Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SPIRIT AND MOOD - The Strong Pillar of the College - Education in Theology and in the Liberal Arts
Lajos Zsarnay’s life and career (1802-1862) was rather similar and he also may prove of interest for the coming generations not only because of the years he spent teaching in Patak. After his studies in Patak, he went to Losonc and Göttingen. When he left to pursue studies in Germany in order to hone his skills to become a better professor, he had already been granted a position as a teacher of theology in Patak. Returning in 1831, only one year passed before he had to temporarily suspend his teaching position as the Cistibiscan church district elected him to be the pastor of the National Assembly. In 1848, he was promoted to the position of head clerk of the church district and, in 1860, he was elected to be bishop. As head clerk, he worked closely with the superintendent Pál Apostol and, later on, during the years of neo-absolutism, he led the church in its struggles with the state. He accepted the position of pastor of the congregation in Miskolc the same year that he was elected to be bishop, so he surrendered his teaching position for which proved to be the final two years of his life. His name is associated with funeral sermons, three books on church history and theology as well as with a Greek-Hungarian dictionary of which he was co-editor and which helped make him known throughout the country. In 1858, he was elected to the Academy as a correspondent member, not so much in recognition of his academic achievement but more as a political statement. Another prominent individual in the life of the Theological Academy was Gyula Mitrovics Senior (1841-1903). He was born in Sátoraljaújhely, studied in Patak and later in Heidelberg, Göttingen and Zürich. He was elected to the positions of professor and pastor in Patak in 1868. From the middle of the next decade on, he was first assistant clerk and then head clerk of the church district. For several terms he served as the clerk of the General Assembly and regularly participated in the work of the national educational committee. He left Patak in 1895 when he accepted a pastor’s position in Debrecen. In his theological stance, he tended to the liberal wing. He published prayers, sermons and theological textbooks and was also one of the co-founders of the Sárospataki Lapok periodical in 1881. As noted earlier, György Radácsi (1846-1928) played an important role in the life of both the Faculty of Humanities and the Theological Academy. He was born in Abauj and served in only Sárospatak throughout the duration of his life, initially in the secondary school and later, from 1877 on, as head of Biblical studies. He served as editor of the Sárospataki Lapok for fifteen years, was an elected officer of the Hungarian Protestant Literature Society and participated in the work of the education committee of the General Assembly. His engaged participation in community and social initiatives far surpassed the number of publications he authored, producing mostly commemorative speeches, commemorational addresses for celebratory occasions and small articles. Lajos Warga (1835-1900) became well-known through his book entitled The History of the Hungarian Christian Church. He initially worked in Kolozsvár and then in Hódmezővásárhely, from where, in 1868, he was persuaded to come to the College in Patak. For the next three decades he faithfully served the College. He was not much of a public figure and preferred to be in the background and thus led a quiet life. His theological thinking was in the vein of liberal rationalism, something which was undeniably specific at this time at the theological school in Patak. 161 Lajos Zsarnay, professor in Patak, later bishop of the Cistibiscan Church District Lajos Warga
