A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Ethnographica 4. (Szeged, 2003)

Orbán Imre: Népéletre vonatkozó adatok a makói nazarénus gyülekezet 1870-es, 1880-as évekbeli följegyzéseiben

Data on everyday life in the records of the Makó congregation of the Church of the Nazarenefrom the 1870s and 1880s by IMRE ORBÁN The Church of the Nazarene is a Christian denomination that has adopted the Apostolic Creed but refuses infant baptism. Nazarenes cannot take up arms or take an oath. They have neither priests nor a strict liturgy. Of the sacraments, they recognise the Lord's Supper and baptism. The Nazarene faith first appeared in Makó in 1864. As the members of the congregation were former members of the Reformed Church, serious clashes soon broke out between the congregation and the Reformed Church. Despite this, the number of Nazarenes there rose steadily. By 1875, 191 full members had been recorded in the Nazarene register of births. The congregation is likely to have influenced hundreds of others as well. The late 1870s marked the Nazarene congregation's heyday. By that time their institutional infrastructure had been developed: they had their own register listing births, deaths and marriages. They also used their own seal. By February 1875, a large, new brick-built congregational house, impressive even by urban standards, had been completed. The country's second largest Nazarene centre after the one in Hódmezővásárhely was located in Makó. The congregation's finances were sound, so much so that it was able to operate missions in Transylvania and further outlying regions. The running of the church inevitably entailed a certain amount of administrative work, part of which was the preparation of the documents that served as the main source of this study. They are lists enumerating jobs to do and issues that had arisen within the community. The congregation closely scrutinised the lives of its members too. Living up to expectations and Christian ideals was not to be taken lightly. The documents which formed the basis of this study were prepared by church elders. They touched on various issues including that of discipline, alcohol, smoking, the role of women, community education, sex life, excommunication and readmission, the organisational structure of the church body, the agenda of each congregational meeting, services, the maintenance of the cemetery and the prayer house, inter-congregational relations, missions, charity work, donations, relief work, and raising children. Moreover, they detail when certain members of the denomination moved house and where they moved to. Such issues also shed light on everyday life in Makó in general. Besides this there are reports of markets, sales, the observance of Sunday, the widespread problem of vulgar talk, gossiping, swearing, superstition, witchcraft, quack doctor practices, entertainment, conventions of dress, wild passions, family life, intimate relationships and customs observed at weddings. In summary we have at our disposal a source of data that, in addition to offering a unique insight into the community life of the Nazarene congregation, also allows us to make certain generalisations. Such a source enriches our knowledge of Makó's past. Combined with other sources, it helps us form a picture of the inhabitants of Makó in the 19

th century that is more comprehensive than the ones we had previously. 110