Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SECONDARY SCHOOL AND COLLEGE-THE COLLEGE AND THE DEVELOPING, MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM - From Orphanage to the Top - Ferenc Finkey
All those who feared Erdélyi would be broken by Patak were delighted to see just the opposite. But the 1860s did not prove to be equally successful. János Erdélyi’s comments always stirred up emotions. Not having the acumen of a politician, he managed to offend many people. In addition, his very public successes and nationwide popularity, his ingrained Budapest-type habits, his way of dressing and his larger-than-average house in a small town all resulted in increasing the number of people who were either jealous of him or angry at him or both. While Bishop Pál Apostol was supportive of him, his successor in 1860, Bishop Lajos Zsarnay, was the greatest critic of Erdélyi’s series of articles against the College two decades earlier. Erdélyi was slowly losing his allies and his health deteriorated, too: he was unable to overcome a serious lung disease for years. In the final days of 1863, he slipped into unconsciousness and hovered between life and death for three weeks. His life had fallen into a deep crisis. As a result, he stopped editing the periodical and then he resigned from his teaching position as well. József Árvay took over the editing duties in 1859 and then later János Antalfi followed him. The change in editor also meant a change in direction. The number of articles dealing with issues abroad decreased while the articles on public school activities within the church district and on Protestant aspirations for autonomy from the state increased. Regular updates dealt with various plans concerning education as well as organizational and content-related issues in small school setups were discussed here. Without Erdélyi being involved, the periodical slowly lost the special status which it had initially had and eventually became mired in the problems of church politics and the organization of church life. It is no coincidence that in 1864, when the semi-retired Erdélyi returned - his only responsibility at the time was the College Library - and took in hand the editorial tasks, he indicated that a new chapter was about to begin. He set about broadening the horizons of the periodical to its former perspective; he ventured beyond church matters and re-emphasized the importance of foreign examples and aspects. As a result, articles related to the classic liberal arts (poetry studies, zoology, history of civilization, philosophy, ethics, etc...) were published that year. But by then his energies were depleted. The intrigues and the recurring illnesses forced him to leave Patak. He sold his house and vineyard and was determined to spend his remaining years in Pest. But sadly, he was not able to experience the moment of farewell, for, a few weeks before his scheduled departure in early 1868, he succombed to a heart attack. 145 HJaTrniaoJaiLs Besides the good old fellows, my helpers now include some of the young students of Sárospatak who have close contact with the people and can give us authentic messages.’ (A passage from the Preface) FROM ORPHANAGE TO THE TOP - FERENC FINKEY Though he was born in a respectable family, Ferenc Finkey’s (1870-1949) life took a tragic turn. He was barely three when he lost both his parents within a week. First his uncle fell victim to cholera, then, a few days later his father also died. His mother died of a heart attack a day later. Ferenc and his three older siblings were taken in by their grandmother, who was seventy at the time. She looked after the children for fifteen years, during which the last few she was completely
