„…ki találhat bölcs asszonyt?” Némi betekintés a 16–17. századi papnék műveltségébe

“Who Can Find a Wise Woman?” Some Insights into the Education of the Wives of 16th-17th-Century Calvinist Priests. The paper examines the literacy of pastors’ wives during the 16th-17th centuries. For a long time, the opportunity for women to acquire literacy was only the privilege of the upper social strata, but literacy was not widespread among them either. This trend came to an end in the 17th century, for which period we also found examples of the literacy of urban citizens. The daughters of the lower social strata were prepared primarily to be good wives, housewives, and good mothers in the family, especially next to their mothers. Examining the preachers’ wives as a well-defined social group is a problem due to the scarcity of resources. In most cases, we know nothing but the name of the preacher’s wife, and we do not have information about their origins and families; if we do, however, then their social situation and the occupation of their parents provide a basis for research into their education. The conclusion of the research is that even if they did not receive a formal education, the 16th-17th-century Calvinist pastors’ wives were educated women. In many cases, this knowledge – primarily wisdom, life experience, and piety – and the virtues necessary for the roles of housewife, mother, and wife were the main aspects of choice for their husband. Keywords: pastor’s wife, Protestantism, literacy, 16th-17th century

Kirche und Zivilgesellschaft – Reformatorische Impulse und Gestaltungsaufgabe der Kirchen in Europa

Church and Civil Society – Impulses of Reformed Theology and the Role of the Churches in Shaping Europe. This contribution seeks to answer the role religions and churches, especially the Reformed churches, could play in developing and consolidating civil society and democracy. This study will examine the role of the Church in the Central and Eastern European social and political contexts. Therefore, we will first make an overview of the specifics of this phenomenon in the context of the region's recent history. Then we will look for the normative and substantive meanings of the term for the present going beyond its contextual definition. Finally, we will take note of the impulses of Reformed theology that can contribute to the strengthening of civil society and democratic culture. Will we do this in the context of the particular approach of Reformed theology, in the theological context of the threefold offices (triplex munus) of Christ. The Church, which shares in the royal, priestly and prophetic offices of Christ, shall assume special responsibilities in the life of the society following the threefold ministry of his Lord. In social and diaconal service, the Church must offer new, innovative solutions that promote quality of life (royal office) by working for a culture of reconciliation and compassion. The Church can move from the interior life of piety into the social sphere (priestly office), and through self-criticism and sober social critique, it can advocate for those most disadvantaged by political, economic and social processes (prophetic office). This paper is an edited version of a presentation given at the 2018 German-Hungarian Reformed Theological Conference in Soest, Westphalia. The author attended this conference with an esteemed colleague Béla S. Visky, and now dedicates this paper to him with much appreciation and love on his 60th birthday. Keywords: civil society, contextuality of churches, reconciliation, advocacy, threefold offices of Christ

Homiletikai tűnődések a Jelenések könyve 5,1–7 kapcsán

Homiletical Reflections on the Book of Revelation 5:1–7. The passage mentioned in the title bears several motifs and style characteristics of the apocalyptic literature. One of the many difficulties dealing with the text is that such motifs convey the message (Kerygma) in apocalyptic coded language. Therefore, this study seeks to study the biblical text from the aspect of homiletics. It endeavours to provide some guidepost for preaching and to unfold the messages that are relevant for today’s listeners in the church. It addresses several significant topics such as God’s rule, Christ’s (the Lamb slain) mandate, stepping on the throne, the judgement about the earthly power, and the interpretation of human history in the light of divine rule. Keywords: apocalyptic, Book of Revelation, history, God’s omnipotence, the stepping in the throne of the Lamb

Akadémiai etika és integritás – gondolatok egy új egyetemi tantárgy margójára

Academic Ethics and Integrity – Thoughts on a New University Course. The study discusses the origin and the necessity for the subject Academic Ethics and Integrity by presenting the highlights of professional discourses of the Hungarian and Romanian language area. The cited literature shows that in the last decades’ research ethics and integrity have been breached in many ways. The crisis management strategy involves the enactment of a law that introduces Academic Ethics and Integrity as a compulsory university subject. The present study delineates the topics related to the subject (e.g. questions regarding the integrity of researcher/teacher and publishing activity; legal documents, presentation of the organizations), but the most important scope was to adjust the topics of the subject to the particular situation of the faculties of theology. Thus, the new compulsory subject offers freedom to raise awareness about the meaning of theology and its role in society and academic setting. Lastly, it is argued that the subject gives excellent space for debating and construing questions of intellectuality in the 21st century. Keywords: academic ethics, integrity, intellectuality, research ethics in theology, ALLEA code

A református elemi iskolák helyzete a Komáromi Református Egyházmegyében, az 1920–30-as években

The situation of the Reformed elementary schools in the Reformed Diocese of Komárom in the 1920s–1930s. The present study provides an insight into the history of the Reformed church schools of the Reformed Diocese of Komárom in the territory of Czechoslovakia between the two world wars. Following geopolitical changes after 1920, the church school network had to be reorganized, which posed completely new challenges to the minority Reformed Church. Subsequent to presentation of the major school laws, the development of the diocesan school network is discussed. After the reorganization, teachers had to face a lot of grievances from state officials, which had a direct and indirect impact on both teachers and the educational policy of the Reformed Church. After outlining the problems of textbooks for use in schools, the diocesan schooling of the two decades under review is summarized. Keywords: Reformed Church, schools, school network, teacher, textbook

Homo digitalis – Homo medialis. Digitális média és keresztyén antropológia

Homo Digitalis – Homo Medialis. Digital Media and Christian Anthropology. Digital media and virtual community existence define our present and our everyday life to such an extent and poses such new challenges that Christian ethics cannot escape the responsibility of guidance. However, it is not just a question of what ethical norms apply to the online space and appearance therein but also of how online identity redraws a person’s image of him-/herself and of the other. Can Christian ethics speak of homo digitalis and homo medialis without confronting Christian teaching about humans? The present study seeks to critically illuminate new phenomena in the digital world along the topoi of classical Christian anthropology (creation, divinity, alienation, shame, sin, fellow human beings). Keywords: media, digital lifestyle, virtuality, online identity, Christian anthropology

Emberi bánásmód veszteségek idején

Humane Treatment of People Who Experience Losses. In this paper, we present the grief as a natural response to the losses that people experience. We regard grief as an adaptive mechanism to the new situation that occurs with a loss. In our success-oriented consumerist society, grief has become a taboo: fighting pain in losses became a sign of weakness and failure. This is valid also for Christians, who consider faith as the measure of successful dealing with distress. We present the positive perceptive structures that may help the grief – based on Anil Seth’s theories. Later on, we speak about the toxic positivism, which harms the grieving person and the adequate expression of condolence, which may express our participation in his/her tormented situation. Destructive attitude consists in shaming, abandoning, or betraying the grieving person, whereas constructive attitude means acceptance, condolence, and support. This paper tries to provide a practical guideline to an empathic grief counselling. Keywords: grief, loss, mourning, toxic positivism, positive perceptive structures

Harag és agresszió a keresztyén viselkedéskultúrában

Anger and Aggression in the Christian Cultural Behaviour. One of the typical pitfalls of the Christian practice of piety is the image of the Christian man born of high ideals. The inner image of the perfect Christian hides man’s true SELF. The incorporation of sin-oriented theology, shame, and self-infidelity shapes hiding strategies in Christians. This is the reason for disabling impermissible feelings such as anger and aggression. However, spiritual bypasses that offer a quick solution pose a serious threat to Christian communities. Keywords: anger, aggression, Christian community, ideal, spiritual bypass

A Pitești-i Református Egyházközség első tíz évének demográfiai adatsorai a halálozási anyakönyvek tükrében

Demographic Data of the First Ten Years of Existence of the Pitești Reformed Church in the Light of the Official Death Registries. In the last three centuries, many Hungarians in Transylvania went to work and live in the southern part of the Carpathians. At first, they went just for seasonal work, but later they become permanent migrants. They founded new Reformed parishes and schools in the new locations. We have data on the population of Pitești from 1844, when Sándor Ürmösy described the ethnic and confessional composition of the town for the first time, and he mentions 1,500 Hungarians in Pitești. As result of the Reformed missionary work, the first Reformed churches were established in the most important towns of old Romania in the mid-19th century. The documents of those times reveal to us data on the demographic, confessional, and ethnic composition of the population. In this study, I attempted to find the most important data on the first ten years in the life of the Pitești Reformed community linked to its members’ age of death, cause of the death, and occupation. Keywords: mission, Pitești, Reformed Church, old Romania, official death registries

Die zuverlässigen Schriften bei Josephus in Contra Apionem

The Reliable Sources of Josephus in Contra Apionem. At the beginning of Contra Apionem, Josephus argues for the authenticity and reliability of himself and Jewish historiography. The Scriptures play an important role in this argumentation. In our study, we list the warranty criteria that the author names for the 22 historically authentic books. And we are looking for an answer to the question of whether, on the basis of these criteria, only these 22 books can be truly considered an authentic source of Jewish historiography. Josephus saw himself as a translator and interpreter of historical sources. His sources consist of various writings, including the 22 books. The authenticity and reliability of his interpretation is guaranteed by his ancestry, his knowledge of the Jewish “philosophical” schools, his prophetic abilities, and the constant correction of his work by others. It can be said with a high degree of probability that the 22 books appear as a justification in his argumentation: if the Jews were able to write, preserve, and pass on such documents, then the same accuracy and reliability could be presumed from later generations – up to and including Josephus. Keywords: Josephus, Contra Apionem, the Scriptures, historiography, the Diadochi, reliability