Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SPIRIT AND MOOD - The Strong Pillar of the College - Education in Theology and in the Liberal Arts
160 SECONDARY SCHOOL AND COLLEGE published by the Academy. He furthermore made an in-depth study on Comenius’ years and activity in Sárospatak and published his findings. Mention must also be made of another professor of the Faculty of Humanities as well, Gerzson Szinyei (1836-1919). His field of interest was the history of literature and he taught this actively until 1902. He was a prominent figure among his colleagues with his extensive knowledge of the history of the College and of literature in general. He was the author of many essays on pedagogy and aesthetics and for a long time he was the head librarian. Gyula Mitrovics Jr. (1871-1965) worked in his hometown of Patak only for a short time. After he completed his studies of literature, aesthetics and other liberal arts in Patak, he went to study in Pest and then to Berlin, the German capital, where he studied classical philology and ancient art history. He received his Ph.D. in Pest in 1893 and then became a teacher at the secondary school in Patak. After gaining some experience there, in 1895, together with his father, he left for the College in Debrecen, causing grief to the staff members in Sárospatak for having lost such a talented young teacher. It is also worth noting that, while he possessed an extensive knowledge in aesthetics, he developed an ever- increasing interest in pedagogy and as a consequence, he came to be known as the first professor of pedagogy at the University of Debrecen. Cyrill Horváth (1865-1941) was a teacher between 1902 and 1905, a very knowledgeable teacher with an interesting career. Originally an ordained Cistercian priest, he converted to the Reformed faith and served his new church teaching the history of literature first in Pest then in Sárospatak. But soon he returned to the capital where he first worked as a school principal and then he became a professor at the university in 1923. In 1912 he was elected to the Hungarian Academy, first as a correspondent member, then later as a regular member. There were two professors of the Theological Academy who were of great assistance in making the transition from the previous era to the newer one and played a significant role in the life of the College. Gábor Szeremley (1807-1867) completed his studies in Patak in 1835 before he went to Vienna and Berlin to study there for two semesters. He was called to be pastor in the congregation of Felsőnyárád (Borsod county) and later, in 1839, he became a teacher of theology in Máramarossziget. Two years later he arrived in Patak to teach ethics, philosophy and pedagogy during the Reform Era years. In 1851 he was invited to teach at the Protestant Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna, thus it was in the imperial city that he spent the years which were the darkest years for Hungarian Protestants. He returned to his old school in 1855 where he worked as head of the dogmatics department until his death. He was one of the founders of the Sárospataki Füzetek (Sárospatak Bulletins) periodical. Besides publishing articles in this periodical, he regularly submitted articles mostly on theological and philosophical topics to the Atheneum periodical. As a philosopher, he was the first in Hungary to espouse Hegel’s school of thought. He was granted a Doctor of Theology degree by the Protestant Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna. His books on philosophy, pedagogy, religious studies, geography and law are irrefutable evidence that he was one of the last Renaissance men of his age, not so much as a scholar but more as an author.
