Sárospataki Füzetek 13. (2009)

2009 / 4. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Hörcsik Richard: A Kálvin-kutató Nagy Barna emlékezete

Hörcsik Richard

so massively into Hungarian scholarship that it will continue to be influential even after this now fresh grave disappears in the Sárospatak Reformed cemetery...” Barna Nagy died on 17 September 1969 in Budapest, during a lecture he was delivering.

Time and thematic periods of Nagy’s Calvin studies

Nagy’s almost thirty years of Calvin research can be divided into three great phases:

1941-1947 - Nagy examined Calvin theology as a teacher of theology, primarily on systematic grounds. He put Calvin’s political theology in a new light. As if he had wanted to deliver a message to the European and Hungarian theologians and church leaders in a world that was being drifted toward a world war and the holocaust. In 1943 he made a field trip to Switzerland where he could display his skills in source research. When he counted the unpublished sermons of Calvin, another exciting field of research was appointed for the future.

1949-1956 - Barna Nagy became known as the expert Hungarian translator of Calvin’s commentaries. The Hungarian translation of the commentary on Romans was published in 1954. However, the events of 1956 held up the publishing of the Hungarian translation of the commentary on Hebrews. It was finally published only in 1965.

1957-1969 - Barna Nagy showed his new face in his Calvin studies: a source researcher. He translated Calvin’s unpublished sermons on Ezechiel into modern French.

The following four thematic periods can be distinguished: 1) A systematic examination of Calvin’s political theology; 2) Translating Calvin’s commentaries into Hungarian; 3) Researching Calvin’s unpublished sermons; 4) Organising Hungarian Calvin studies. Barna Nagy’s achievements are lasting in all four areas. His Calvin studies filled him with passion and joy until the end of his life.