Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)

SPIRIT AND MOOD

Patak as the decade turned from the 1930s to the 1940s and were not able to become staff members with decades-long service because of the nationalization process.

The Theological Academy experienced only minor changes in their daily operations during the era in question. The most significant internal organizational change was most likely the elimination in the mid-1920s of the two-year internship for assistant pastors. It was decided to replace the old system, which was difficult to track, with a college education of eight semesters in duration followed by a one year internship which had to be realized on site, that is, in the congregation of Sárospatak. Thus both the candidate’s skills and the possible deficiencies of the college education could be quickly evaluated.

Other changes included a broadening of certain functions. The theological school’s work was defined by an every-broadening scale of social responsibilities. As an opening act, the National Association of Reformed Church Pastors held their five day conference in Sárospatak in 1923. The College attempted to reach out towards the local community, not necessarily by these high-profile events, but by assuming more social tasks according to its mission strategy. All this became especially typical during the 1930s, when social tensions intensified. From 1934 on, refresher courses for pastors were organized regularly, the village seminars also being a part of this initiative. Also in 1934, through the initiatives of István Harsányi, a series of events called ‘Friday Nights’ started. Within this framework, the teachers of the College attempted to invigourate the intellectual life of Sárospatak by offering interesting and educational lectures to the public. During the first year, Harsányi gave a lecture on Endre Ady, Újszászy on Dostoyevsky, Ernő Szabó on Zoltán Kodály and Géza Képes spoke about Stefan George. Another related initiative was the folk concerts promoted by the school. The idea came from Géza Képes. István Harsányi wrote the following about the first two concerts: “Due to the well-organized promotion, many villagers came by foot or on wagons. Many rural people attended the concert who had never seen a piano, or heard a musical instrumental before.”

Starting in 1934, theology students had to take part in three weeks of military training and, after the semester was over, the forty-two future pastors took part in building public roads in Sátoraljaújhely as a sort of ‘work camp’. A few years later, during the war, the students of Patak assisted in the renovation of the church building in Nagykázmér. A year later, they started to build a new church in Szegilong. As a follow-up to this practical assistance of local communities, they also organized Bible-reading groups and participated in family missions and village missions. Theology students took part in scout movements and gave sermons in the secondary school. By the end of the decade, these future pastors worked actively in the ‘protecting talent’ program and the ‘people’s college’ initiatives. The theories of‘educating the nation’ became more and more visible. “In September, we theology students marched through the streets of Patak in military uniforms in an organized and joyous manner to show that we will be good leaders in the military training of future youth. These are dark times. We want to train our youth to have a military attitude, we have to awaken their sense of national defense.”

The College organized the teaching of theology with a teaching staff of which both the students and the local residents could be proud in every respect. At the end of the 1920s, the previously encountered, prominent academic-in-the203

István Harsányi Sr. was a versatile scholar. His work in the field of the history of literature and bibliography won academic repute for the Great Library