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The document presented here is the Ethical Codex formulated in 1786 by the governing body of the College of Kolozsvár (Cluj). The 1780s marked an era defined by the formulation of educational guidelines. It was during this epoch that the ruler of the Habsburg Empire mandated the centralisation of educational institutions. Consequently, the Reformed Church of Transylvania undertook extensive preparations for the reorganization of the college and the advancement of public education. This regulatory framework stands as a distinctive artifact, akin to the spiritual bequest of the noble aristocracy and sovereigns. Noteworthy is its exclusive focus on individuals of noble lineage, rendering it likely that its implementation was never realised.

In ancient Israel, the lack of winter rains was not only seen as an economic crisis, but also as a warning from God. Whenever the rainy season passed without rainfall, the sages proclaimed a public fast. Part 2 of the Mishnaic tractate Tacanit treatise deals in detail with the rituals that the patriarch, the president of the tribunal, the clergy and the members of the congregation were required to perform. The external ceremonies, such as the sprinkling of ashes on the ark, included various blessings which pointed to the real purpose of fasting: to set the heart back on the right path. The days of fasting, therefore, provide an opportunity to fulfil the prerequisites for conversion: confession and repentance of sins. The chapter also mentions the days on which fasting is expressly forbidden and those who are exempt from fasting in the strict sense. Lastly, because it was a matter of the repentance of the community, the sages also took care to ensure that thus traders did not fall into the sin of greed, and tried to exclude any attempts of abuse in business.

Der Para-Traktat der Mischna erklärt unter dem Titel die „Die rote Kuh“ die Bestimmun­gen bezüglich 4 Mose 19. Nach einer kurzen Einleitung folgt die Übersetzung von drei Kapi­teln mit kurzen Sacherklärungen. Dies ist die erste ungarische Übersetzung des Textes.

This text edition presents the opinion of the Reformed bishop, Zsigmond Eperjesi, and the eparchial notary, Máté Keresztes, in the case of Samuel Endemann. As their documents make clear, the bishop and the eparchial notary were representatives of the orthodox Reformed church, and determined supporters of the creeds of the traditional Reformed church. The letter reveals that the investigation of Endemann was initiated by the leaders of the Reformed church. In his letter, the bishop briefly stated his view that Endemann’s manual contradicted the creeds of the Reformed Church in Transylvania, even if in these ideas had long been canonized in Western theological thought. Following the Endemann investigations, János Bodola and János Zilahi Sebes received instructions from the Consistory and the Reformed Church leadership that Endemann’s manuals should not be used in educating systematic theology.

This paper presents the apology of János Bodola, professor of Nagyenyed, accused of heresy in 1791. Like his accused associate, Bodola also dismissed the charge of heresy, but did not deny that theological thinking should be renewed. In his letter, he also rejected Arminian, Pelagian, and Universalist accusations, stood up to Samuel Endemann’s orthodoxy, and condemned the lack of consensus among the confessions. According to his letter, Bodola was a supporter of the Reformed liberal orthodoxy who in matters of principles of faith remained devoted to the creeds of reformed confessions, without secluding himself from the innovations within theology.

The attack against the ideas of illumination was at the same time the last desperate attempt of the Transylvanian reformed orthodox theology at the Synod of Küküllővár in 1791, when János Zilahi Sebes and János Bodola were indicted for spreading the teachings of arminian, socionian and pelagian theology. He defended himself in an exhaustive testimony and also defended the book of the German reformed professor, Samuel Endemann, used in Transylvanian schools as manual of dogmatic theology.

The attack against the ideas of illumination was the last desperate attempt of the Transylvanian reformed orthodox theology at the Synod of Küküllővár in 1791, when János Zilahi Sebes and János Bodola were indicted for spreading the teachings of arminian, socionian and pelagian theology. He defended himself in an exhaustive testimony and also defended the book of the German reformed professor, Samuel Endemann, used in Transylvanian schools as a manual of dogmatic theology.

The scholarly literature on Protestant education agrees that the delimitation of the main principles of the public educational system of the reformed congregations is strongly related to the name of Philipp Melanchton. The “preceptor of Germany”, as he came to be known, considered that the aim of education is to assume personal responsibility. Defining the purpose of reformed education in Transylvania was postponed to the 17th and 18th centuries, when the public educational system searched for its own rationales. The current study presents a short historical overview of this period.

The Arminianist doctrine concerning predestination as well as Cocceius' theology of the covenant, which intended to dilute the inflexibility of the Dordrecht decisions, kept the Dutch theology of the seventeenth century in fever, causing serious problems even during the first half of the eighteenth. The Hungarian adepts of these doctrines were Sámuel Nádudvari, József Makfalvi, András Huszti, Ferenc Csepregi Turkovics and György Verestói, who, after their return home, began to disseminate the teaching, which differred from the confessions of the Transylvanian Reformed Church. The lawsuit and legal process concerning doctrinal errors, however, was initiated and carried out only in the case of Huszti, Nádudvari and Makfalvi. Whilst Csepregi and Verestói could easily clear their names of any suspicion of heterodoxy, the other three theologians (Huszti, Nádudvari and Makfalvi) did not take this opportunity, which ultimately caused an irreparable break in their careers.

I am aware that József Benkő’s manifold and diversified work cannot be summarised in a few pages without omissions. I have presented only the events through which this son of Erdővidék, who had never studied at a foreign academy, became internationally famous as a domidoctus. He has proven that, if endowed with the necessary perseverance, respect for work and humility as a scientist, one can become a well-known scholar living even in areas as remote as Erdővidék.