Fraternity-Testvériség, 1958 (36. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1958-10-01 / 10. szám
FRATERNITY 13 Franciscan monk for a time, but had gone to Wittemberg, and sat at the feet of Luther and Melancthon, thus being one of the first Hungarian students to do so. Hack in Hungary he had issued a document entitled, “Rudimenta salutis”, in the form of 52 theses. It was in consequence of this that he was imprisoned in the castle of Buda. In 1533, however, his friends helped him to escape, and at once he began preaching again in the same city of Buda where his prison was. Of course, he was imprisoned once more, but fortunately was released two years later. Up till this period in his life he had furthered the Reformation cause with his pen rather than with his voice, but from now on poor eye-sight began to hinder him in his writing. He sought medical advice in Germany, and when he was there he had the chance to mix freely with the great reformers. In 1538 he returned home to Hungary where he held several pastorates and was also in charge of a church school. But again in 1541 he had to flee to Germany, and again two years later he returned boldly to his home. Right up till the year of his death thereafter (probably in 1545) many towns and villages in Hungary heard his voice proclaiming the message of the reformed faith. Dévai was accused by some of seeking a “middle way” between the theologies of Luther and Zwingli. While such an accusation is not without foundation, Dévai was never unfaithful to his master’s teachings, despite the fact that he never followed Luther slavishly. Consequently, he was constantly under suspicion by the Germanspeaking population in the highlands of the north. On the other hand, so great was his influence and so faithful a disciple was he in reality of his German master that in later generations he came to be known as “the Hungarian Luther”. Michael Sztárai Sztárai was the reformer par excellence of the southwest of Hungary, the area occupied by the Turks. Before their coming he had studied in all the best schools of the land and then, havI
