Református Szemle 116.5 (2023)

The study begins with the homiletical exegesis of 2 Corinthians 8:7–9. In the first major section, preparatory elements take centre stage. Throughout the exploration of the pericope's historical, exegetical, and theological dimensions, we delve into the relationship between Paul and the Corinthians, the collection for Jerusalem and theological motifs such as incarnation and offertory. The homiletical exegesis is followed by an outline for a Christmas sermon. The final points of the study provide additional perspectives and illustrations for shaping the worship service.

The Barth-Brunner debate is one of the significant moments of the Protestant theological history in the 20 th century. The replica-exchange of the two outstanding figures of dialectical theology in 1934 not only includes the theological centres of gravity of Karl Barth and Emil Brunner, but also gives insight into the sparkling theological and spiritual atmosphere of the 1930s. Brunner’s interpretation reveals a specific version of natural theology, while Barth, in the spirit of New Reformation Theology, expresses his position in terms of the authority of the Word. In this essay until we explore the content of some points of the debate, we also briefly reconstruct the circumstances of its origin, as well as we mention its history and evaluation in Transylvania.

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.

Much of the geometric knowledge imparted in our school days was grounded in the realm of Euclidean axioms. Yet, such knowledge proves inadequate for comprehending the full spectrum of laws and structures governing nature. Non-Euclidean geometry emerges as an indispensable tool when grappling with the intricacies of unique curved surfaces. In 1823, János Bolyai, an outstanding student at the Reformed College of Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureș) in Transylvania, unveiled this innovative form of geometry. His groundbreaking contribution not only liberated the erstwhile axiomatic Euclidean world, ushering in fresh possibilities, but also elevated the realm of universal scientific thought to unprecedented heights.

Church history claimed that the somewhat official yearbook of the Reformed Church District of Királyhágómellék was first published in 1927, six years after the formation of the new church district in 1921. It was entitled The Illustrated Calendar of Reformed Orphanages (Református Árvaházi Képes Naptár), published continuously until 1949. However, a recent project of processing and digitalising contemporary press revealed new data on the publication of a yearbook both in 1923 and 1925. Despite both issues being printed in many thousands of copies, none of those calendars were preserved.