Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SPIRIT AND MOOD - Famous Teachers
FROM THE ENLIGHTEMENT TO THE END OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 112 Professor János Szombathi József Csengery Upon returning home in 1815, he was reinstated in his former position to later become, in 1818, a fully accredited professor. He was given the task of teaching dogmatics as a successor to the position of Dániel Szathmáry Paksi but, on occasion, he was also able to put to good use his knowledge of classical philology, history, church history, and literature. His career had not followed the usual course of events for his original studies had qualified him to be an instructor of history and literature and not of theology. He had qualified for the teaching position because of his extensive knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages. He was able to speak eight languages, maintained a good relationship with Kazinczy and he participated in the life of the College by being responsible for the operation of the library and overseeing the printing press operations in the form of permanent supervisor. He also cultivated strong relationships in wider circles as the dean of pastors in the Alsó-Zemplén area and as a member of the national Academy. Professor János Szombathy was a stalwart member of the staff for four decades from 1783 to 1823. A former student of the College in Patak himself and as a peregrine in the second third of the 18th century, he travelled to popular destinations such as Zürich and Utrecht where he pursued studies, but he spent time in Paris as well. As a professor of history, he was also responsible for the teaching of rhetoric and common law. His main achievements are to be found in the qualitative improvements he introduced for the more effective operation of the institution. As chief supervisor of the library, he expended great efforts to increase the number of books; he was the one who first began to methodically collect textbooks which were available in Hungarian; as rector-professor he worked hard on improving both the spiritual and financial situation of the College; he authored readers for children; he translated Comenius’ Orbis Pictus into Hungarian; he recorded and published in different books the history of the College in Patak, the history of the Reformation in Hungary and the history of Protestant schools in Hungary. His work made a significant contribution to the advancement of the Hungarian language and to the development of religious consciousness. Regretfully, his efforts were neither acknowledged nor accorded any appreciation during his lifetime. Many of his writings remained in manuscript form and it was only after the war of independence of 1848-49 that attempts were made to publish his narrative pertaining to the history of the College. In 1829, Lajos Zsarnay succeeded Szombathy as the new professor of theology. A gifted individual, Zsarnay had studied in Göttingen, received excellent education and spoke six languages. His person will appear again later on and discussed in more detail given that he filled a key position in the period following the loss of the war of independence. The next significant professor of history was József Csengery. He truly was a so-called man in a grey suit. His personal life appears to be virtually uneventful and there is little to note about it. He was born in Abauj but spent his entire life in Patak, arriving there when he was six and, save for one year of study in Vienna (German language and theology) in Vienna, he never left. He was accorded a position to teach world history, Latin and paleography in 1824 and continued in this position until his death in 1851. Neither as a private individual nor as a three- term rector-professor did he leave any significant quantity of notes for posterity. It would thus be difficult to call him a productive author. The two works which
