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The communion cup of the Reformed parish of Érkeserű (Cheșereu, Romania) was originally a plate, which was melted down at the beginning of the 19th century and made into a chalice. Its history, which can be traced back to the last third of the 16 th century, is closely linked to the history of the parish and the local landowning families, especially the Suselith-Horváth family. This study corrects and supplements earlier literature by using archival sources and source publications. It shows who were the original owners of the silver chalice, how it came to the later donor and the social background of the donation. It describes the relationship of the family members with the Reformed Church.

Jesus refers to the Law when the Scribes and Pharisees accuse a woman of adultery: “the hands of the witnesses shall be the first raised against the person to execute the death penalty” (Deut 17,7). According to Károly Balázs, the word avnama,rthtoj ‘without sin’ used in the Gospel is etymologically related to ma,rturoj ‘witness’. If he is right, this might shed a new light on our interpretation of this pericope, as well as our view of sin in general. On the other hand, if there is no such relationship, the reference to the law raises the possibility of false witnessing. None of the accusers dared to raise his hand against the accused woman.