Magyar Egyház, 1996 (75. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
1996 / 2. szám
1 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11. oldal Fellowship Dinner was held at 6:00 p.m. in the Bethlen Hall, which was served by the men of our church, on behalf of the Lorantffy Women’s Guild of Carteret, NJ. The Thirty-Eight Annual Conference will be held on Sunday, May 4, 1997, in Staten Island, NY. “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” Pearl Hatten, Secretary A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE REFORMED COLLEGE OF SÁROSPATAK In the currents of the Reformation, the Protestant school in Patak began its activities in the Lutheran spirit in 1531. In its first decades the school was sponsored by the noble family, Perenyi. After the death of Gabor Perenyi in 1567, the school continued its activities according to the Helvetic Confession, and prepared teachers, pastors and learned men who would give their lives in public service as administrative or cultural leaders and for a brief period, even lawyers were trained. Later, the Gymnasium (High School) was established, which prepared generations to enter universities. During the era of the great princes of Transylvania, especially the Rakoczis who were the landlords of Patak, the College began to flourish and prosper. They supported and continued to develop the College because of their religious and cultural convictions. At the time of Prince George Rákóczi I., Janos Tolnai Dali became the Headmaster of the College of Patak. Previously, he had studied in England and he brought home the concepts of Puritanism. Susanna Lorantffy, the wife of George Rákóczi I. and her son, Zsigmond, invited John Comenius, the great educator, to Patak. He spent four years there and wrote the world’s first illustrated textbook “Orbis Pictus”. The ideas of Puritanism and the education principles of Comenius have influenced the life of the College for centuries and continue to do so today, especially the idea that the teachings of the Bible must be the standard, not only for our faith but also our actions and deeds and so encompass every area of our lives. The pedagogical concepts of Comenius have also influenced the relationship between teachers and students. This great period of the history of the College ended when the widow of Prince George Rákóczi II., Zsófia Báthory, turned to the Catholic faith and counter-reformation was started in the area. After the defeat of Wesselenyi’s revolution in 1671, the school was expelled from Sárospatak. Feeling the persecution of Jesuits, the school moved to Gyulafehervar in Transylvania, then to Gone and to Kassa. This period of exile ended in 1703, during the revolution of Ferenc Rákóczi II. Only then was the school able to return to its ancient home, Sárospatak. The school survived the counterreformation and further oppression of the 18th century, although the College’s enemies wanted to close it several times. The school played an active role in preserving both the achievements of the Reformation and the freedom to maintain a cultural and national identity against the oppression of the Habsburg monarchy. After the Declaration of Toleration in 1781, for ten years, fifty three pastors from the School of Patak helped to reorganize the neighboring Moravian Congregations. In the freer atmosphere of the 19th century, the democratic ideas of liberalism began do dominate society. At that time, many great scholars and future politicians studied in Sárospatak, including Janos Erdélyi, Miklós Izsó, Lajos Kazinczy, Lajos Kossuth, Bertalan Szemere, László Teleki, Mihály Tompa, etc. Many teachers and students from Sárospatak took part actively in the Revolution of 1848, led by Lajos Kossuth. In the second half of the 19th century, the confessional character of the school faded a little but its scholarly level was maintained. A nationwide period of depression followed the First World War but the school was able to recover quickly. Even as early as the 1930s, a new era of flourishing began. In the development of education, in the deepening of confessional spirit, modernization of the buildings, great results had been achieved, for example, the English College, built in 1933. But after 1952, only the Archives and Great Library remained in the hands of the Church as a scientific collection. The Theological Seminary was closed and the Gymnasium was nationalized by the communist government. In 1990, the Gymnasium and in 1991, the Theological Seminary reopened their doors under church leadership. Today four main branches of the College work actively: the Theological Seminary, the Scientific Collection (the Great Library and Archives), the Gymnasium and the Secretariat which administrates all financial and physical maintenance matters for the whole institution, the Reformed College of Sárospatak. KÖSZÖNET Lapunk ezen számában felhasznált anyagokért köszönetünket fejezzzük ki a Reformpressnek és a Presbiternek segítségükért. Név szerint is: Füle Lajosnak és Szentimrey Mihálynak.
