Journal index

After the Treaty of Trianon, the Transylvanian Reformed Church found itself in a completely new and unprecedented situation. In the years following the change of empires, there was an ideological search not only in literature and public life but also within the church. The intellectual elites of Hungarian Transylvania, including the leaders, theological professors, and ministers of the Reformed Church, significantly contributed to this quest, with their reflections and thoughts still holding significant content and influence today. The aim of this study was to explore the publications that appeared between 1920 and 1944, placing them within a framework of intellectual and church history, and presenting them chronologically to depict the national worldview of the contemporary Reformed intellectuals. At the beginning of the study, we examined the concepts of Transylvanism and public service. Subsequently, we delved into the intellectual search of the 1920s and discussed the national existential issues and ideas based on the writings of the 1930s. Finally, we explored the emerging novel national worldview after 1940.

In our study, we examined a significant change of administration and power: what was the impact of the Second Vienna Award of 30 August 1940 on the Faculty of Theology of the Transylvanian Reformed Church in Cluj/Kolozsvár? This historical turn of events was not only a cause for joy, but also a major change and challenge for theological education.

We were able to gain insight into the challenges the faculty and its leadership faced in the new situation and the solutions they sought to address them. After the second Vienna Award, the integration of the faculty into the ecclesiastical higher education of the Hungarian state was one of the primary tasks. The academic situation of the students also had to be sorted out, and the Faculty had to face a significant reduction in its staff and the financial crisis. These influences changed the internal and external life of the faculty; consequently, we see that social, administrative and political changes had a particular impact on the functioning of the institute and on the training of ministers.

The writings of the theological teachers in ecclesiastical publications have provided a basis for understanding the processes of power change in Transylvania in their ecclesiastical context. They helped to develop a correct vision and to identify the perceived and expected consequences of the decision. Our study also shows that during this period, ecclesiastical and public activities were deeply intertwined.

In this study we present papers and theses of students submitted in church history, in response to teachers’ assignments at the Faculty of Theology in Kolozsvár/Cluj between 1898 and 1944. These works were closely related to the history teaching church history at the Faculty, being intended to promote independent scientific research and talent management. During the period analysed here, a total of twenty-six works in church history were completed as fulfilments of the thirty-four assigned topics. The number of works submitted and the number of topics assigned varied from period to period, but they are relevantly embedded in the framework of the institutional curriculum.

This lecture analyses the engaging effect ofJesus’ commissioning of his disciples on the function and ministry of the presbyters. Moreover, it sketches several modalities of cooperation between ministers and presbyters in building up together a concordant congregational life.

This article presents the Hungarian translation of one of Walter Brueggemann’s sermons with a short analysis. The effectiveness of Brueggemann’s preaching is strongly related with the role that he assigns to preaching: he does not merely explain the word and apply its message to the contemporary world by means of metaphors, but Brueggemann also uses a problematizing type of exposition.

This article presents some specific – mainly linguistic – challenges that a minister living and working in the Transylvanian Reformed diasporas has to face.