Hermann István: A veszprémi egyházmegye igazgatása a 18. században 1700-1777 - A Veszprém Megyei Levéltár kiadványai 37. (Veszprém, 2015)
VII. Mutatók
Abstract Scarcely 50 years later, the network of Catholic parishes extended over the whole diocese. In 1777 the number of parishes approached, then exceeded, 180, and their territorial layout was more or less even. At the same time, the layout of the ruridecanal districts also changed. In this period these districts were the intermediate level of church administration, due to the lack of archdeaconries with real power. At the beginning of the given period one district at most is likely to have existed (in Zala County), 50 years later, however, parishes were organized into 11 districts. The establishment of the episcopal polity can be divided into several stages. The first stage lasted from 1710 to 1735 and was characterized by the intensive establishment of parishes, their number growing from 20 to 91. Although huge territories were left uncovered (the southern parts of Fejér County, the eastern basin of Lake Balaton and the southern part of Somogy County), the episcopal organization was present in the catholic majority block and scattered settlements. A closer examination of the establishment of parishes in the first quarter of the century reveals that the settlements near Buda were the first to get their own pastors, as early as the 1710s, not independently of the settling of people of German origin in the area. (See Map VI.) In the second stage, the decade after 1735 saw the intensity of the establishments of new parishes decrease significantly. This can be accounted for by the depletion of resources due to the population reaching its limits in financing the parishes. This is well illustrated by a 1735 register for all the diocese which gave a detailed description of not only the incomes but also the conditions of the buildings and temples of the parishes. At that time scarcely a quarter of the vicarages and one fifth of the churches were found to be in a satisfactory state of repair. The incomes were not much better either. The Royal Council of Governor thought that a minimum of 150 forints annual income was sufficient to ensure a suitable standard of living for a priest. However, the income of almost half of the priests (39) was under 100 forints, and a further 25 priests had an income below the 150 forint mark. Therefore in the case of two thirds (64) of all the parishes the annual income was not sufficient to ensure a satisfactory standard of living. In addition, the clergy of the diocese, who - due to their being few in number - could only perform their duties with the assistance of the monks, grew old by the third decade of the century. New recruitments were obstructed by the lack of seminars in the diocese on the one hand, and by the low number of positions on the other. During the decade after 1735 only 15 parishes were established, in contrast to the previous quarter of the century when an average of 30 parishes were established every decade. The pivot point of the ecclesiastical changes then shifted to the districts, which followed the course of changes in the network of parishes. The District of Veszprém was established in the mid 1730s with the separation of the districts of Buda and Fehérvár. At the same time was 345
