Journal index

Fifty years ago a short book on homiletics was published, entitled As One Without Authority, by Fred B. Craddock, which proved to be a milestone in the history of homiletics. The interval of half a century since its publication allows to appreciate the homiletical concept that was built on the narrative paradigm. This evaluation emerges from the Hungarian context, where narrative preaching has always been a faraway guest for the last fifty years.

Towards the end of 1918, the Kingdom of Hungary was close to a collapse. Diplomatic interventions of all kinds tried to prevent this, and the Protestant churches were also asked to intervene. The Hungarian churches sent a delegation to The Netherlands. Members of these delegations, among them Géza Antal and Jenő Sebestyén, spoke with a number of Protestant sympathizers, like A. Kuyper and H. Colijn. The Dutch Protestant churches issued a statement warning against the danger that was threatening the Protestants in Hungary. According to Antal they were the first to issue a warning. But was there really an official report? Until now my research has not led to any firm indication in this respect.

The Transylvanian Reformed ministers of the 17th century received their diplomas within the framework of the annual General Synod. In this paper we present a unique diploma for ministry – so-called formata – from 1702, emitted for János Berzétei K. by the General Synod of Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureș), printed at Kolozsvár in the workshop of Miklós Misztótfalusi Kis. Currently this formata is kept in the archives of the library of the Protestant Theological Institute (MS 66).