Tag: testvérgyülekezet

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: SermonConcioMark16.

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 topic of the sermon is the resurrection of Christ as described the Apostle Mark. The sermon was most likely preached in Kolozsvár at Easter time of 1594. Enyedi György places emphasis on describing the role of the women in receiving and spreading the good news  of the resurrection. He also points out that we derive a peace of mind knowing that just as Christ was resurrected so will we, believers, be  resurrected.

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 a contemporary of Shakespeare.  So, sit back, relax, allow your time machine to take you back to 1594, and enjoy 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: 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: 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: SermonTrueFairyTale.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 2009 by Lázár Levente. He is the minister at the Unitarian Church of Korond, in Transylvania. He was a Balazs scholar at the Starr King School for the Ministry in 2010-2011. The Korond Church is partnered with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, FL. The sermon includes the description of the birth of Jesus phrased as a fairy tale.  Levente urges us to use our inner child to accept and believe the Christmas story in the Gospel, and to believe instead of asking verification minute details in the story.

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: FuneralSermonBiroSamuel.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 1721 by Szentábrahámi Lombárd Mihály, and was preached in Latin over the casket of homoródszentmártoni Bíró Sámuel.   The title: “The Origin and Attributes of Justice” is very fitting, because the deceased was a judge of the Royal Court of Law.  The time period represents the height of the effort of the Habsburg Empire to rid Transylvania of Unitarians through forced catholicization, confiscation of property, denial of book printing, and the denial of promotion to high offices. Homoródszentmártoni Bíró Sámuel was one of those rare instances where a Unitarian was promoted to be councilor at the Royal Court of Law, so his death was a serious blow to the cause of Unitarians.  The preacher became the Bishop of Transylvanian Unitarian church in 1738. He is best know as the author of the most detailed explanations regarding Transylvanian Unitarian theology.

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: SermonConcioCXCIV.

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 topic of the sermon represents a  continuation of the teachings of David Ferenc, who wrote  and preached about the reasoning why Antitrinitarians (today’s Unitarians) find the concept of the Trinity unacceptable.  This sermon is the third part in a series of teachings on Psalm 2. I have previously shared the two preceeding sermons, Concio CXCII and Concio CXCIII. This sermon relies on verse 8 of Psalm 2 to complete the Antitrinitarian argument that Jesus Christ is not a person of the Godhead.  Enyedi wrote and preached this sermon under the extreme stress of persecution of the Unitarian Church in the form of confiscations of property, and forced catholicization of Unitarians.

In this sermon you look through a window into late XVIth century Transylvania, and hear the words of a contemporary of Shakespeare.  So, sit back, relax, allow your time machine to take you back to around 1597, and enjoy 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: SermonTheGiftofGod.

Summary of sermon: The sermon was written in 2010.   The sermon interprets a verse from the Old Testament in the book of Ecclesiastes; the wisdom related to the gift of God.    Mezei Csaba is an ordained Transylvanian unitarian minister serving at the Iris telep church in Kolozsvár.  They are partnered with the First Church in Boston, Massachusetts.    Mezei Csaba was a Starr King School of Ministry Balazs scholar in 1997-1998. He was a lecturer at the 2016 Minns Lectures.

The full text of the translated sermon (in conjunction with Concio CXCII) is published in print by the Journal of Unitarian Universalist History, 2021, Volume XLIV, pages 94-113.  In accordance with the publishing contract the full text of the translated sermon is now available on this website as Translated Sermon #28. From the main page of unitariantorch.com select the horizontal line “Translated Transylvanian Unitarian Sermons”, and scroll to and click on “SermonConcioCXCIII”

If you wish to see the back to back translation of Concio CXCII and CXCIII together with the expert historical analysis of Dr. Lovas Borbala, then please contact the Journal for a copy ($15). Dr Lovas Borbala is a historian who specializes in the Unitarian sermonic literature of the XVIth century,

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 topic of the sermon represents a  continuation of the teachings of David Ferenc, who wrote  and preached about the reasoning why Antitrinitarians (today’s Unitarians) find the concept of the Trinity unacceptable.  This sermon relies on the verses 7-8 of Psalm 2 to continue the Antitrinitarian argument that Jesus Christ is not a person of the Godhead.  Enyedi wrote and preached this sermon under the extreme stress of persecution of the Unitarian Church in the form of confiscations of property, and forced catholization of Unitarians.

In this sermon you look through a window into late XVIth century Transylvania, and hear the words of a contemporary of Shakespeare.  So, sit back, relax, allow your time machine to take you back to around 1597, and enjoy this gem of a sermon, available the first time in English.