Itt-Ott, 1976 (9. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1976 / 2. szám
That the nature of the Reformation in Hungary is not an evolutionary process but a dialectical one, based on oppositions that are not necessarily theological in their essence, can be demonstrated if we do not view the developments of religious and ecclesiastical history in isolation, but rather as part of the political history of the age. After Mohács, namely, Hungary was blessed with two kings. At first, Janos Szapolyai, the viceroy of Transylvania, was legally elected and crowned, but a month afterward an opposing faction decided to elect Ferdinand of Habsburg, the Duke of Austria, to the Hungarian throne instead. In this they were guided by their belief that Ferdinand, who was the brother of Emperor Charles V., would afford greater security against the Turks than a national king could. And with this fateful step the secessionists defined Hungary's history for the next 400 years: allegiance and opposition to the Habsburgs remained the biggest single issue in Hungarian politics until 1918. The lineup of the forces that would fight the Thirty Years' War a century hence was already beginning at this time. King Janos, acting on the time-honored diplomatic premise that the enemy of one's enemy is a friend, solicited French assistance against Ferdinand. But since Catholic France was allied with the Turks — the French, too, were masters at the same game — Szapolyai suddenly found himself on the side of the Sultan. Suleyman It. gave Szapolyai the military aid he needed to secure most of the country from Ferdinand — and, in return, the latter recognized his, and Hungary's dependence on Turkey. The actual partitioning of Hungary happened with the death of King János, in 1541. As long as he lived, Suleyman kept his word. But then, when he was called upon to break a German siege of the Hungarian capital, Buda, he first repelled the Germans, then took the town. For 150 years, the Turkish banner flew over Buda — and with it, over a third of the country. Transylvania's history as an independent state begins at this time. King János was survived by his queen, Izabella, a Polish princess, and a baby son, János Zsigmond. Suleyman, a master strategist, now made good use of them, although he probably felt some genuine generosity toward the widow and son of his former protege. He instructed Izabella to retire east of the Tisza River and to rule Transylvania in the baby king's name. South- Central Hungary would remain under Turkish administration. The third part of the hapless country, the northwest, was leit to Ferdinand. The defense of Buda against the Germans had been led by King János' Henry Kissinger, his most trusted advisor, a Catholic churchman by the name of György Martinuzzi, affectionally known in Hungary as Fráter György — Brother George. Brother George had originally helped engineer the detente with the Turks. But now he saw himself and the country betrayed by his former ally. For the rest of his life, he would work to reunite Hungary — even at the cost of accepting the only, bitter alternative, complete surrender to Ferdinand. Brother George remained the chief advisor to King Janos' widow. He also became her chancelorof the exchequer, the most powerful officer in the land, and, as Bishop of Nagyvárad, the head of the Transylvanian Catholic Church as well. It is in this latter capacity that he is of particular interest to us. King János had remained a loyal Catholic to his dying day, in spite of an interdict by the Pope because of his Turkish policy. But in religious matters he was a liberal otherwise, perhaps because he did not wish to antagonize his Lutheran — largely German — minority. Queen Izabella displayed the same tolerance and wisdom after him, but Marti - nuzzi had no such scruples. No sooner was he installed at Nagyvárad, he commenced his fight against the heretics. Thus, in 1543, he demanded that the Queen arrest Johannes Honter, the spiritual leader of the Transylvanian Saxons, for the publication of his socalled Kirchenordnung (the Formula Reformationis Ecclesiae Coronensis et Barcensis totius provinciáé Coronae), which.laid the foundations for the first structural secession from the Hungarian Church. But the Queen merely ordered a debate, at which Honter did not 23
