Tag: Keresztény Magvető

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: Concio Jeremiae XXVII v 4 .

Summary of sermon: The author  the sermon deserves as much attention as the topic.  Enyedi György was the third bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church, until his death in 1597. He is called in some Hungarian language literature as the “Unitarian Plato”, because most of his writings and sermons focuses on the explanations of Bible verses.  He is noted for using everyday, mundane metaphors to teach the congregation about the meaning behind the words of Christ.  Hungarian translations of the Bible began to spread in his time, and it was important to teach churchgoers on their mother tongue about it.

In this sermon the Unitarian Plato discusses the importance of living a godly life, and following God’s commands. In Concio Jeremiae XXVII v 4 Enyedi György used examples from the Old Testament to remind us (and, perhaps, the Prince) that just as God used Nebuchadnezzar to scourge the ungodly Israelites when they wanted to form an alliance against him, God sent the Turkish Empire to scourge the ungodly people in Hungary and Transylvania. Our task, Enyedi says, ought to be to turn away from ungodliness and turn toward God, so He can deliver us from the hand of ruthless rulers.  Applied to Transylvania, the fate of empires and rulers are fully in the hand of God, and the best hope for Transylvania is to watch and pray that God removes the heathen rulers from their heads.  Because of the turbulent and violent historical events that started in 1593, Enyedi feared for the fate of his homeland, Transylvania, and found solace and advice on the pages of the Bible. What were those historical events? I give you a brief description below.

There is a very special historical background for the series of 19 sermons that start with this one, Concio 10.  From the beginning of 1593, under the rule of Prince Zsigmond Bathori, the Principality of Transylvania experienced a monumental internal power struggle in order to decide what foreign policy the Principality should conduct with regard to the Turkish Empire.  Since the 1550s Transylvania was a tribute-paying, but unoccupied component of the Turkish Empire. That peaceful existence came to an end in 1593.

In 1593, after 25-year pause, the Turkish sultan started a new military offensive in the Hapsburg-ruled remnant of the Hungarian Kingdom (well West of Transylvania), and the Hapsburg Emperor Rudolph requested help from surrounding countries. In late 1593 there was initial military success against the Turkish army. Prince Zsigmond Bathori, saying that he wants to be the part of eliminating the Turkish occupation from Hungary, sent emissaries to Rudolph and to the Pope in order to become part of their alliance. In February of 1594 the official pact was signed making the Principality of Transylvania part of the Holy League with the obligation to coordinate military action with other participants.

The Transylvanian Diet never approved the war-plans of the Prince, nonetheless, Prince Zsigmond Bathori, took unauthorized action, and in March of 1594 attacked a Turkish-occupied town West of Transylvania. Because the promised military help to Rudolph never fully materialized, the Transylvanian forces were left unaided by the League to face a much larger Turkish dispatchment. Enyedi delivered this sermon in March of 1594.  In May of 1594 the Prince requested again approval of his plans (and budget) from the Diet which yet again refused.

The Transylvanian forces were eventually defeated by the Turkish army, and at the July 1594 Diet Prince Zsigmond Bathori abdicated. However, by August 1594 several generals declared their loyalty to the Prince, and he returned to Kolozsvar. The Prince then captured the leaders of the anti-war faction of the Diet, and had them executed by beheading or garroting. The Diet, thus, was forced to approve the war-plans of the Prince, and the wealth of the executed nobles were use to shore up the war budget.

Enyedi György was born in the town of Nagyenyed in Transylvania, and the current Unitarian Church there is partnered with the First Unitarian Church of Louisville, Kentucky.

In this sermon you look through a window into late XVIth century Transylvania, and hear the words of the third Bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church. The translation time machine will take you back to late 1500s, and allows you to listen to this gem of a sermon, available the first time in English.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonConcio 10.

Summary of sermon: The author of the sermon deserves as much attention as the topic.  Enyedi György was the third bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church, until his death in 1597. He is called in some Hungarian language literature as the “Unitarian Plato”, because most of his writings and sermons focuses on the explanations of Bible verses.  He is noted for using everyday, mundane metaphors to teach the congregation about the meaning behind the words of Christ.  Hungarian translations of the Bible began to spread in his time, and it was important to teach churchgoers on their mother tongue about it.

In this sermon the Unitarian Plato discusses the importance of living a godly life, and following God’s commands. In Concio 10 Enyedi Gyorgy used examples from the Old Testament to remind us (and, perhaps, the Prince) that the Israelites were cautioned to restrict their activities to their homeland, and refrain from seeking alliances that God did not approve. Applied to Transylvania, the reckless willingness to start war, and to create alliances may be powerless unless God communicated His approval for the pact.  Because of the turbulent and violent historical events in 1593, Enyedi feared for the fate of his homeland, Transylvania, and found solace and advice on the pages of the Bible. What were those historical events? I give you a brief description below.

There is a very special historical background for the series of 19 sermons that start with this one, Concio 10.  From the beginning of 1593, under the rule of Prince Zsigmond Bathori, the Principality of Transylvania experienced a monumental internal power struggle in order to decide what foreign policy the Principality should conduct with regard to the Turkish Empire.  Since the 1550s Transylvania was a tribute-paying, but unoccupied component of the Turkish Empire. That peaceful existence came to an end in 1593.

In 1593, after 25-year pause, the Turkish sultan started a new military offensive in the Hapsburg-ruled remnant of the Hungarian Kingdom (well West of Transylvania), and the Hapsburg Emperor Rudolph requested help from surrounding countries. In late 1593 there was initial military success against the Turkish army. Prince Zsigmond Bathori, saying that he wants to be the part of eliminating the Turkish occupation from Hungary, sent emissaries to Rudolph and to the Pope in order to become part of their alliance. Enyedi delivered this cautionary sermon early 1594. In February of 1594 the official pact was signed making the Principality of Transylvania part of the Holy League with the obligation to coordinate military action with other participants.

The Transylvanian Diet never approved the war-plans of the Prince, nonetheless, Prince Zsigmond Bathori, took unauthorized action, and in March of 1594 attacked a Turkish-occupied town West of Transylvania. Because the promised military help to Rudolph never fully materialized, the Transylvanian forces were left unaided by the League to face a much larger Turkish dispatchment. In May of 1594 the Prince requested again approval of his plans (and budget) from the Diet which yet again refused.

The Transylvanian forces were eventually defeated by the Turkish army, and at the July 1594 Diet Prince Zsigmond Bathori abdicated. However, by August 1594 several generals declared their loyalty to the Prince, and he returned to Kolozsvar. The Prince then captured the leaders of the anti-war faction of the Diet, and had them executed by beheading or garroting. The Diet, thus, was forced to approve the war-plans of the Prince, and the wealth of the executed nobles were use to shore up the war budget.

Enyedi György was born in the town of Nagyenyed in Transylvania, and the current Unitarian Church there is partnered with the First Unitarian Church of Louisville, Kentucky.

In this sermon you look through a window into late XVIth century Transylvania, and hear the words of the third Bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church. The translation time machine will take you back to late 1500s, and allows you to listen to this gem of a sermon, available the first time in English.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonConcioCXC.

Summary of sermon: The author of the sermon deserves as much attention as the topic.  Enyedi György was the third bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church, until his death in 1597. He is called in some Hungarian language literature as the “Unitarian Plato”, because most of his writings and sermons focuses on the explanations of Bible verses.  He is noted for using everyday, mundane metaphors to teach the congregation about the meaning behind the words of Christ.  Hungarian translations of the Bible began to spread in his time, and it was important to teach churchgoers on their mother tongue about it.

In this sermon the Unitarian Plato continues from Concio CLXXXIX to explain the Christian path to salvation using Galatians 6:15 as the Bible verse.  Here Enyedi György discusses why uncircumcision is useless for salvation, and that a new creature is needed. He goes on to explain why that new creature is no other than “faith which worketh in love”, and “keeping the commandments of God”. Enyedi György also explains why the blessing that Paul speaks in Galatians 6 is so valuable even for people in our days.

Enyedi György was born in the town of Nagyenyed in Transylvania, and the current Unitarian Church there is partnered with the First Unitarian Church of Louisville, Kentucky.

In this sermon you look through a window into late XVIth century Transylvania, and hear the words of the third Bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church. The translation time machine will take you back to late 1500s, and allows you to listen to this gem of a sermon, available the first time in English.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonConcio2Tim2:23.

Summary of sermon: The author of the sermon deserves as much attention as the topic.  Enyedi György was the third bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church, until his death in 1597. He is called in some Hungarian language literature as the “Unitarian Plato”, because most of his writings and sermons focuses on the explanations of Bible verses.  He is noted for using everyday, mundane metaphors to teach the congregation about the meaning behind the words of Christ.  Hungarian translations of the Bible began to spread in his time, and it was important to teach churchgoers on their mother tongue about it.

In this sermon the Unitarian Plato acquaints us with the questions Apostle Paul considers “foolish and unlearned questions”. Enyedi concludes that the concept of trinity has generated many foolish and unlearned questions, and all that has led to strife. In addition, Enyedi György points to 2 Timothy 2:24-25 to ask the question whether trinitarians could be considered Christians, as they don’t follow the teachings of Apostle Paul written in that and in other verses. Enyedi provides a solution for stopping the bickering: let us focus on reaching salvation for ourselves, and our fellow human beings, because God didn’t promise salvation to those who explore foolish questions, but to those who follow God’s commandments.

Enyedi György was born in the town of Nagyenyed in Transylvania, and the current Unitarian Church there is partnered with the First Unitarian Church of Louisville, Kentucky.

In this sermon you look through a window into late XVIth century Transylvania, and hear the words of the third Bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church. The translation time machine will take you back to late 1500s, and allows you to listen to this gem of a sermon, available the first time in English.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonOpposita Concio JohZilvasi.

Summary of sermon: The author of the sermon deserves as much attention as the topic.  Enyedi György was the third bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church, until his death in 1597. He is called in some Hungarian language literature as the “Unitarian Plato”, because most of his writings and sermons focuses on the explanations of Bible verses.  He is noted for using everyday, mundane metaphors to teach the congregation about the meaning behind the words of Christ.  Hungarian translations of the Bible began to spread in his time, and it was important to teach churchgoers on their mother tongue about it.

The primary topic of the sermon is a response to a Catholic sermon preached by Johanness Zilvasi in Kolozsvár sometime in early October, 1593. That sermon used Ephesians 4 to argue for the “cutting down at the edge of the sword” all who doesn’t believe like us. Enyedi György responded to that open threat by teaching Christian unity from the same lines of Ephesians 4.  Enyedi György then explains from page 11 through 14 the basic arguments against the concept of Trinity.

Enyedi György was born in the town of Nagyenyed in Transylvania, and the current Unitarian Church there is partnered with the First Unitarian Church of Louisville, Kentucky.

In this sermon you look through a window into late XVIth century Transylvania, and hear the words of Bishop of the very Unitarian Church that was threatened with extermination. The translation time machine will take you back to 1593, October 17, and allows you to listen to this gem of a sermon, available the first time in English.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonFromCommunityaCathedral.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 2017. The topic of the sermon is the need to form a community from believers, and how that is comparable to the building of a cathedral from stones. An interesting aspect of this sermon is that it has an entire poem at the end of it. The author is currently the minister at the Unitarian church of Torda in Transylvania. In the 1990s he has participated in the movement “Unitárius Szószék” (Unitarian Pulpit) to reinvigorate sermon writing in Transylvania. The partner church of Torda is the First Parish Church in Weston, MA.

 

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonCelebratorySermon.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 2022 by Kriza János. The sermon was delivered at the worship service that included the Lord’s Supper, as this service consecrated a newly built Transylvanian Unitarian church building. This new church is a replica of the 18th century church located in Nyárádgálfalva, Transylvania (in Romania). The replica church was built in the Skanzen of Szentendre, Hungary, to be a part of a building complex that displays various aspects of Transylvanian cultural heritage. The original church at Nyárádgálfalva is described as one of the most picturesque among Transylvanian Unitarian churches. The interior has painted wooden casettes on the ceiling.   Kriza János is the current head of the Hungarian District of the Hungarian Unitarian Church.  The sermon reminds us that when Christian Unitarians partake in the Lord’s Supper they are keeping alive one of the two sacraments Jesus himself practiced, and all the disciples of Jesus would recognize as familiar to them. The Unitarian church is partnered with All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Kansas City.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonTheTrueJoy.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 1976 by Benedek Ágoston.  He started as a Unitarian  minister in the town of Beszterce, but in 1959 he was arrested by the Romanian Secret Service (Securitat) of the communist state, and on charge of anti-state activities he was sentenced to hard labor camp. He was released in 1963, and then he worked with the congregations of Homoródjánosfalva, Nagyenyed, and Kolozsvár.  This sermon was written several years after his release; he used the Bible text of Psalms 32:11.  The sermon explains that the true joy in our life is coming from honorable humane behavior, in-depth thinking, support of our neighbors, and the carrying out of good deeds. Benedek Ágoston passed away in 2002.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonThusFartheLordhasHelpedUs.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 2018 by Rácz Norbert Zsolt on the occasion of the unveiling of the  full size statue of Dávid Ferenc.   The statue is located near the Downtown Unitarian Church in Kolozsvár where Rácz Norbert Zsolt is the lead minister. The sermon uses the example of Samuel erecting the Ebenezer stone as a metaphor to describe the current situation that lead to the erection of the statue. Zsolt is urging us to keep the memory of this victory of the erection of the statue, so future generations will believe and will trust in the Lord and in His providence.  The partner church for the owntown Unitarian Church in Kolozsvár is King’s Chapel in Boston.

For full text go to the menu on top of the UnitarianTorch home page, click on Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons line, and then click on the title: SermonInauguration VargaBela.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 1938 by Dr. Varga Béla. He was elected bishop of the Hungarian Unitarian Church in 1938, and stayed in office till 1940. He returned to teaching philosophy and theology from 1940 till his death in 1942.  In his inauguration sermon Bishop Varga identifies the cause of restlessness and hopelessness in society as the consequence of mankind losing sight of each person being a child and coworker of God. “Only unconditional love can do away with the restlessness” he writes.