Journal index

The Autobiography of Gyula Mihaly Szigethy. The „peregrinatio academica” is a well documented topic of the transylvanian cultural history from the 17–18th century. Szigethi Gyula Mihály (1758–1837) was one of the thousands of young people, who choosed to travel thousands of miles in order to continue their studies in western-European universities. After finishing the college of Marosvásárhely (Tg. Mures) –one of the best transylvanian calvinist schools of his time –, thanks to the financial support of count Joseph Teleki, he attended the universities of Marburg, Göttingen, Stuttgart and Viena in the period between 1786–1790. Returning home he choosed not to become a priest as it would be a custom in those times, earninig his living for a few years as a privateprofessor in the courts of local nobils. In 1797 ha was ellected professor of the college from Udvarhely (Odorheiul Secuiesc), where he made a carrier, retiring in 1823. In this time he published among others articles about the history of the town and the college of Udvarhely. Although his journal written between 1786–1790 no longer exists, his autobiography –published in our article– written in 1833 contains important datas about the transylvanian educational system from the late 18th and the beginning of the 19th century.

The Impossibility of a Second Repentance in the Epistle to the Hebrews. We have argued in this assignment for an interpretation of the impossibility of a second repentance, which is neither entirely psychological, nor is to be understood and complemented by inferences from Greco-Roman patronage, but it is an inherent impossibility, having in its background a theological argument: so splendid is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, that turning away from it in apostasy is a way that excludes any chance for a second repentance.

The purpose of the Epistle to the Hebrews. In this essay we argue that the particular purpose of Hebrews is obscure for the modern reader. It is clear, that it was addressed to a particular community that needed to be warned not to apostatize, not to turn away from Christianity. But no dogmatic conclusion can be reached on a more precise identification of the danger could consist in. The drift of the argument on the levitical cultus, the exhortations and argumentations from the exposition of so many Old Testament passages would possibly give weight to the theory that the danger was that of relapsing into Judaism, a theory held by numerous scholars. However, this is an inference, though reasonable. But each further step in order to identify the exact form of the apostasy to Judaism will be conjectural. What we can tell from the thoughts expressed in the epistle is that the author wants to reassure his recipients in their faith, to inspire them by pointing to the HighPriest Christ, and to reinstate them in the characteristic Christian features of their faith, warning them of the immeasurable loss in case they would give up their belief in Christ.