inspired the birth of new types of monastic orders (to begin with the Jesuit order) and the proliferation of Biblical based and personal toned religious literature that satisfied the new demands being made upon religion. From among the movements whose aim was to revive the Catholic Church, only the Reformation established an overall programme of reform, which was worded by the Council of Trento (hereinafter referred to as: Trident) (1545-1563). First of all the council clarified the teaching of the Catholic Church in regard to all the questions being raised by the reformers. However, the strengthening of church discipline and the stipulating of ministerial service as the priority of the clergy were considered to be even more important. Bishops became the executives of reform, and were made personally responsible for the execution of reform resolutions immediately after the formation of the council. This process took place at a very different pace and with various degrees of effect in different countries. ##### The Lutheran Reformation and the establishment of the Evangelical Church At the beginning of the 16th century the need for the Church's revival was formulated in Church institutions and universities in several different parts of Europe. One part of this general reform movement was the appearance of Martin Luther (1483-1546) lecturer at Wittenberg university, who did not intend to cause a schism by his 95 doctrines but rather wished to contribute towards the revival of the Catholic Church in the spirit of the era's reformist endeavours. Luther spoke out against the practise of selling indulgences for money, and attacked the theological background of the Church. As a result of Pope Leo 10th (1513-1521) and Luther's determination as well as the groundswell of support by German society (primarily the princes), the reform process that had begun within the Catholic Church split between the followers of the Church and those of Luther. Therefore Luther's appearance must be interpreted as a purely religious matter, while at the same time the schism that he caused can be traced back to mainly political reasons (the disunity of the German Empire and its traditionally bad relationship with Rome). The essence of Luther's doctrine is that we can only reach salvation by the mercy of God (sola gratia) and exclusively through faith (sola fide). The only source he recognised for his doctrine was the Bible, and he refused to recognise that Church tradition was as equally important as the Scriptures (sola Scriptura). He only kept two sanctities of the week (Christening, and the Lord's Supper) and rejected the monasteries, as well as the obligation to respect mass and the saints. The simultaneous struggle against the Catholic Church and the increasingly more radical people's Reformation (Anabaptists) made it necessary for the Lutheran Reformation to transform into a Church. The fundamental creed of the Lutheran followers was worded by Philip Melanchton (1497-1560), and accepted by the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1530 (the Augustan Confession from the Latin name of Augsburg; this is where the old official name of the Lutheran Church originates from: Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession). In the Holy Roman Empire the Evangelical Church became emancipated from the Catholic Church in 1555 in accordance with the Augsburg Peace in Religion. ##### The Helvetian orientated Reformation and the establishment of the Reformed Church Luther's doctrine was further developed by others, one of which was the Swiss Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) a parish priest in Zurich. From 1519, by following in the footsteps of the German reformer, he had formulated his theology, which contradicted Luther's doctrine on several points. Primarily he did not recognise the holiness of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and rejected the belief in the physical presence of Christ at the Lord's supper. Even the reconciliation negotiations (1529, Marburg Colloquium) were unable to resolve the differences between the two reformers which eventually led to the sundering of the Reformation. He also put the fundamental principles of his theological doctrine into practice, and in co-operation with the town council he reformed the Church of Zurich (the abolition of celibacy and fasting, reforming the church service, sermons in German, undecorated churches). His work was completed by his successor Heinrich Bulinger (1504-1575) whose doctrine was greatly influential in the whole of Europe including Hungary. The doctrines of (German and Swiss) reformers further developing the Lutheran theories were compiled into a congruous system by John Calvin, who was of French origin. The work of Calvin who had significant theological and humanist qualifications, can be mainly traced to the town of Geneva (1536-1538, 1541-1564). He went beyond the doctrines of his predecessors as regards the comprehension of God's mercy. According to this God predetermines people's fate to eternal damnation or eternal bliss (predestination, or praedestinatio in Latin). On the question of the Lord's Supper, he took an intermediate standpoint between Luther and Zwingli: according to him the Lord's Supper is an intermediary of Christian mercy. Similarly to Zwingli, Calvin also placed a very strong emphasis on the practical execution of the Reformation: under his plenipotentiary guidance Geneva became the centre of the Helvetian Reformation. The essence of the Church constitution he introduced is that parishes should be led by the presbytery consisting of Pastors and secular believers. By his moral doctrine which encouraged people to work and to save as well as permitted a righteous collection of interest he gave a push to the formation of capitalism; his Church administration system contributed towards the development of political democracy. The continuation of his work by the Genevan reformer is connected to the name of his successor Theodor de Beze. (1519-1605) #### The spread of the Reformation in Hungary (16th century) ##### The Catholic Church at the beginning of the 16th century. The state of the Hungarian Catholic Church in the 15th century was in line with the European tendency at the time: the prelacy primarily carried out office and political activities, the poor and uneducated lower clergy could barely complete their tasks, and the monastic orders (due to the so called commendatory-system) were in a serious crisis. Church reform appeared in a very watered down version: it consisted of a few weak attempts by the prelacy to renew the monastic orders (more or less successfully) and the preaching of Franciscan writers urging reform - all praiseworthy but insignificant efforts. At the same time under the supervision of the clergy and religious attitude of the believers it had undergone significant changes: the various religious associations (confratenitens), the flourishing of pilgrimages, foundations making donations for churches and the growth of codex literature all prove that people were indeed interested in their faith, and that the turn of the 15th and 16th century was the golden age of religious literacy in Hungary. ##### The Lutheran Reformation in Hungary New ideas soon appeared in this intense and sensitive religious atmosphere. According to the historical traditions of the Protestant Church 1521 saw the appearance of the Reformation in Hungary: where several teachers of the college of Buda had already been teaching in the spirit of Luther's doctrine. From 1522 more and more young Hungarian students pursued their studies at the university of Wittenberg which was considered to be the centre of new education. Before Mohács, the new doctrines found their followers in the capital, and from among the German citizenry and the German courtiers of the royal court, and even the wife of Louis II. - Queen (consort) Mary symphatised with them. In the 1520's even the citizenry of the towns of Upper Hungary and Transylvania became acquainted with the Lutheran doctrines and joined it in large numbers. The main enemies of the new belief were the prelates and the lesser nobility: the prelates regarded the rapid spread of new ideas as heresy while the nobility regarded it as "German practise". This resistance was worded by article 4. of the Parliamentary session in 1525, which committed Luther's followers to burn at the stake (in the spirit of the anti heresy laws of the Middle Ages). Despite the fact that according to the aforementioned article executions indeed took place, mass persecution was not carried out (mainly as a result of the weakness of the central powers and the Catholic Church). The spread of the Reformation was significantly helped along by the battle of Mohács, the chaotic political situation arising from the Turkish onslaught and the decline of Church structures. The Lutheran doctrines gained lasting success among the Saxons of Transylvania and Szepes. The Reformation of the Transylvanian Saxons is linked to the name of Johannes Honterus (1498-1549) Pastor of Brasso, while that pertaining to those of Upper Hungary can be tied to Leonhard Stöckel (1510-1560) the rector of Bártfa. It was Stöckel who edited the first Lutheran spirited and highly significant document of the Hungarian Reformation which was used by the five free royal towns of Upper Hungary as a protection against King Ferdinand the 1st 's charges of heresy. (Confessio Pantaploitana, 1564.) The first period of the Hungarian Reformation lasted until about 1540, which is deservedly called the period of sanctuary. Students returning from the university of Wittenberg and Catholic priests (mainly Franciscans) who had accepted the new doctrines were preaching Luther's doctrines in the towns of Hungary and Germany as Pastors or travelling preachers. The most important representatives of the first generation were Mátyás Bíró Dévai (around 1500-1545) who was given the name of the "Hungarian Luther" by historiography, Imre Ozorai author of the first Hungarian language Lutheran book and András Gálszécsi (? - around 1543). The fact that the Reformation had also reached the Hungarian villages and agricultural towns was the result of the tireless literary and missionary work of the preachers. The names of András Horvát Szkhárosi poet and the preacher of Tállya, Mihály Sztárai (? - 1575) the reformer of the occupied areas and Gál Huszár (? - 1575) printer and preacher who visited half of the country - must definitely be mentioned. It is important to emphasise that the Lutheran doctrines effected Hungary through the interpretation of the reformer Philip Melanchton who had a strong influence on the Hungarian students of Wittenberg. In the first period of the Reformation the doctrine did not have the result of forming a creed since the believers were relatively free to choose from the elements of theological doctrines and from Church events. This kind of eclectic religion was characteristic of the reform supporting aristocrats as well as communities of agricultural towns or village parish priests. Land owners who stood by the Reformation (Elek Thurzó, Ferenc Révay, Péter Perényi, Tamás Nádasdy, Péter Petrovics) insisted on preserving several elements of Catholic religious practise. Although land owners played an important role in the rapid spread of the Reformation, villages and agricultural towns under their power still chose from the different tendencies independently from them. The religious affiliation of the communities often depended on the clergyman they could take into service and the doctrine he represented. ##### The Helvetian orientated Reformation in Hungary In the history of the Hungarian Reformation, the influence of Zurich and Geneva - the two significant centres of the Helvetian Reformation can be seen from the beginning of the 1550's. Kálmáncsehi not only followed the Swiss Zwingli's ideas about the Lord's Supper but by complying with his practical programme he removed the alters, pictures and ornaments from churches of the territory East of the river Tisza. This got him into trouble with not only the Catholics but with the followers of the Lutheran Reformation too. Finally his death prevented him from establishing a Church organisation based on his own doctrines. In the following decade the work started by Kálmáncsehi was continued by preachers who joined the Helvetian tendency in growing numbers. The Swiss Reformation - the representatives of which were called sacramental ("simoniac") due to the views they held regarding the Lord's Supper, - were not only wide-spread among the nobility but among the citizenry of agricultural towns, the military of the border areas and the peasantry. As a result of the educational and organisational work carried out by the highly knowledgeable István Kis Szegedi (1505-1572) and Péter Juhász Mélius (1536-1572), by the second half of the century the independent Reformed Church organisation was established. Attacks by the Catholics and Lutheran followers as well as the arrival of a new trend from Transylvania - the deniers of the Holy Trinity (anti-Trinitarians) necessitated the strengthening of the doctrine and the Church administration. The separation of the German and Swiss trends had taken place by 1566-1567 in the Northeast and Eastern parts of Hungary and in Transylvania, the most significant event of which was the Debrecen Synod that accepted the 2nd Helvetian creed (1567). This division only took place at the end of the 16th century in Northern and Western Hungary, as a result of the schism within the Evangelical Church. Under the influence of Melanchton's doctrines, some of the preachers and nobles were inclined to symbolically interpret the Lord's Supper (kryptocalvinists, Secret Calvinists in English) and this group finally joined the Reformed Church following the religious dispute of Csepreg in 1591 - according to which the denomination which belonged to the same ecclesiastic organisation was divided. Calvin's doctrine was not exclusive in its influence upon the theology of the Hungarian Reformed Church as the second generation of the Swiss Reformation - Bullinger and Beze - played an equally important role. As a result of the peculiar societal development in Hungary, several points of Calvin's doctrines came into realisation in a rather altered way. First of all presbyteries which were the basis of the Calvin Church constitution only appeared from the 17th century, up to that point the direct supervision of congregations came under the minister's sphere of authority. Similarly to this, Calvin's doctrine allowing the collection of interest could not be enforced either. However, the doctrine regarding armed resistance against a tyrannical monarch prolifically effected the ideology of the Hungarian aristocracy during the times of the anti-Habsburg rebellions. ##### The anti-Trinitarians The most radical branch of the Hungarian Reformation which nevertheless became a firmly established Church was the Holy Trinity denying (anti-Trinitarian) trend. Anti-Trinitarian ideas first appeared in Italy and Poland. Anti- Trinitarians did not accept the divine nature of Jesus, therefore denied the Holy Trinity. Their most important representatives were Mihály Szervét (1511-1553) a Spanish doctor and theologian who was sent to the stake by Calvin in Geneva, and Fausto Sozzini who represented a more moderate trend. The appearance of the anti-Trinitarian doctrines in Transylvania is associated with the name of György Blandrata (1515-1588) who was the doctor of Zsigmond János monarch at the Italian court. It was due to him that the monarch and Ferenc Dávid (1510-1579) Reformed Bishop of Cluj (Kolozsvár) accepted the idea of rejecting the concept of the Holy Trinity. The free practice of the Anti-Trinitarian religion in Transylvania was permitted by the 1568 Parliamentary session in Torda, and thus the number of permitted religions in the principality rose to four. Under influence of David who had a reputation for being a brilliant orator and debater, the majority of the citizenry of Cluj joined the new doctrine. In the 1580's more than half of the Hungarian population of Transylvania shared the anti-Trinitarian views. The establishment of a Church and setting out of doctrines by this moderate tendency against the radical movements rejecting the Holy Trinity (Sabbathians) took place at the end of the 16th century, primarily due to the work of bishops Demeter Hunyadi (? - 1592) and György Erdélyi (1551 - c. 1597). It would be accurate to say that there was a Unitarian Church from the beginning of the 17th century. Out of all the trends of Protestantism, the Anti-Trinitarians were the most active. Their more radical representatives had appeared as early as the 1570s in occupied Temesköz and Baranya, choosing Pécs to be their most important residence. Their parishes were suppressed by the Counter Reformation only after the expulsion of the Turks. The expansion of the Anti-Trinitarians over to the East side of the river Tisza and their strengthening in Transylvania were prevented by the Reformed Church by numerous religious disputes and various polemicist works. ##### The Catholic Church in the 16th century Throughout the 16th century the Catholic Church virtually lost its position in Hungary. In the Battle of Mohács out of the 12 bishops of the country 6 lost their lives. In the following decades both kings gave the bishops' seats (more importantly the income to be derived therefrom) to their supporters as a reward, many of whom had little interest in the religious side of their parishes. They lived in Vienna and Pozsony, where they mainly performed political, diplomatic and according to the practice of the late middle ages, administrative tasks. Because of abuse, popes were reluctant to strengthen the position of bishops appointed by monarchs on the basis of their right of patronage, as a result of which hardly any sufragan bishops were left in the country (3 in 1538 and 4 in 1574). The king himself did not hurry to fill benefices left vacant in the Church since the income from these was one of the important financial resources to be used in the defence against the Turks. By taking advantage of the chaotic situation land owners set upon the often undefended Church lands (belonging to bishoprics, chapters and monasteries) and this type of looting took place with no regard to any religious affiliation. Monastic communities that were in a crisis situation to begin with were given the finishing stroke by the Turkish conquest and attacks upon their monasteries: only the Franciscans and the Paulits managed to preserve a few by the end of the 16th century while the rest of them ceased to exist in Hungary. Despite the fact that the first generation of reformers were Franciscans, we have no knowledge about the transformation of entire monastic houses. As a result of the Turkish threat, the Archbishopric of Esztergom had to move to the town of Nagyszombat which therefore became the starting point of the revival of Catholicism in Hungary. The first significant representative of the Catholic revival and the Counter Reformation was Miklós Oláh (1553-1568) archbishop of Esztergom. He was a humanist and had a very enthusiastic attitude towards the reforming of the Catholic Church: he entrusted people with Church visits to the parishes of the head diocese, then at the five diocesan councils that took place between 1560 and 1568 he enacted laws to deal with the recognised deficiencies. He encouraged his bishops to enact similar reforming activities. Other significant achievements of Oláh's in 1554 were the uniting of the town school and chapter school of Nagyszombat and the chapter of Esztergom that had moved there, and later the foundation of the diocesan seminar in 1558. In 1561 he made the Jesuit order settle in its residence but due to financial difficulties and personal disagreements the Fathers had to leave the town in 1568. Oláh's efforts for reform therefore ended in failure, nevertheless with his partners (Miklós Telekdi, András Monoszlai, György Draskovics) he laid significant foundations which came to fruition in the following century. After a period of nearly two decades absence the Jesuits reappeared in Hungary in 1586. Attempts made by István Báthory the Prince of Transylvania to strengthen the Catholic Church's position in Transylvania were also futile in the short run. His exertions were severely limited by the Transylvanian regulations (i.e. the bishop of Transylvania could not enter the principality). Báthory had also turned to the most effective representatives of the Catholic restoration: the Jesuits. He first made them settle in 1579 in Kolozsmonostor then in Kolozsvár two years later where they managed to produce significant results mainly through their schools. During the chaotic decades that followed the prince's death they had to leave Transylvania on several occasions, and in 1603 the angry citizens of Kolozsvár even ravaged their monasteries. In the same period several young monks joined the monastery (Péter Pázmány among others, latter Archbishop of Esztergom) who later became the leading characters of the Catholic revival in Hungary. The development of the Catholic Church had a peculiar development in the occupied Hungary. Bishops of the territories occupied by the Turks could not return to their residences but lived far from their congregations usually in Vienna, Nagyszombat or Pozsony. The majority of the people therefore joined either the Lutheran or Calvinist Reformation. The Catholic Church only survived in places where the relationship between the Franciscan monasteries and the local community was close, for example in Gyöngyös or Szeged. In other areas (in the county of Baranya for instance) the secular Catholic preachers (called Licentiates from the beginning of the 17th century) maintained the Catholic faith of the villages. Along with the large number of Croatian and Bosnian Catholic settlers and traders arriving from the South, Bosnian Franciscans also appeared mainly in the Southern part of Hungary and areas along the banks of the Danube. ##### The picture of denomination in Hungary at the end of the 16th century The various tendencies of Protestantism had formed into a Church by the end of the 16th century and this resulted in a stabilised proportion among the denominations. Almost half of the 3.5 million of the country's Christians belonged to the Reformed, and one quarter to the Evangelical Church. The remaining quarter joined the congregations of the Unitarian, Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Thus, 85-90 percent of the entire population of Hungary became Protestant. Followers of the Reformed Church were mainly Hungarian aristocrats, citizenry of agricultural towns and soldiers, most of them living in the central and eastern part of the country. The Evangelical Church was pushed to the border areas, and its congregation consisted of landowners, and the citizenry of German towns as well as the Slovak peasantry. Except for Transylvania, Unitarians were only present in the occupied southern region of the country, however in the principality they represented half of the population. Catholics only formed significant groups in certain larger towns, on the estates of the few remaining Catholic landowners, and in Székely land (in Eastern Transylvania). The number of Orthodox believers was increased by the Serb and Transylvan-Romanian immigration to the occupied territories. Amongst Croatians the Reformation went almost unnoticed, the majority of them remaining Catholic. The forming of the various Protestant denominations into a Church was also completed by the end of the 16th century. The Evangelical and Reformed (in Transylvania also the Unitarian) arch deacons and church districts were formed, by superintendents at their fore. Superintendents were not linked to each-other through an organisation, therefore a national Church did not come into being in the case of either denomination. As part of the Hungarian feudalism the Catholic hierarchy also remained beside the Protestant Church system, and in the following century started a counter attack to regain the lost position of Catholicism. #### Catholic revival and the counter Reformation (17th century) ##### The first wave of the Counter Reformation at the turn of the 16th century The spread of Protestantism in Hungary could not be prevented by the monarch and the state power in the period beginning with the Battle of Mohács until the end of he 16th century. Vague Parliamentary decrees aiming at such were not carried out. The first more serious counter attack took place under the reign of Rudolf I, (following the Austrian and Czech examples) when a few Catholic prelates with military support began the seizure of Protestant churches and schools, and drove out Pastors and teachers. This attempt was also supported by commanders of the mercenary army stationed in the Upper Hungarian region. This kind of violent re-catholicisation was faced with a serious resistance by the Protestant aristocracy and the town citizenry. The seizure of the Evangelical church of Kassa by the Catholics caused particular indignation among the public, alongside the new autocratically created article 22 that was added to the resolutions passed by the Parliamentary session of 1604 which forbade discussing religious matters within Parliament. These steps (among others) were the direct causes of the anti-Habsburg rebellion initiated by István Bocskai in 1604. State power and the catholic prelate soon faced the consequences of the sudden failure to revive Catholicism: they could not achieve any results by the violent methods they used in the Austrian provinces and against Protestantism which was supported by the strong Hungarian feudalism. Therefore in the Viennese Peace Agreement in 1606 and the following Parliamentary session of 1608 which sanctioned this agreement the court and the holy orders made a compromise in religious matters, too. In accordance with that the monarch ensured the free practice of religion for the aristocrats, nobles, border guard military soldiers, the free royal towns and royal agricultural towns. Naturally this only concerned the Lutheran (Evangelical) and the Helvetian (Reformed) trends. This religious freedom was strengthened and supplemented by the Habsburg - Transylvanian peace agreements of the following decades, and formed the basis of the legal relationship between the state and the Church right up until 1671. ##### Péter Pázmány and the Catholic revival The events which took place after 1608 formed the most exciting turning point in the history of the Reformation and Counter Reformation. This was the time from when the Catholic Church - the goal of which was revival - began to realise its aims - something it had failed to do by guns and violence. The two leading personalities of the Catholic revival in Hungary were Ferenc Forgách (1607-1615) and Péter Pázmány (1616-1637) Archbishops of Esztergom. Forgách (previously himself the believer of reviving of Catholicism by armed force), held a provincial council in 1611 in Nagyszombat which decided the execution of resolutions passed by the council of Trento. Although in Hungary the council was only officially announced at the bishoprics of Zagreb and Győr, the planting of the most important Church discipline resolutions into practice began from the 1610's (synods, church visits, education of priests) Jesuits also appeared in Hungary in the same years and by 1615 they already ran two colleges (in Nagyszombat and Homonna) in the country. Jesuit institutions were regarded as important centres not only for their famous schools but for the evangelist work they carried out on the properties of the growing number of Catholic noblemen. The work of Péter Pázmány who became the Archbishop of Esztergom from being a Jesuit, - was even more significant than that of his predecessors. The secret of Pázmány's astonishing influence lies in the fact that he managed to utilise all means of the Church revival in a masterly manner. In all the genres of religious literature he left something lasting (works on religious disputes, theological summaries, preaching, prayer books), paid attention to the education and upbringing of Catholic priests and helped in the foundation of Jesuit colleges. Within this field his most significant achievement was the foundation of the university of Nagyszombat in 1635. In addition he held syndics at county, provincial and national levels, and organised Church visits to the parishes of the Church districts. Numerous aristocrats and nobles became Catholic under the influence of Pázmány and the Jesuits, but according to the right of presentation their conversion eventually resulted in the catholisation of the serfs who lived on their lands. Although the statement his contemporaneous made is slightly exaggerated, they were right: Pázmány was born in a Protestant country, and died in a Catholic one. Although Pázmány's colleagues and successors were not such outstanding characters as himself, by their pertinacious work they significantly contributed towards the success of the Catholic revival. Besides the prelates - most of whom had been following Roman studies - the Jesuits were the main participants of this process. By 1650 four Jesuit Colleges, eight residences and fourteen missionary stations were operating in the country with 149 Jesuits, and this had tripled by the beginning of the 18th century. Other monastic orders (mainly Franciscans, Paulits and Piarists) also carried out significant ministerial, teaching and missionary work in Hungary. By the middle of the century the majority of the prelate had completed a seminar and held the required basic qualifications. Catholic religious literature had appeared which was both in quantity and quality a worthy competitor of the literature of the Reformation. Results of the Catholic revival in the Turkish occupied areas and in Transylvania appeared late and metostatically. Jesuit evangelists began their work in 1612 among those Catholics who lived in areas under Turkish occupation, and they supplemented the work of Bosnian Franciscans and evangelists sent from Rome, although the co-operation between the different orders were not always free from disagreements. Pázmány's synods had legalised the operation of licentiates who managed to keep their congregation in their Catholic faith right until the end of the occupation. Within the Principality of Transylvania only the Franciscans of Székely land, secular priests and Jesuits under the threat of expulsion represented the Catholic Church. ##### The internal crisis of Protestant Churches and their revival movements The Catholic revival represented by Pázmány and his followers significantly weakened the positions of Protestantism in Hungary (mainly by the conversion of the leading nobility). At the same time the Protestant Churches themselves went through a crisis period during the 17th century. Against the Evangelical and Reformed orthodoxy which became uncompromising throughout religious disputes and dogmatic debates, other waves of reform appeared. The most significant of these within the Reformed Church was Puritanism while within the Evangelical Church it was Pietism (the last of these only appeared in Hungary from the beginning of the 18th century). Puritanism first appeared in England at the beginning of the 17th century. Its representatives placed emphasis on individual piety and intimate belief and at the same time took up as their cause the establishment of a Presbyterian Church model. They were students educated in England and Holland who introduced Puritanism into Hungary and Transylvania. Their most important representatives were János Dali Tolnai (1606-1660) Pál Medgyessy (1605-?) and János Csere Apáczai (1625-1659)) who tried to encourage the internal revival of their Church by introducing school reforms and by the issuing of spiritual literature. Their most powerful patron was Zsuzsanna Lorántffy (1600-1660): the wife of György Rákóczi I. Prince of Transylvania. The movement had finally failed as a result of resistance by the representatives of Reformed orthodoxy, most importantly bishop István Katona Geleji (1625-1659) and the Prince, Puritanism nevertheless significantly influenced the later development of the Reformed Church council and religion in general. The Church policy of the Princesses of Transylvania: Gábor Bethlen and György Rákóczi was to strengthen the Reformed Church, although Bethlen showed great patience towards Unitarian and Catholic denominations, too. Throughout the reign of György Rákóczi I. but especially under his son György Rákóczi II. there was increased pressure put on these two denominations. A decision made by the 1638 Parliamentary session in Dés made the most moderate tendency of anti-Trinitariasm compulsory and tightened up the state supervision over the Unitarian Church (dési complanatio). From this point onwards the more radical movements were persecuted by the law (the Sabbathians primarily). In 1953 Jesuits were forced to leave Transylvania temporarily. As a result of the Church policy carried out by the Reformed Princes, Reformed religion became the state religion in Transylvania in the 17th century. ##### The second wave of the Counter Reformation The Catholic success in the first half of the 17th century was undoubtedly due to the efforts made towards its internal revival, however, there is evidence that violent means were being employed at this time too, pointing towards a counter Reformation. The Counter Reformation line began to increasingly gain ground from the 1660's not only as a result of growing political tension but also due to the impatience of Lipót I. emperor and Hungarian king, and the ever more powerful Habsburg absolutist tendencies. Furthermore, because of the weakening of Protestant feudalism, the Hungarian prelate realised it was time for a more determined approach. These events followed the well-known pattern of the previous decades prior to the Bocskai-revolt: i.e. the taking over of schools and churches, driving out of pastors and teachers and replacing them with Catholics instead. In the period between 1671 and 1681 following the suppression of the Wesselényi conspiracy and mentioned as the "decade of grief", the religiously dissatisfied Hungarian feudal movement made an illegal attempt with the help of the Catholic prelate to completely destroy Protestantism. In order to bring this plan into realisation, under the leadership of György Szelepchényi archbishop of Esztergom (1666-1685) some four hundred Protestant pastors and teachers were charged with political treachery, out of which - according to certain sources - 41 were condemned to the galleys. (1675). The 30 galley slave pastors who survived were ransomed by the Dutch admiral De Ruyter. The second wave of violent counter Reformation proved clearly once again that such methods only encouraged Protestants to unite both locally and in national politics. The resistance led to the Kuruts rebellion under the leadership of Imre Thököly which again forced the court to compromise. The Parliamentary session in 1681 re-established the feudal rights of freedom and allowed the practice of Evangelical and Reformed religions at articular places. #### Summary The 16th and 17th centuries were the most complicated period in the history of Christianity. The Hungarian Reformation had overtaken the development in Europe in all its forms, since the Anti-Trinitarians became an independent Church in Transylvania. Another Hungarian peculiarity is that this variable religion was able to consolidate, none of the Protestant denominations gained absolute predominance over the others, and the different Church organisations were established simultaneously. Besides, the Catholic Church also remained and the Catholic hierarchy had been continuously maintained, and at the beginning of the 17th century after an apparent death that lasted for several decades, it was fighting for the re-conversion of souls as an equal partner. A national Protestant Church therefore did not come into being in Hungary (as opposed to other European countries such as England, the German Principalities, and Scandinavian countries) and at the same time the Catholic Church was neither able preserve its hegemony (as in Italy or Spain) nor to re-gain its positions (France, Poland and the Habsburg territories). The other important lesson to be learned from the Hungarian development was that in the Church history of both decades the dialectics of Catholic reforms, the Reformation and the Counter Reformation are clearly visible. In the first half of the 16th century the Reformation offered solutions to real demands which contained a message to all levels of society. Therefore its success cannot only be related to either a single societal group (land owners for instance) nor to a type of colony (i.e. agricultural town). The solution it offered for the religious demands made by society played as an important a role in its spectacular success as did the disintegration of Catholic Church structures and political anarchy. At the same time Catholicism which was announcing an internal revival, in the following century managed to successfully fight against Protestant Churches that had lost their spirit. However, in the historical era in which the Catholic Church chose to enforce its will in regard to the Counter Reformation through violent means together with the Habsburgs (the first and seventh decade of the 17th century), they failed when faced with Protestant resistance. Lasting success could therefore only be achieved by both parties through the pursuit of a true revival and by converting people without force. ### FOLK BELIEFS #### Patronal Festivals When in 1456 three months after János Hunyadi's death, one of the most popular Franciscan orators of the era and hero of the struggle against the Turks: János Kapisztrán died in Újlak, thousands went on a pilgrimage from all over the country to see him laid out in state and then later to his grave. These pilgrims were people of all ranks: serfs, handicraftsmen, nobles. They were led by a common aim: to be able to touch the clothes of the preacher who was regarded as a Saint in his lifetime; to walk around his grave and beg for his intervention on their knees, to be healed of their physical and spiritual pains. These sick people including the paralysed, those with cataracts, epileptics, people with fever, and those possessed by the devil were all hoping for a miracle through the intervention of this wonder working priest. This example truly exemplifies the spiritual mentality of man of this era. According to their societal position they went on pilgrimages both at home and abroad: the wealthier citizens and nobles visited the Holy Land, Rome, Aachen, Köln and Mariacell to witness a miracle and returned home physically and spiritually purified. As the Turks advanced the more adventurous pilgrimages abroad became more difficult to complete, so instead the domestic places of pilgrimage gained in popularity, especially since in Hungary all the major regions had their own shrines. At the end of the 15th century, the number of letters addressed to the Pope in which people asked for permission to hold parish feasts and for relics, had increased. By admiring relics they hoped for an effective protection from the increasing Turkish attacks, and looked for opportunities for penance. On the one hand, pilgrimages abroad represent those roads through which Hungary joined the European mentality and on the other hand they paint a picture of what the cult of Hungarian Saints in Europe was like. (Saint Erzsébet of the Árpád dynasty, Saint Margit, Saint István, Saint László). Pilgrimages at home and abroad mainly took place by individual initiation, though little is known about the method. We are familiar with the clothing worn by the pilgrims of the era and these were supplemented by a pilgrim stick and a pilgrim satchel. The long journeys on foot cost an enormous amount of money. Food could not be taken for these journeys which could last for days, weeks or sometimes even for years, it was always obtained on the spot. #### Pilgrimages Monastic orders and pious groups often helped the pilgrims on their journeys. For instance throughout their journeys to Aachen they were offered bread, meat, fish, fruit, beer and wine. The Hungarian group entered Aachen with a cross. Pilgrims on their journeys were given accommodation in people's houses, alms-houses, stables and barns. Pilgrimages of the Middle Ages were the types to ask for help, and the miracle cures took place at the holy places by walking around and touching the relics. Under the influence of the Turkish occupation and the denominations, the Mary shrines were the most popular among the domestic places of pilgrimage. Virgin Mary worship which was rooted in a great tradition took up a new aspect. The Mary figure became an anti-Turk symbol through the influence of the Franciscan order. An example for such is the devotional ornament in Csíksomlyó and the icon of the church in the lower town of Szeged which according to the legend was hidden from the Turks in a lake outside the church in 1552. Some years later, a Turkish soldier found it while swimming his horse in the lake, and surprisingly he gave it back to the Franciscan monks. The credit for the victory of the Catholic Székelys (inhabitants of Székely land in Transylvania) over the army of prince Zsigmond János who wanted to force the people of Csík to become Protestants - was attributed by the faithful to the intervention of the devotional ornament of Csíksomlyó. Going on a pilgrimage was considered to be a special event in the life of a Christian. However, church liturgy and superstition were both part of people's everyday life. The sacraments of the Church extended into every aspect of people's lives. They sanctified nature both in its living and lifeless forms, the steps of earthly life and the necessities of everyday life. Consecrated water was one example of a tool used for purification and sanctification and which was present at both blessings and exorcisms. Other sanctified items were the consecrated candle, consecrated fire, consecrated food and drinks which mediates health and protection to those have faith in them. From as early as the 16th century, the blessing of new bread became another religious observation. It became a wide-spread habit among believers to carry consecrated scripts, miniatures and coins to places of pilgrimage, in order to afford protection from danger. Numerous scripts have survived from the 16th and 17th century which consist of superstitious rather than religious elements against illnesses and possession by the devil. One such article is a small book on exorcism that has remained intact in the library of the Franciscan monastery in Gyöngyös, which contains various blessings for keeping away evil spirits. Those who carried a scrap of paper were supposed to be safe from evil harm, but they were useful in other cases, too. These pieces of paper with blessings written on them were buried in the four corners of the garden, vineyard or arable land in the hope that they would ward off any possible destruction to the crops by the elements. The house and stable was protected in the same way. The Church of the Middle Ages had faith healing and other sets of texts for warding off bad fortune and which regarded all matters and problems of human life and all the diseases of the body and spirit. This was based on the belief people held at the time that disease is caused by harmful spirits which can attack people's health, bring them bad fortune and suffering, kill their animals and destroy their crops. However, by calling on God and the Saints the evil spirits can be made to leave. The basis of the faith healing prayers is faith in the magical power of the word. Texts of the ancient pagan magic incantations to cure sickness took on Christian tones in the course of time. Blessings plead for the effective presence of God, and exorcism also sought to drive out the devil through His help. The first texts that were found date from the end of the 15th century and are most likely of Church origin. Péter Bornemissza in his work entitled: Evil Spirits (1578) he includes eight faith healing prayers from Mrs. Benedek Tardoskeddi Szerencse, which she had learnt from "her grandmother and her priest". These give an account of the flourishing practice of faith healing prayers to relieve rheumatism, headaches, sore throats, spells, worms, stomach ache... Faith healing was not only present in the lives of serfs but was a typical manifestation and need for the whole of society. This practice however was more or less suppressed by the common approach of Protestantism. Nevertheless it was perpetuated by the Franciscans, the order which had the closest contact with the people. (It is no accident that a synonym for Franciscian is "Friend" in Hungarian /brother in English/). These brothers adapted themselves to serve the spiritual needs of the people and offered a healing solution for all their problems. This could have been part of the reason why some of the Franciscan monasteries became symbols of peace and comfort (as well as places of pilgrimage), the warmth and glow of which could have far reaching effects in a country which had been dismembered by the Turks and had more than its fair share of religious disputes. ### MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LIFE #### Djamis, mosques and dervish orders in Hungary The entire population of Hungary was 3,5 million out of which 900,000 lived in the occupied areas. The religious life of the relatively small number - (50-80,000) of Ottoman-Turks was supervised by the mosques and djamis that were either newly built or transferred from Christian churches. The djamis were larger churches which gave a home to the Friday service the Hutbe. The most important person was the imam who carried out ceremonies through prayer before the congregation. At larger places there was a separate Friday preacher the hatib, who performed the same task as the imam. On weekdays an ordinary preacher the vaiz held the service. There were several hafizes in each djamis, people who knew the Koran by heart either fully or partially. The most well-known djami servant is the müezzin who called the true believers to prayer five times per day. Payment for the servants of the mosque and the maintenance of the churches was the responsibility of the state or Church charities the vakufs. Besides orthodox Islam, a large number of dervish communities also flourished. The most important ones were the bektasis, the halvetis and the mevlevis. The Gül Baba monastery of Buda that belonged to the bektasi order and was close to the janissaries - was built by Jahjapasazáde Mehmed pasha the third begler bey (Turkish governor) of Buda throughout his reign (1543-1548) near the sepulchral chapel the türbe of Gül Baba. While only 10-20 dervishes lived in other monasteries, the Gül Baba monastery provided shelter to 60 dervishes. The most famous monastery of the halveti dervishes was built around 1576 next to the türbe of Sultan Suleiman I. (1520-1566) in Szigetvár. This soon became the religious and cultural centre of the area. The türbe and the monastery were looked after by some fifty soldiers. The most famous prior of the zavije (monastic order, monastery) was the Bosnian Sejh Ali Dede, an outstanding cultural character of the 16th century, who lived in Szigetvár between 1589-1598) and wrote his famous work "Seals of Wisdom". The monastery of Jakovali Hassan pasha of Pécs was at its best in the 17th century. Its most outstanding prior was Pecsevi Árifi Ahmed Dede who was born in Pécs Hungary and pursued out his studies in the centre of mevlevian dervishes. In 1686 he fled from the re-occupying troops to Filibe (Plovdiv) where he founded a new monastery and finally settled in Istanbul. Here he worked as the prior of Jenikapi Mevlevohane, and besides his teaching activities he translated religious literature right until his death in 1724. #### Muslim schools, Muslim culture In the 17th century 165 elementary (mekteb) and 77 secondary and academic theological schools (medrese) were operating in the 39 occupied towns. The mektebs taught writing, the four fundamental arithmetic functions, the reading of the Koran and the most important prayers. Medreses carried out secondary and academic training within the fields of Muslim religious sciences, Church law and Sciences of Nature. In Hungary, most medreses operated in Buda: seven in the Buda Castle and five in Víziváros. In Pécs five medreses taught students, and in Eger and Eszék four medreses carried out such work respectively. The most dignified medrese of the occupation was built in Buda by Sokollu Mustafa Pasha throughout his seventeen years of governing (1566-1578). The construction of this school was completed in the summer of 1755 where the mufti of Buda performed the teaching, and was at the same time the most significant religious superior of the occupying Muslims. The most famous teacher of the medrese was Isza Efendi who was also the leader of the Turkish delegation at the peace negotiations in Gyarmat (1625) and in Szony (1627). In 1634 he was made a kadi of Bursza and in 1637 a kadi of Istambul, and in 1639 he was appointed to the kadiasker of Rumelia, the most superior judge-advocate of the European provinces of the Turkish Empire. Contrary to public opinion, the Ottoman rulers of the occupied areas were not uneducated barbarians. In the Djamis people not only prayed, but were taught to read and write, to read the Koran and prayers. The sermon of the Friday and festive services the hutbe was the most effective form of political education. There were numerous elementary and secondary schools besides the mosques, and the monasteries of the Dervish order also served culture and education. The spread of culture was supported by the mosque and school libraries. In the school library of Sokolu Mustafa pasha in Buda, besides Muslim religious sciences other literature was also available for those were interested in oratory, poetry, astronomy, music, architecture or medical sciences. Despite the continuous warfare, several cultural centres sprang up in this far corner of the Empire, where famous dervishes and scientists live for various periods of time. The most educated ones had their own libraries like Ali Cselebi the finance administrator of Buda who died in 1587, and left 119 Arab, Persian and Turkish language books to posterity. Among these were religious, historical, political, astronomical and medical books as well as novels, poetry volumes a dream book, and even a work on chess. |