Sárospataki Füzetek 21. (2017)

2017 / 2. szám - Rácsok Gabriella: From the editor - Vom herausgeber

From the Editor | Vom Herausgeber

340 years after the Reformation, in the summer of 1857, the Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy launched its theological journal, entitled Sárospataki Füzetek. The intent of the editors was expressed in the subtitle “A Protestant and Scholarly Journal” that wished to publish studies, papers, articles, and reviews on the church, education, science, and literature. Through a wide scale of disciplines (from church and theology, through education and philosophy to arts), the journal strove to set “this weak-minded Protestantism” on its feet. This awakening was to be achieved in the harmony of science and faith.1

The journal has gone through various phases of renewal concerning its structure and the frequency of issues. However, its purpose has never changed, it has always wished to be the spiritual centre of the Cistibiscan Church District, and its editors have always tried to remain faithful to this mission.

After the years of forced silence, the faculty of the reopened academy decided to relaunch the journal. The decision was made in 1995 to revive the historic tradition; to foster the original mission of the journal; to provide publication opportunities for faculty members; to publish guest lectures; to serve the life-long learning and postgraduate training of ministers; to provide information on the life of the institute (chronicles); and to publish reviews.2 It took two more years for these dreams to become true, with the first issue of the new volume being published in 1997.

And now in 2017, 500 years after the Reformation, 160 years after the very first issue, 25 years after the reopening of the academy, and 20 years after the renewed volume, our readers can hold the second international, foreign language issue in their hands. By taking a brief look at the contents, one can immediately judge that the original purposes are still treasured by the editors.

As we move through the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Sárospataki Füzetek has brought together contributions that highlight some main features and the ongoing significance of the Reformation. We invited authors to submit papers under the theme of “Intercultural Dialogue since the Age of the Reformation”. We have sought to consider the cultural challenges that have developed since the Reformation to our present. The reformers offered various interpretations of the dialogue between traditions, as well as between diverse identities - a heritage also visible in political debates and cultural oppositions. Our contributors have responded from various backgrounds: Dutch, German, Swiss, South African and Hungarian. They give insight into Protestantism from an ecumenical perspective, interreligious dialogue, the interrelatedness of religiosity and cultural authentication, the sexuality debate and the Calvinist landscape of remembrance. We have also provided space for our honorary professors, former Erasmus Plus lecturers, former and present faculty

1 See a historic review in Dénes Dienes: Sárospataki Füzetek, Sárospataki Füzetek, 1,1997/1,2-9.

2 Cf. Antal Mihály Nagy: Lectori salutem!, Sárospataki Füzetek, 1,1997/1, vii.