Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST MARGINALIZATION- BEFORE AND AFTER WORLD WAR II. - Zemplén cut into two, the Church District in three parts and a College with one governing body
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST MARGINALIZATION 188 Kálmán Révész Andor Enyedy autonomy was in many ways limited by the state education laws and various regulations of the MNER. In financial matters, the school’s management had to face challenging factors. On one hand, the school was not self-sufficient and thus unable to generate its own operating costs, so, even in the 20th century, every major issue arising in the life of the school was a public matter for the Reformed Church community in northeastern Hungary. Thus understandably, the church district and its officers had a significant say in the affairs of the school. Likewise, however, beginning at the turn of the century and with the inflow of state aid, the MNER also had a direct say in the running of the school as it appointed some of the teachers and issued regulations in matters pertaining to content. The other relevant and determining supervisory body was directed by the bishop of the church district, the office of which was held by Kálmán Révész from Kassa and later from Miskolc between 1918 and 1931, István Farkas from Miskolc between 1932 and 1941 and Andor Enyedy from Miskolc between 1942 and 1951. The chief lay officer between 1910 and 1932 was Ernő Dókus who was mentioned earlier regarding his very generous bequest. Dókus was succeeded in office by Géza Farkas who held the position until 1949. The most prominent among these church officers was Kálmán Révész, who not only produced scholarly work but was also very much involved in the public affairs of the church. He studied in Debrecen, was a professor of theology in Pápa and then went to Kassa. In 1917, he was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Theology title in Debrecen. While in Kassa, he also was the chief lay officer of the College in Sárospatak between 1914 and 1920. A well-known researcher of religious history in his time, his work on the history of religion in Kassa and writings on the Reform Era are worth noting. The school of Patak was managed by a general director, the public school board and the board of directors. In financial matters, the financial committee made decisions. Mid-level supervision of the school was ensured by the president of the church district and the General Assembly of the church district, all these positions and bodies continuing to be democratically elected. Nonetheless, the highest level of supervision was the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Education. At year’s end, when certificates were being awarded and state examinations being administered, it was done in the presence of a government official. The curriculum and its associated regulations mandated by the state had to be observed and the school was required to send annual reports on the state of the school to the Ministry. The government became more directly involved in the operation of the school partially on the grounds that a significant proportion of the institution’s guaranteed income was provided by the state. On the other hand, there also existed a main supervisory body from the church side, that being the General Convent. The most important development in the management of the institution was definitely the fact that the authority of the church district had decreased while the influence of the board of directors had increased. The board of directors was constituted of fifteen members. Each of the three branches of the College was represented by its director and each class was represented by a teacher. The chief lay officer and pastor of the College, the bishop of the church district, three pastors of a certain authority - generally deans - and the pastor of the Sárospatak congregation were members. Among the lay members of the board were the prominent leaders of the church district - usually four men holding
