Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
FLOURISHING AND SCATTERING THE REFORMED COLLEGE IN THE 17TH CENTURY - Home of Reformed Theological Education between 1600 and 1637
even contradicted him and acted firmly and openly on the controversy over free will. He did not spare the Jesuits either. After teaching for many years, in 1603, he became the personal pastor of Zsigmond Rákóczi, and, as such, according to tradition, he most certainly participated in educating the ten year-old György Rákóczi I., the future patron of the College. He was representative of a Heidelbergian intellectual spirit which characterized the inner life of the College in the subsequent decades. With almost ten years spent in western universities, Mózes Kézdivásárhelyi from Transylvania represented the same spirit between 1603 and 1608 when he was a teacher in Patak. He spent at least four years in Heidelberg, was a student of David Pareus (1548-1622) and maintained a correspondence partnership with his teacher. The spirit of Pareus left a deep impression on the Patak school in these decades just like Melanchthon did in the previous century. Like Újfalvi, János Kecskeméti Alexis (Elekes) also came from the occupied territories. He befriended Albert Szenei Molnár in Heidelberg and was appointed lector, then rector in 1608, and then he became senior pastor in 1609. He was unique in the sense that he was already a pastor in Újhely but he left this to accept a teaching position in Patak. Even though he was the secondary pastor and not the senior pastor, this was not considered to be a step backwards, for, in reality, a pastor was held in much higher esteem than a teacher at that time. It was not only in his role as local pastor that Kecskeméti was able to exert a huge influence on the school but also as a dean of the church county of Zemplén. In one sermon he expressed his criticism of homeland education, this serving well to possibly shed light on some of the contemporary educational problems. Kecskeméti observed that the intention of acquiring an education equivalent to the secondary school level was deemed to be sufficient because it is needed primarily for employment at secular jobs. To become a teacher or pastor required higher education, mostly a proficiency in classical languages, and those hoping for a political career had to study philosophy and law. If the motivation is lacking or schools are unable to provide this, the result will be chaos with confusion ruling society. A good school is not only 23 David Pareus (1548-1622) Let us note that the providence of the School does not extend to ignorant, uneducated people but to knowledgeable, intelligent and wise people. Those who entrust their schools to the hands of uneducated preceptors are worthy of rebuke, - as Hungarians say, but not quite correctly: a Master should know how to sing, write letters and give explanations, that will suffice for us. But listen, it does not have to be like this. Note first who are to reap the blessings of education, surely the children of noble men and rulers, the sons who will bring more glory through knowledge to their own nation. But these children reject this now, so learning (this beautiful science) is left for the poor mendicant ducklings. It is not surprising that there is so much noise, the majority of the people in upper positions are uneducated, without having undertaken any studies and they only use other poor people’s mouths or thoughts; they do not even know the laws of our country. It is not a small thing that a lord has to raise his hat before the son of his own servant. God’s punishment is just. And they themselves did not study, nor had their children educated, either. It is therefore just and right that the first ones must serve the last ones. We must learn what students should be learning in school: foreign languages. Much to our regret, lately there has been a significant decrease in the number of students and teachers. No need for the Greek or Hebrew languages now, despite God having used those languages to let His will be known to us; it is enough if the students acquire some basic knowledge of these. We must approach education from a different angle if we wish to be called scholars.
