Fraternity-Testvériség, 1959 (37. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1959-03-01 / 3. szám

FRATERNITY

7

HISTORY

OF THE

HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH

By

IMRE REVESZ, Th. D.

Translated by

GEORGE A. F. KNIGHT I

THE CENTURY OF THE REFORMATION 1520—1608

(Continuation)

Most of the Catholic schools closed their doors, while those parishes that remained intact had to seek their priests from Austria. In 1590, however, a seminary was reopened, but was soon closed again, so that for some years Hungary had to look to the Collegium Germanico-Hungarium in Rome for her priests. Thereafter, and throughout the period of Turkish rule when the seat of the Primate was at Nagyszombat (to the north of the Danube), the training of priests was carried on in that border town.

Nicholas Telegdi, bishop of Pécs, was virtually the only protagonist that Rome had left to fight her cause. He fought the new faith with all his might, by the use of propaganda and literature in the popular tongue, thus taking a leaf out of the Protestants’ book, and by constantly referring to “the good old days” and “the traditional faith of the Hungarian people.” He made good use of the fact that the Protestants were not united in one camp. Here is one of his famous sentences, aimed at the Lutheran bishop Peter Bornemissza, another controversialist who was clever with his pen: “Seeing that your congregations are neither one, nor holy, nor catholic, nor apostolic, without doubt your church is not