A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 2004 (Debrecen, 2005)

Művészettörténet, iparművészet - Nagy Márta: Paths of Assimilation in the Ecclesiastical Art of the Greek Diaspora in Hungary

Márta Nagy PATHS OF ASSIMILATION IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL ART OF THE GREEK DIASPORA IN HUNGARY The changes and transformations discernible in the ecclesiastical art forms of the Greek minority residing in Hungary are a true mirror of the particular historical situation of the Greeks in our country. At the time of their appearance in Hungary, their ties with the old country had been fairly strong but, as a result of the so-called Loyalty Oath, their number decreased and the active interaction between them and their domestic compatriots virtually came to a halt. As a consequence, the gradual process of their assimilation commenced. The path of the assimilation of their religious and ecclesiastical art forms basically forked into two separate directions, which reflects the fact of their status and existence as a dual minority. On the one hand, they conformed to the surrounding Serbian artistic environment in their painting and in their ways of producing iconostases which, paradoxically, meant taking over the Ukrainian Baroque. On the other hand though, they also adapted the basically western European features of the Hungarian architectural medium and art of painting. The first one of these assimilations presented only a breach with their own national traditions, while the second one also meant an additional departure from the fundamentally Byzantine eastern orthodox art. This phase of assimilation serves as a good example for the fact that the adherence to orthodox rites and religious practice can function as a religion-retaining force even if it comprises elements that are strange to its own nature. In other words, it can act as a force facilitating the survival of national identity, even ifit is present only sporadically. 260