The Settlement of the Village of Majos
Tolna County - In the 18th
Century
by
Heinrich Marz
(from
his book Heimatbuch und
Ortschronik von Majos/Majesch, 1997.)
Translated by Henry Fischer. Published at
DVHH.org,
8 Sept 2007 by Jody McKim Pharr.
The
expulsion of the Turks from Hungary under the leadership of Charles
of Lorraine and the Bavarian Prince Max Emmanuel resulted in the
liberation of Majos in 1686. It appears that the local population
fled the area during the conflict. In the census of Tolna County in
1696 Majos is not even mentioned. Later some South Slavs
(Croatians) resided in the community. In 1715 there were still four
taxpaying Croat farmers in Majos but no Germans. Johann Weidlein
suggested that Germans settled here between 1713-1715 but that
cannot be substantiated. The County Archives in Szekszard speak of
twelve Franconian families living in Majos in 1720 replacing the
Croats who had left. The question is: Were the Germans really from
Franconia (now the northern part of Bavaria). And secondly, when
did they actually arrive?
There is nothing definite that can
be said about the original German colonists in Majos. What we know
for certain is that the nobleman Franz Kung signed a settlement
contract on September 28, 1720 with:
Johann Heinrich
Neun
Andreas Glits
Johann Heinrich
Schneider
Augustinius
Deckmann
On the
basis of the “Church Chronicles of Majos” the first German settlers
arrived in 1720. That, however, is not probable. No landlord would
sign a settlement treaty with subjects that he did not know very
well. It stands to reason that they had arrived at least the
previous year and Kun had the opportunity to observe their
industriousness and skills as farmers. In addition, Franz Kun
attests on March 22, 1727 that pastor Andreas Christoph von Wieder,
who is referred to as the third pastor in the Minutes of the
Lutheran congregation, was actually the fourth pastor to serve in
Majos. According to the Church Records, pastor Schwarzfelder was
the first, followed by Egerland who was second, and then von Wieder
who was the third. But Franz Kun insisted that von Wieder was the
fourth. We know now that he was correct. Before Schwarzfelder ever
undertook his ministry in Majos, he had been preceded by Samuel
Bertram, who had been driven out of the village by the Roman
Catholic authorities. We are now quite certain that Germans lived
in Majos before 1720 and had their own pastor, and after his
expulsion from Majos they moved on themselves. That is probably the
reason for the Second Point in the settlement agreement that
states:
“…they are to
build here again, where the village
formerly stood
and rebuild the seventy houses
and resettle
the village with other good people.”
Where did these original settlers
come from? Where did they go? When did they first arrive in Majos?
They were excellent settlers according to the above excerpt from the
new contract agreement. There are no answers to our questions and
those who followed them had no knowledge of their predecessors. The
only thing we know about them was that they were evangelisch
(Lutherans) and their pastor Samuel Bertram came from Magdeburg in
Saxony, and because he was “a foreigner” he was run out of the
village and the County, and was then quickly followed by the members
of his congregation.
A book
entitled: Eleven Families from Bleichenbach Emigrate to Hungary
in 1722 was published in 1929. Among the eleven families were
Augustinius Deckmann and Johann Heinrich Neun who were among the
signatories of the first settlement contract in Majos. Pastor
Johann George Blum provided this information in the book. He served
the Lutheran congregations in Selters, Bleichenbach, Wippenbach and
Konradsdorf. In the parish records he left behind, he left a
significant note about “the emigration to Hungary”. He mentions
that the loss of over sixty souls in his congregation in
Bleichenbach saddened him greatly. There was also a family from
Selters that joined the group from Bleichenbach. There is no
additional information about the result of the emigration,
provisions for their journey, the travel route they took, or how
long their journey lasted. This is the final entry with regard to
this notation by the pastor:
“…as the Turks fled Hungary from
1683 to 1717 and left it a wasteland, the Emperor of the Holy
Roman Empire announced that Roman Catholics, Lutherans and
Reformed were welcome to come and settle in Hungary and they
would be free of providing labour for their landlord for several
years, and were guaranteed freedom of religion and conscience.
As a result, many people from the Pfalz, Wetterau, Vogelsburg,
Darmstadt and Hanau were quick to leave, seeking a better
economic situation. They soon learned that they had a lot of
hard work ahead of them, and many of them wished they had stayed
at home in Germany, as David suggests in Psalm 37:3.”
In 1722, the
following Lutheran inhabitants from Bleichenbach left for Hungary:
Heinrich Liebegott (an assessor at
Court) his wife and seven children Johann Heinrich Neun, his
wife Anna Maria and seven children Weigand Deckmann, wife Anna
Maria and seven children Johannes Ritzel, his wife Elisabeth
Margareta, and four children Catharina Liebegott, widow of Hans
Liebegott and her two sons Johann George Rausch, wife Anna
Catharina and their children Christofel Pflug, a tile maker,
Roman Catholic and his wife Margareta and seven children all of
whom were Lutherans Johann Conrad Deckmann and wife Anna
Margareta Johann Heinrich Ritzel, his wife Elisabeth who was
Reformed
In the
previous year, Hans Jakob Arndt a Reformed villager in Bleichenbach
and his Lutheran wife Elisabeth and their son who was Reformed and
their three Lutheran daughters left for Hungary.
(Translator’s
note: There were a minimum of 40 children involved in this
exodus, which is hardly ever mentioned in descriptions of the Great
Swabian Migration into Hungary. It is also important to note the
degree of mixed marriages among them as well. The Arndt family is
especially significant in that the tradition of sons following the
religion of their father and daughters that of their mother was
brought with the settlers to Hungary and would continue on in
Hungary up to the expulsion of the Danube Swabians in 1946-1948.)
All of
the above individuals and families ended up settling in Majos.
Johann Ritzel, one of the new arrivals died on October 29, 1722 less
than a year after coming to Majos. It appears that these families
were in contact with Germany by letter and many others came in
response to their encouragement to join them in Hungary.
In the Tax List of
1727/1728 a Latin notation points out:
“One can say
that the village of Majos had reverted to wilderness in long
times past, but in 1720 one began to settle it with Franconians
and some other nationalities and were granted three years of
freedom from labour from their landlords and the right for
families to inherit land. It belonged to the highborn
noblemen, Lord Baron Schilson and Lord Franz
Kun."
The
estate owners ruled both the County and their subjects and received
the land for services rendered to the Emperor during the Turkish
campaign. Before the Turkish occupation the land and forests had
belonged to the magnates and nobles. During the 150 year long
occupation by the Turks many of the estate owners fled or their
families died out and there were no heirs after the Turks were
expelled. As a result, the Emperor was free to use these
“orphaned” estates as payment or recognition of his faithful
military and political allies, promising thereby continued loyalty
to the Habsburgs. That is how the estates passed into the hands of
Franz Kun and Baron Schilson and was later sold to the Perzel
family.
(Translator’s
note: The Settlement Treaty with Franz Kun follows in the text,
which I am not including, except for Point Thirteen.)
“The calling of
a pastor and the practice of religion was subject to the
Emperor’s will and the approval of the County. The costs of
supporting a pastor, building a church or parsonage were at the
total expense of the settlers down to the last penny.”
In the
Tax List prepared by the County in 1720, the following families are
listed for Majos. (Translator’s note: The Hungarian
officials who prepared the list did so on the basis of what they
thought they heard when the settlers were asked their family names.
They would have assumed they were illiterate as were their Hungarian
serfs. I have provided the actual German names wherever possible.)
Joannes Hoffman
Michael Snaider (Schneider)
Joannes Paulus Secl (Jackel)
Augustin Tekmann (Deckmann)
Conrad Nay (Neun)
Joannes Wilhelm Spiznagel (Spitznagel) | Joannes Christoph Smit (Schmidt)
Joannes Peter Rauch (Rausch)
Joannes Conrad Kenich (Konig)
Just Dewich
Andreas Klics (Glits)
Conrad Amd (Arndt) |
In 1723 another group of colonists settled in Majos and these names are
taken from the Tax Lists as above.
Heinrich Hesz (Hess)
Peter Edlmann (Edelmann)
Peter Pekt (Becht, Bechtel)
Paulus Wilhem
Christian Pucher (Bucher)
Caspar Raver (?)
Jakobus Danyer (?)
Johannes Schen (Schon)
Joannes Kirner (Kerner)
Friderich Mulak (?) |
Philippus Schlajer (Schleier)
Peter Fischer
Joannes Praun (Braun)
Vencl Miler (Wenzel Muller)
Paulus Hesz (Hess)
Petrus Hesz (Hess)
Stephan Hausz (Haas)
Andreas Vaihaldt (?)
Christian Pukler (Puchler, Pichler)
Friedericus Malch (Mailach) |
The following names were added to the Tax Lists by the County
authorities in 1724:
Joannes Spitznagel
Philip Krais (Krauss)
Joannes Henrich Kraft
Joannes Peter Weber
Conrad Tekmann (Deckmann)
Joannes Daupert (Taubert)
Thomas Denns (Denz)
Georgius Sporer
Johannes Sisler (Schissler)
Ditrich Romeisser |
Jakob
Tewich (Dewich)
Joannes Peter Poth (Both)
Joannes Peter Edlmann (Edelmann)
Friederich Mannah (?)
Joannes Kruk (Krug)
Joannes Felte (Felde)
Joannes Fulhaur (Faulhaber)
Joannes Caspar Praun (Braun)
Philip Slajer (Schleier)
Peter Herczperger (Hertzberger) |
Later that year they added the names of the following new settlers:
Heinrich Zimmermann Henrich Tekmann (Deckmann)
Joan Peter Jekel (Jackl) Paulus Wilhelm |
Petrus Herczperger (Hertzberger) Joannes Praun (Braun) Konig
Henrich Beber (Becker) |
In 1725 these new colonists came to Majos and were added to the list:
Paulus Klan (Klein)
Petrus Riczel (Ritzel)
Stefan Raus (Rausch)
Philip Vagner (Wagner)
Andreas Vainhuk (Weingk my guess)
Franc Widera |
Christof Suker (Zucher)
Henrich Hess
Petrus Edlmann (Edelmann)
Venselsius Miller
R. Nicolai Oberndorfer
Desiderius Malach (Mailach) |
From the records of deaths, some of the following places of origin can
be identified:
Lorch,
Wuerttemberg
Burgenland
Bleichenbach,
Hesse
Nortingen
Klingenbergen
Griesheim
Magelsdorf bei
Nurnberg
Windesheim
Lindach, Swabia
Ortenberg,
Bavaria
Magdeburg,
Saxony
Bierstein
The Chronicles of the
Lutheran Church in Majos
The history of
the Lutheran congregation in Majos must be seen against the backdrop
of the Counter Reformation, which attempted to convert all
non-Catholics. The Roman Catholics were prepared to use all of the
force necessary to accomplish this. Since all of the settlers in
Majos were Lutherans they would battle for the freedom to practice
their faith in the decades ahead. This freedom of religion had been
granted and guaranteed to them at the time of their emigration into
Hungary by the Emperor Charles VI. Only with the publication of the
Edict of Toleration and the permission of Emperor Joseph II would
the lot of the Lutherans be improved when they were permitted to
build churches and parsonages, as well as freely call their pastors
and schoolmasters. But it would take years to achieve full
religious freedom. Although they were allowed to build their
churches, they could not be on a street but behind the houses or at
the very end of the village. The entrance to the church could not
face or be seen from the street. The Majos church building was
built on a hill, at the outskirts of the village totally removed
from any street and without a tower. The prohibition against having
a tower was only lifted by Emperor Joseph II on January 27, 1789.
The resettlement
of Majos is identified with the coming of the German colonists in
1720 for which there is documented proof. The Church Minutes in
Majos report:
“In the year of our Lord 1720 we came from
Germany
in response to the invitation of His
Glorious Imperial
Majesty, Emperor Charles VI with the full
assurance we
were allowed the full expression of our
religion if we
settled in Hungary.”
(Translator’s
note: This is one of many documented cases referring to the
Emperor’s religious concessions to Ernst Ludwig of Hesse who made
that a condition before he allowed the Emperor’s recruiters to enter
his territories in search of settlers, which further indicates their
origins were in Hesse.)
As pointed out
earlier, these settlers had been preceded by other German Lutheran
colonists a year or two previously. The Royal State Chancellery in
1730 recorded a note to the effect that, “It is understood that
before 1720 religious life in Majos had already begun.” Obviously
German Lutherans were in Majos as early as 1717-1718. However,
there is no direct written account of that settlement. Others
suggest either 1713 or 1715 as the date of their arrival, but
without any historical documented substantiation for the claim.
Franz Kun gave permission for the building of a Bethaus in
1720 to serve as a place for worship and a school and the so-called
“first” pastor, Jeremias Schwarzwalder was also installed at that
time. He also acted as the schoolmaster.
The above
information was first compiled by Pastor Hagen who began to serve in
Majos in 1784. He found only scattered notes and developed a
comprehensive report out of them. It is possible that he overlooked
the fact that another pastor had served in Majos before
Schwarzwalder, or found no evidence to substantiate it. There are
other references to Schwarzwalder as the first pastor, i.e. the
Rausch family Bible. Only the attestation of Franz Kun mentioned
previously, which was dated 27.03.1727 states, “The exiled pastor
von Wieder was driven out of Majos a second time, and he was the
fourth in line of the pastors who served Majos. Before von Wieder,
there had been Egerland and before him Schwarzwalder.” If in fact,
there were four pastors, who then was Schwarzwalder’s predecessor?
It was Betram.
In Anton
Tafferner’s source book on Danube Swabian historical writings he
includes a report written by George Barany on the development of
Lutheran congregations in the Tolna and its environs and relates the
following:
“In 1719 the
German Lutheran congregation was established in Varsad along with a
filial group in Kalazno, and at the same time the congregation in
Majos on the estates of Baron Schilson and Filials in Hidas
and Ciko were organized, along with the German congregations in
Izmeny, Kismanyok, Mucsfa and Bataapati. Later German congregations
were established in Kistormas and a filial in Felsonana. In the
same year congregations were organized in Moragy and Tofu.”
(Translator’s
note: Filial is a term used to describe an organized
congregation without a resident pastor associated with a pastor
serving another congregation. In effect they formed a parish.
Filial is part of the term affiliation.)
Barany then
reports on the pastor who served in Majos:
Bertram
Egerland
Wieder (somestimes
von Wieder)
At the first
“synod convention” of the Evangelical Lutherans in Tolna County held
in Szarszentlorincz in 1725, the pastor from Majos, Wieder was
elected as the Inspector of the German-speaking congregations in the
Seniorat.
(Translator’s
note: The term Seniorat is the designation used to describe the
church organization the Lutherans formed beyond the level of the
local congregation which in North America would be called Districts
or Synods.)
The name of
Schwarzwalder is missing in the list of pastors in Majos. But he is
named as the pastor in Varsad. That he also served in Gyonk for a
short time is not mentioned. Barany could have made an error in
this regard.
In
Spiegel-Schmidt’s history, Schwarzwalder accompanied the settlers
who arrived in Varsad in 1718. He was unable to minister there for
very long. The Roman Catholic bishop of Pecs, Count Nesselrode, who
was also High Sheriff of Tolna County had the pastor thrown into
prison. He suffered torture and other physical abuse for six months
in an attempt to convert him. He would not be released until he
promised not serve as a Lutheran “preacher” or serve a congregation
in Tolna County. In spite of that restriction, in 1720 the Majos
church register records some interesting information in the section
dealing with deaths and funerals as follows: “The deceased Anna
Maria Blesserin, beloved wife of Johann Peter Blesser was buried in
Kismanyok, with the funeral sermon preached by the pastor of Majos,
Schwarzwalder.” He also baptized a child in Majos on September 27.
1720. The parents were Christian Johann Schadel and Anna Barbara.
Pastor
Schwarzwalder was expelled again, this time from Majos in 1722 as
his predecessor Friedrich Samuel Betram of Magdeburg had been
earlier. In effect, Schwarwalder was the second pastor to serve in
Majos. We also learn in Spiegel-Schmidt’s book that Schwarzwalder
headed for Gyonk on his expulsion from his pastorate in Majos. But
after a very short time he was to be found in Bakonyscsernye where
he served for the next five years and where he was buried.
A Lutheran
archivist, Count Stephan Zichy reports:
“When he became
ill in 1731, the pastor of Bakonyscernye was taken to Mor for
medical help. After the ill pastor took the prescribed medicine he
immediately began to sweat and died shortly afterwards. His
congregation attempted to take his body back to Bakonyscernye for
burial. The Capuchin monks at Mor attempted to hinder that. Only
after long consultations and hearings was the congregation able to
secure his body and carry out the funeral back at home. The church
records in Varsad indicate their suspicions that their former pastor
had been poisoned by the local barber who was awarded honours by the
Capuchin monks for his “holy work”.”
(Translator’s
note: Barbers served as surgeons, apothecaries and doctors as a
sideline to their profession. The monks at Mor are best known for
the mobs they led to raid the homes of the Lutherans in nearby
Pusztavam (Ondod) for bibles, catechisms and hymnbooks which
they publicly burned and regularly hauled off their pastors and
schoolmasters to prison including Georg Mossberger the translator’s
ancestor.)
Following the
banishment of Schwarzwalder, the Majos congregation presented a
petition to the County Administration to request permission to have
the freedom to practice their faith as had been promised by the
Emperor. When a decision was reached, the Assistant Sheriff of the
County summoned the congregational leaders to Szekszard and informed
them of their negative conclusion based on information from the
Emperor. The representatives of the congregation defended
themselves and replied:
“…Someone must
have made a mistake and we beg the County to find the man who is
responsible, because the congregation in Majos does not want to
appear in a bad light, and we request that a permanent pastor be
allowed to serve us, since the pastor from Varsad had served Majos
ever since 1720 and what is just and legal for the congregation in
Varsad should also be extended to the Majos Lutherans.”
It appears that
Schwarzwalder was still listed as the Varsad “preacher” by the
County in 1722, even though at that time he had a ministry in Majos
as well. From the Minutes of the General Convention of the County
in Szekszard on May 18, 1722 they report that at the request of Lord
Kapuzi Gyogy, the vicar of Pecs, the Convention ordered the arrest
of the Varsad preacher with the help of security forces and if found
guilty he was to be turned over to the magistrate of the County for
punishment.
On October 7,1722
the Majos congregation secured a new pastor, Johann Egerland,
formerly a pastor in Gyor (Raab). He served the congregation for
two years and died while in office. His funeral was held in the
Bethaus. Nothing else is known of this man or his ministry.
The next pastor
arrived in 1724, whose name was Andreas Christoph von Wieder from
Pressburg which is present day Bratislava, and he was apparently a
nobleman. The badgering and pestering of the pastor by the County
and Roman Catholic Church officials was so bad that the congregation
sent a letter to the Emperor.
(Translator’s
comment: One has to admire the fortitude and determination of
our ancestors and their recklessness in dealing with officialdom
when it came to a matter of their faith and their rights.)
Their letter,
written in Latin says in part:
“From among the
masses who were only too happy to respond to your Gracious Majesty’s
invitation to establish colonies in Your Kingdom of Hungary, we also
in the same way have trusted in Your leniency and gentleness as our
Sovereign, and for that reason we believed you would protect us
against all disturbers of our peace, and all kinds of
unpleasantness. Because of our trust in you and with a subject’s
deep respect, we are compelled to share the following with you. In
1720 we came here in possession of your promise for the full
freedom to practice our faith publicly in Tolna County, long before
this recent decision by the so-called Commission in Pest. In 1725
an order from the Royal State Chancellery was made public that
improved the conditions with which Lutheran pastors in Hungary had
to deal. As a result the Lutheran pastor in Majos was re-instated
in his office. Up to 1725 the County Administration put all kinds
of difficulties in motion directed against the Lutherans, but the
pastor in Majos was not attacked directly since he was a nobleman.
Meanwhile the County took the Richter of Majos captive,
beating him, putting him in chains and dragged him off to
Simontoryna, the capital of the County. There he was thrown into
prison, innocent of any offence, treated just like a criminal, where
he had to do all of the dirty work and was kept there for several
weeks.”
(Translator’s
note: The Richter was one of the villagers nominated by the
landlord to act as his representative and act on his behalf. He was
responsible for collecting the tithes the villagers paid to the
landlord and organized the free labour to be done on the nobleman’s
estate but also acted as the spokesman for the villagers when
approaching the landlord, officials and government authorities.)
“All of this was
done to intimidate the Majos Lutherans and weaken their resolve to
remain Lutherans, so that they would banish their pastor to finally
get some peace. This was made very clear to the pastor through an
understanding he had with the County Judge. The Judge had declared
that as long as the pastor was in the village there could be no hope
of talk of freeing the imprisoned Richter. The County was prepared
to take other measures should the pastor be unwilling or refused to
leave. The County threatened the confiscation of the pastor’s
property/possessions and with also banning other members of the
congregation. As a result of such great pressure and hindrances on
the part of the County and also indirectly by the activities on the
Roman Catholic clergy in the nearby neighbourhood, the pastor would
have had to leave, except for the fact that like the Lutheran
colonists on the estates of Count von Mercy, they had an Imperial
Decree from the Emperor which protected them. The Majos Lutherans,
like all of the colonists on the von Mercy estates, had come to
Hungary with the assurance they could trust the word of the State,
and would be true to the Sovereign and gave him respect and
loyalty.
This trust in His
Majesty was now disturbed, because by now we have invested many
thousands of Gulden in the development of the village and vineyards
as we had agreed to do in our settlement treaty with our noble
landlord. It would be painful for us to have the last of what we
own stolen from us and have to leave here and return to our former
homeland.
That is why we
throw ourselves before the throne of your Righteousness, Gracious
Sovereign and Majesty, to issue a gracious decree to the County to
earnestly uphold all of the measures guaranteed to us in religious
matters, to re-instate our pastor in his ministry and that all of
the other issues be resolved. In response, the people of Majos will
continue to provide loyal service to His Majesty…”
This communiqué
to the Emperor created panic in officialdom and the Superior Court
Judge and a representative of the County Administration arrived in
Majos to investigate the matters raised by the congregation.
But there is also
an explanation given on the part of pastor who noted on November 24,
1726:
“This is to
confirm and attest to my discussions with the highborn and noble
Judge, Gabriel Gocze who met with me and delivered the decision that
I had to leave the village of Majos and bow to the actions taken by
the County. In good faith I also had to a sign a statement that
within a space of approximately two weeks I would leave Majos,
because I needed that time to prepare and move my furnishings.”
It must be
mentioned here that during the pastorate of von Wieder the latest
persecution was carried out with great pressure against all
concerned. In pastor Barany’s report on the persecution in
Tafferner’s book, he indicates that Pastor von Wieder as the Church
Inspector of the Seniorat led the opposition against the County, but
he was ignored and they shrugged off his efforts on behalf of Majos
and Nagyszekely. At the same time, while Barany was writing to the
Emperor around 1742, another persecution was being unleashed and
County troops had taken possession of the Lutheran Bethaus in
Mekenyes, while the Bethaus in Izmeny was damaged and their bell
tower was destroyed.
The pastor and
congregation in Majos received support from their noble landlord,
Franz Kun. He wrote the following affidavit on their behalf:
“I affirm and
attest that Herr Andreas Wieder began to serve in Majos in 1723, in
the District of the Royal County of Tolna, the fourth Lutheran
pastor to do so. He is not guilty of any human weaknesses; he
always expressed his respect and honoured all Roman Catholics, as
well as exemplified his Protestant piety, a sober and honourable man
who was forced to leave Majos as a result of the indirect pressures
and openly hostile activities of the Royal County. This statement
is for the purpose of clearing up the truth of this matter. Bonyhad,
March 22, 1727.”
A further
document will show that the Judge was not responsible for these
actions by the Royal State Chancellery. The Judge, Gabriel Gocze
claims on March 23, 1727:
“…with regard to
Herr Andreas Christoph Wieder, the pastor of those holding to the
Augsburg Confession in Majos, that is located in a district of Tolna
County, and belongs to the land holdings and estates of the noble
born Baron von Schilson and the highly esteemed Lord Franz Kun, I
wish to state that the expulsion order for the said pastor to leave
was not a decision I made on my own part, but by order of the Royal
State Chancellery which yielded to the pressure exerted by the
County Administration, and the Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy.
The pastor was further forbidden to hold any worships services
anywhere…”
The Judge
attempted to wash his hands of any guilt in the matter, since it
appeared that Kun was definitely on the side of his subject serfs
and the pastor involved. Not only did Kun thereby maintain good
relations with his peasants in Majos but his peasants worked
diligently for him and paid their taxes.
The following
document concerns the fate of the imprisoned Richter of Majos and
comes from the Royal State Chancellery. The document begins in
superlatives in describing the esteem and honour in which the
Chancellery holds those who adhere to the Augsburg Confession!
(Translator’s
note: The Augsburg Confession is the statement of faith that
the Lutheran lay representatives presented at the Diet of Augsburg
in 1530 to the Habsburg Emperor and is normative for all Lutheran
congregations to this day.)
“We wish to
forward the memorandum enclosed from his Imperial Majesty addressed
to the inhabitants of Majos, which is located in Tolna County, the
following: The County has forwarded this memorandum of the Imperial
Chamber to deal graciously with it as we investigate on what grounds
the procedures taken against your Richter were undertaken. In
matters of religion, the Carolina Resolutio of the
Emperor, the Sovereign has precedence and does not permit the
introduction of any new infractions that are all subject to the
interpretation of the special commission in Pest. On this basis, we
believe, dear noble estate owners you are required to inform us of
the grounds upon which the actions were taken against the Richter of
Majos.”
It was signed by
the Royal State Chancellery, June 9, 1727 at a session in Pressburg,
with the signatures of Count Nicholas Palfy, Baron Adam von Mesko
and John Adelffy.
The following
letter was written in response. The authors were Johann Dalmata,
magistrate of the Royal County of Tolna and Nikolaus Fardics a
representative of the County Administration. It is in Latin and
partially in Hungarian.
“In the year 1727
on July 3rd, we the undersigned carried out a legal
investigation in the village of Majos located in Tolna County. The
investigation consisted of questions put to witnesses, as to who and
what needed to be considered. What could each witness reveal about
the nationally known and heroic Judge, Gocze Gabor and the grounds
for the order of the County for the expulsion of their preacher?
What the witness saw and heard from the mouth of the preacher and
also what he heard in the village.
The first witness
was Stefan Kis, a soldier serving the County, about 37 years old,
under solemn oath he said, “I was in the company of my Lord Judge,
because at the time he wanted to use force to remove the preacher
from the County if necessary. He (Wieder) said, “I protest. I am a
nobleman and I have my people. If you lay one finger on me, I
assure you there will be consequences.” The villagers of Majos also
heard this. But from the mouths of the members of the congregation
we also heard them say, “We will spill our own blood to stop you
from expelling or arresting our pastor. He (Wieder) also
interpreted this to the rest of us who knew only Hungarian. The
preacher spoke audibly in Hungarian to all.”
Others who were
present at the time affirmed this eyewitness report. Franz Toth
from Pari, a leader of the glorious Royal County aged 30 years. The
third witness was Andreas Beczo from Bonyhad, also a leader of the
glorious County, about 37 years old. The fourth witness was Johann
Beszte from Varalja, another County official, about 50 years of
age.
Their testimonies
were recorded and sealed.”
Under the date of
July 5, 1727 a report to the County Administration of Tolna and the
Emperor from the Superior Court Judge with regard to his
investigation of the request and correspondence of the Majos
congregation to the King, dealt with the issue of the freedom of
religion.
“The gracious
magistrates of this glorious County of Tolna, examined and
investigated the memorandum sent to the Emperor by the inhabitants
of Majos.
Then in the name
of the whole congregation, the following persons from Majos appeared
in our presence. The ringleader of the rabble, Johann Setel (Translator’s
note: should obviously be Schadel) who following his
declaration and testimony remained in chains in the County dungeon
in Simontornya; Andreas Klicz (Klitsch) the assistant Richter and
also Johann Hoffmann, Ernst Steter, Johann Rudolff, Andreas Vayhalt
(Translator’s note: the name is probably Weinhold) and
finally Wilhelm Spiessnagel (Spitznagel). We proceeded to read Your
Majesty’s memorandum and explained it to them. They listened to us
in rather great consternation and answered it as follows: that they
knew nothing of this matter and had never heard of it, and they
blamed no one for it. There was some evil-minded person who wanted
a pretext to create hatred against them. All of this was unknown to
them. They returned the Emperor’s memorandum and requested that it
be sent back to the Emperor under protest because they were not
prepared to accept it.
On this basis,
the community of Majos requested that the glorious County of Tolna
not punish them because of this matter. Concerning the question of
the religious preference of the community of Majos, it had been
clear to all that in 1720 the well-known pastor in Varsad served
Majos as a filial congregation. But as early as in the following
year of 1721 Majos had its own pastor who subscribed to the Augsburg
Confession with the full permission of the Commission in Pest.
Because of
contemporary correspondence and documents presented by the
delegation, one had to acknowledge the establishment and founding a
Lutheran pastorate in Majos and the beginning of a ministry by the
first pastor in 1720, and public worship was allowed and not
forbidden in that year. In that year, the Majos congregation was
assisted to become a self-sustaining parish. This document is dated
July 5, 1727 and signed by Johann Dalmata, Superior Court Judge of
the glorious County of Tolna and Nikolaus Furdics, County
Administrator.”
The real reason
for interrogating the Majos delegation was to uphold and preserve
the “true Catholic faith”. The document indicates that the Richter
and the other representatives of Majos claimed to have knowledge of
the petition sent to the Emperor. No actual document has been found
or an author identified. Is it possible that it was Schadel, who is
called the ringleader and was claimed to be stubborn and belligerent
who was actually its author?
On July 5, 1727
the congregation of Majos made an application to the County for
permission to have and retain a pastor.
Franz Kun, along
with Baron von Schilson, who were the joint owners and landlords of
Majos, were not Lutherans themselves, but were fond and devoted to
Protestantism in general. On July 7, 1727 the County General
Assembly met at Szekszard. Johann Ferenczffy, a lawyer, and the
treasurer of Tolna County, reported that he noticed that Franz Kun
was a signatory to various religious writings of the pastor of Majos
who was a Lutheran serving in Majos, which had been published and
for which Franz Kun paid the printing costs. He then praised Kun
over the contents of the literary works of the Protestant preacher
because he emphasized the similarities between the Lutheranism and
Catholicism and did not engage in polemics. But then Ferenczffy
brought up the fact that these “cheap” editions and writings could,
however, create great damage to the Roman Catholic faith if not
understood in the correct context.
The following is
an excerpt from the Protocols of the County Assembly:
“…that is why
Johann Ferenczffy called for Franz Kun to be ordered to appear
before the County Court for his scandalous activities and their
consequences. The inhabitants of Majos were also charged, because
they had illegally contacted the Emperor with a petition that
complained against the County. For that reason they would have to
stand before the Court and surrender a copy of their petition. The
Investigating Committee would be named later in the Minutes…”
There is a
notation in the Minutes of the County Administration dated July 9,
1727 to the effect that the County Administration thanked the Royal
State Chancellery in Pressburg for supporting the expulsion of the
Lutheran pastor in Majos and accepting the complaints against the
Richter of Majos who was imprisoned in Simontoryna. Further, they
reiterated that the petition of the Majos congregation was without
any validity. The complaints against the County were unfounded and
without any truth.
The truth of the
matter was that the Lutherans of Majos simply wanted to take
advantage of the promises made to them by high officials of the
State that upon emigrating to Hungary they would be free to practice
their Lutheran faith freely and openly without an hindrances. They
worked hard and were loyal to their noble landlords. They provided
the support for their pastors and schoolmasters, whenever they were
allowed to fulfill their office in Majos and not be expelled from
the village. All of this was too much for the County, the State and
the Roman Catholic Church. In future, whenever they did not have a
pastor of their own they sought the services of the pastor in
Kismanyok. Most of the entries with regard to births, deaths,
marriages related to Majos during these periods can be found in the
Kismanyok Parish Register. But that included other villages as well
who were faced with the same situation: Bataapati, Bonyhad, Ciko,
Csibrik, Gyore, Musfa, Hidas, Izmeny, Mekenyes, Moragy, Toffu and
Varalja. All of them experienced difficulties and persecution,
harassment and hindrances directed against any attempts to carry out
any form of Lutheran church life.
After the
banishment of Pastor von Wieder in 1726 there was a pastor serving
Majos but there is no record of his name. Pastor Hagen who arrived
as pastor in 1784 during the construction of the church wrote the
following in the Church Chronicle:
“In 1729 in the
Year of Our Lord, our pastor was expelled from Majos, accompanied by
two Hungarian Hussars and the County Magistrate carrying out the
orders of the County and the Bishop of Pecs. His identity, however,
escapes us.”
The following
document was probably written some time between 1729 and 1730. It
relates to the Lutheran pastors in both Majos and Hidas and the
report is written by the Roman Catholic Administrator of the Roman
Catholic Parish of Bonyhad:
“The action was
taken as ordered by His Majesty the Emperor through the Royal State
Chancellery that the ministers of the Augsburg Confession in the
villages of Majos and German Hidas be expelled because they were
placed in office contrary to the Emperor’s decree and that the
villages are filials of the Roman Catholic Parish of Bonyhad and
belong to it. The local inhabitants in terms of the care of souls
and pastoral services will not be served by Lutheran pastors as per
the regulations of Leopold II and strengthened by the decrees of
Charles VI, the so-called Carolina Resolutio. The fact that the
Lutheran pastors went beyond serving their villages but also went to
other villages on foot to provide pastoral care and celebrate the
sacraments is well known to the General Assembly of the County even
though the Imperial decision forbids this. None of the inhabitants
of the villages, however, will admit to this.
On the basis of
this, they seek to bring a minister of their own Confession from
somewhere else to preach in their prayer houses unless they have a
schoolmaster of their religion who leads them in worship. In this
way they seek to avoid the use and payment for priestly services to
the Roman Catholic Parish in Bonyhad, which is their legal
obligation. The Calvinist inhabitants in the town have joined them
in this disobedience. And what is even worse, our greatest concern
is that the Roman Catholic rectory because of age and poor
construction threatens to collapse any day now. Because of that, I
beg the glorious General Assembly of the County to forbid the
minister of the Augsburg Confession in Kismanyok the right to make
pastoral visits to Majos and Hidas, because the Lutherans in Majos
and Hidas, as well as the Reformed believers in Bonyhad are
responsible for supporting the Bonyhad Roman Catholic Parish on a
yearly basis providing subsidy by Imperial decree. In addition,
they are required to earnestly comply so that the rectory in Bonyhad
may by renovated and become a worthy residence for the parish
priest. And when the tithes and fees in wine, produce and money
appropriate to the compiled assessment of the named pastorates, done
in the presence of their landlords, are carried out and paid, the
landlords be ordered by the General Assembly to return the acreage
assigned for the support of the priest.”
After most of the
Lutheran congregations in the district surrounding Bonyhad were
orphaned by the expulsion of their pastors, they requested pastoral
services from the pastor in Kismanyok. The Roman Catholic priest
created an uproar with the County officials not only because of his
loss of fees and revenue from the Lutherans, but also because this
stood in the way of their conversion. This led to the next
difficulty and complaint.
The Administrator
of the Roman Catholic Parish in Bonyhad, Lord Michael Kocziany,
complained to the County Assembly in writing on October 22, 1736:
“I have been
forced to acknowledge on my own authority that the “little” pastor
of the Augsburg Confession has taken his jurisdiction beyond the
borders of his parish, namely Kismanyok.
(Translator’s
note: He uses the term “little” in a pejorative sense. The
Hungarian word for little is “kis” as in Kismanyok. The village is
a stone’s throw away from the larger village of Nagymanyok. Nagy
means: big or large. The Lutheran pastor is nothing but a little
frog in a big pond.)
The man dares to
provide pastoral care in my filial congregations, above all in Majos
and Hidas, but to what extent I cannot determine for certain. At
the same time he is also receiving income, not only the fees that
should come to me, but other income as well. This is a terrible
shame, and is an affront to the Roman Catholic Church and the laws
of the land and our holy faith. The parishioners in the above named
filials were forced to pay him on the basis of previous claims I
have made. In addition, members of the local Calvinist sect go to
great lengths to blaspheme against us. As a result of these
blasphemies against God, it is becoming very frightening, for when
God acts he will punish many innocent people when He eventually
responds…”
After the
Lutheran pastors were expelled in Majos and most of the other
settlements, by order of the State and County, all of the Lutherans
now belonged to the Roman Catholic Parish of Bonyhad. In this way
they wanted to force the Lutherans to accept Roman Catholic
ministrants for baptisms, marriages and funerals and gradually
integrate them into the Roman Catholic Church. The fees and
assessments for such ministrations were to be paid to the Roman
Catholic priest. But during these times when they were without a
pastor, the settlers in Majos went to the Lutheran pastor in
Kismanyok instead. The Church Register in Kismanyok contains many
references to the families in Majos. Why was the pastor of
Kismanyok able to avoid expulsion? The answer is simple: Count von
Mercy, who was their noble landlord, a world renowned General,
Governor of the Banat, had so much power that the County Assembly
was afraid to take him on.
From 1730 to
1779, Majos was officially without a pastor. In these times, the
schoolmaster led the worship services, and if the pastor from
Kismanyok were not available, he would preside at funerals, visit
the sick and baptize. After the death of Lord Sigismund Daranyi,
the Bishop of Pecs, and with the permission of Lord Joseph Perzel of
Bonyhad, the then owner of Majos, who served as the Vice Governor of
Tolna County the congregation installed Pastor Samuel Haynoczy in
Majos on May 29, 1749.
Pastor Haynoczy
was well liked by the County Administrators, as well as the Vicar
General of Pecs, who unlike the former bishop was not rigid in his
attitude against the Protestants. A new bishop had not yet been
named. This vacancy provided the opportunity to initiate his
pastorate in Majos.
The following is
a quote from a letter dated June 18, 1750 from the Royal State
Chancellery in Pressburg to the County Administration:
“With regard to
the religious developments in the village of Majos and the current
resident preacher; even though he has not been properly installed
there, because he is there as a follower of the Augsburg
Confession. His Royal Majesty, the King has decreed that these
developments must stop, especially in light of the permission for
him to erect a new prayer house in the village to be used as
directed by his religious convictions.
On these grounds
all forms of religious freedom are simply denied and the pastor must
leave the area. The newly erected prayer house is to be locked,
boarded up and declared illegal. The County Magistrate should be
sternly rebuked for failing to put an end to the illegal assemblies
of the Lutherans in Majos. The inhabitants of Majos themselves,
having attended these gatherings have earned a suitable punishment
and fine at the order of His Majesty the Emperor and hearings and
interrogations of individuals should proceed through a County
attorney…”
The letter
continues chastening the County officials for their negligence and
ordering them to act swiftly as directed in the letter and inform
the Pressburg officials of the outcome. “Above all, put an end to
the assembly of the non-Catholics under your entire jurisdiction…”
But at the
conclusion of the tirade the letter ends with:
“In conclusion,
however, you will have to permit the inhabitants of Majos to freely
worship in other communities of their Confession as the King’s grace
and decree allows them to practice their Lutheran faith.” The
letter was signed by: Count Joseph Keglevich, George Fabriancovics
and Michael Domsich.
In these letters
mention is made of a newly erected prayer house. There is no
evidence as to when or why a new prayer house was constructed. It
is obvious that the first prayer house would have been of wood
construction because of the availability of timber and lumber. It
is most probable that the new prayer house was built with the
knowledge and permission of their landlord, Perzel, but without the
blessing of the government apparatus. It is also obvious that the
Imperital State Chancellery received a notice from Bonyhad that
resulted in sending the above documented letter.
A further letter
from Superior Court Judge Sztankovanszky on September 7, 1750 to the
Royal State Chancellery in Pressburg indicates that on August 27th,
the doors of the prayer house had been bricked in and the keys had
been confiscated. In the Church Chronicles it is noted that it was
the Judge along with a County cavalry unit that came and carried out
the action.
On the 14th
Sunday after Trinity, in 1750, Pastor Haynoczy held his farewell
service in front of the locked and barricaded prayer house. His
last sermon text was from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 28:
“Jesus turned to them and said, “You daughters of Jerusalem, do not
weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children.”
Before they even
had a pastor for a full year he was forced to leave. It was a
tearful parting from a pastor who had won their love and affection.
The 14th Sunday after Trinity was designated a day of
repentance and prayer every year until 1944. The entire
congregation received Holy Communion on that Sunday to remember this
event in the life of the congregation.
From this point
on the bricked-in prayer house was no longer to be used for church
functions. For worship and prayer the congregation assembled in the
schoolhouse led by the schoolmaster. They did this until one day
the door of the prayer house stood open and from then on they
worshipped in the prayer house again. Naturally, this was not kept
secret from the authorities of the County and as a result the
Superior Court Judge Sztankovanszky and the Court Assistant Joseph
Jekey appeared in Majos on April 26, 1753. Their report to the
County stated the following:
“We the
undersigned, at the instruction of and in the name of the glorious
County of Tolna and its Administration brought the decree of the
County to the inhabitants of Majos. In our presence appeared the
following persons: The Richter, Valentin Bechtl, the council
representatives of the congregation: George Mayer, Johann Husch,
Valentin Romaiser, Johann Arnold Tranner, Heinrich Schmidt and Jakob
Denz, the last of whom lives next door to the prayer house. We
questioned them about the person who had damaged the seal and opened
the prayer house of the adherents of the Augsburg Confession. Which
persons entered it and perhaps held services in it again? The above
named swore an oath that the official seal on the door became
soaking wet from the rain and fell off. None of them knew who had
unlocked the doors. Since they saw the doors were open they entered
and did not lie admitting they held worship services again until the
County would forbid it.”
Shortly after
returning and reporting back to the County Administration, they were
ordered to return to Majos and carry out their orders. The report
notes:
“At the order of
the glorious County, we the undersigned presented ourselves in Majos
to lock up and seal the illegal prayer house of the inhabitants
holding to the Augsburg Confession.
In the presence
of Valentin Bechtl, the Richter, and the following other inhabitants
of the village, namely: George Schlayer, Johann Husch, Heinrich
Pflug, George Krauss, Jakob Tewig, Konrad Oberndorf and Heinrich
Spitznagel. We locked the doors of the prayer house and put the
County and State seals on it.
At the same time
we forbade one and all who held to the Augsburg Confession to damage
the seals or to practice their faith publicly. We also took the
keys into our possession as well.”
The report is
dated April 29, 1753 and signed by Paul Szankovanszky and Joseph
Tekey. As a result, on April 19, 1753 the prayer house had been
doubly sealed.
From now on, the
services were held in the schoolhouse led by the schoolmaster. The
schoolmaster was elected by the congregation and supported by them.
This Confessional school operated up to 1945. The new powers that
be in Hungary at the time made it into a state school. It was
illegally confiscated from the congregation.
These settlers in
Majos expressed a strong and deep faith and had a great longing for
the Word of God. They had courage and steadfastness and sent
petitions to the Bishops, the County officials and even the Emperor
as we have seen. Here is an example of one written around 1751:
“Mighty esteemed
Lord Bishop, along with the Highly Respected and Praised County of
Tolna. Gracious, worthy to be bowed down before and Highly exalted
Lords! With deep respect as your subjects we desire to bring to
your esteemed Greatnesses’ attention that our local bell tower is in
very bad shape and needs immediate attention before it simply
collapses and the bell be damaged or destroyed. Therefore, as
dutiful subjects and with great respect, we beg your Excellency the
Bishop and your Highly Praised County Administration that you would
graciously allow us to erect another bell tower. With this hope we
appeal with great respect as obedient subjects in the village of
Majos.”
One year later,
the congregation had still received no response from either the
Bishop or the County. The congregation wrote to the Bishop again.
This next letter neglected to use all of the full-blown niceties of
official Habsburg correspondence.
“After almost one
year, your Excellencies, in spite of numerous supplications on our
part, with regard to our request to replace our damaged tower you
have given us no answer as of this date and we repeat the need for
direction in the very immediate future to deal with this problem.
So we request once more, as obedient subjects of your Excellency and
the Highly Praised County to graciously allow us to build a new bell
tower. But the most needful and important matter, that we
respectfully request of your Excellency, as well as on the basis of
the gracious compassion of God, with weeping eyes we plead that your
Excellencies will be merciful to us, and graciously allow us to hold
our simple services of worship in our own poor locked prayer house.
Such great grace on your part and your compassion will not go
unnoticed by our compassionate Lord. On our part, we will offer our
poor prayers on your behalf, that our gracious God will keep your
Excellency in His protection and grace and provide you with good
health and happiness and a sense of well being…the congregation of
Majos and all of your servants.”
The next petition
to the County and the Bishop comes from the year 1753. The content
of the petition is the request for a hearing to contest the order of
the Vice Sheriff of the County to force the Lutherans of the Majos
to receive all services for baptisms, marriages and funerals from
the Roman Catholic priest in Bonyhad, while strictly forbidding the
Majos Lutherans to hold worship services in their local prayer
house. They rested their case on the fact that from the
establishment of Majos, thirty-two years previously, through the
great grace of the Emperor and the Imperial Majesty as they put it,
they had been granted the right to worship in their local prayer
house and seek the ministrations of the Lutheran pastor in Kismanyok
for baptisms and marriages. They asked for the re-instatement of
the rights granted to them by Charles VI in 1721. Neither the
Bishop nor the County ever responded to their petition.
Life for the
Lutherans in Majos was less difficult than that of the Lutherans in
nearby Bonyhad. In Majos all the inhabitants were Lutheran, while
in Bonyhad there were Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists and
those of the Jewish faith. For instance, there is a document from
the Royal State Chancellery in Pressburg, dated December 22, 1766.
The Chancellery indicates that it had received information to the
effect that on November 1,1766 in the town of Bonyhad, the Richter
who had been elected by the inhabitants was a member of the Lutheran
sect. Because the Roman Catholic priest refused to give the
new Richter the oath of office, the noble landlords welcomed the new
Richter into their houses and then also appointed the Assistant
Richter who was also a Lutheran. The Roman Catholic representatives
on the town Council were put out of office and were replaced with
non-Catholics who took over the administration. Added to that,
Bonyhad elected the son of the Lutheran preacher in Hidas as the
town Notary. In this report there is also a reference to Majos, and
an indication that the goal of the Counter Reformation to convert
the Lutherans there was still in full force. The report notes:
“We immediately
need to forbid the practice of this non-Catholic faith in the
village of Majos, a filial of the Roman Catholic Parish of Bonyhad.
This is the basis of the Gracious Royal Decree of July 18, 1750 of
which your officials are aware. The installed preacher there must
be expelled and the newly erected prayer house must be confiscated
and the use of it totally prohibited.”
Of interest, is
the fact that outside of this reference there is no other written
evidence of a pastor living and serving in Majos at the time. It
most likely is a reference to the schoolmaster who carried out
worship and other pastoral duties.
(Translator’s
note: The term schoolmaster is a misnomer because the men were
Levite Lehrers a reference to a priestly class in the
Old Testament. They were trained theologically and often served as
teachers prior to their ordination.)
The letter from
Pressburg continues:
“The Highly
Esteemed noble landlord should be strongly urged to take action
against this “preacher”. The schoolmaster’s house that is attached
to the school is where the preaching services are held and we demand
that action be taken against all concerned.”
The
congregation’s loyalty to the Word of God was so strong that they
did not allow themselves to be cowered by the authorities and
continued to worship in their prayer house. As a result, they were
fined twelve Gulden on February 18, 1768. In response, they sent a
petition to the Bishop of Pecs, but it was denied. The Royal State
Chancellery wrote on April 25, 1768 to the higher authorities in
Tolna County noting that the twelve Gulden fine was to be paid by
the schoolmaster, not the congregation of Majos. The schoolmaster
had to personally pay the Vice Sheriff of Tolna County and he was
ordered to forward it to the Royal State Chancellery as quickly as
possible.
On June 3, 1768
the Emperor, Joseph II personally visited Szekszard and
representatives from the Majos congregation handed him a copy of a
petition that they had sent on June 6, 1768 to his secretary and
aide, Lord Johann Drossclegg in Vienna.
Just as there had
been no answer or results to their other petitions, it also held
true for this one. Emperor Joseph II travelled throughout the
Empire to hear the “voice” of the people as he put it. The results
of what he learned would take effect later. In 1781, his Edict of
Toleration was signed and new wind would be blowing for the
Protestants in the Habsburg Empire.
The Edict of
Toleration raised the hope for freedom of religion in the Habsburg
lands. The Lutheran congregations in Tolna County acted quickly to
build churches and call pastors. But it was not that simple nor was
it that easy to achieve what the Edict promised. The Imperial Royal
Hungarian Chamber did all it could to hinder the Lutheran
congregations from exercising their new rights as much as
possible. Because the County was still strongly influenced by the
Roman Catholic bishop and clergy there was also opposition from that
quarter. It would require a lot of perseverance and determination
on the part of the congregations to realize the benefits of the
Edict of Toleration.
On October 13,
1781 the Emperor Joseph II promulgated the Edict of Toleration in
the lands and territories within the Habsburg Empire, granting
“tolerance” to Protestant and Eastern Orthodox believers. They were
however simply to be tolerated.
The primary
purpose of the Edict from the Emperor’s perspective was to regulate
the status of non-Catholic Churches in the Empire. This would
replace the former regulations that had been used to curtail the
life of non-Catholics that had been decreed in 1681. In those
former decrees, the Habsburg emperors regulated the regions in which
Protestants were permitted to practice their faith in the so-called
Artikular churches. Which meant that two Lutheran churches
were permitted in each County of the Kingdom of Hungary. The same
also applied to the Calvinists and Orthodox.
(Translator’s
note: Varsad and Gyonk are the examples in Tolna County, but
due to the influence of Count von Mercy, both Kistormas and
Kismanyok were also granted that status and continued to function
without too much interference.)
This new Edict
and decree of the Emperor no longer recognized such special regional
restrictions but allowed for the free development of religious faith
in the Empire without any territorial boundaries such as Counties.
The central and primary status of Roman Catholicism remained
uncontested, although the bishops opposed the Edict and protested
against it vehemently with the support of Papacy, but without any
results in their favour.
(Translator’s
note: All of the details of the Edict are included in the text
but I will only provide some of the salient features that might be
of interest.)
The preamble to
the regulations of the Edict indicates the following:
The three groups who were to benefit from the
Edict are identified as those holding to the Augsburg Confession
(Lutherans), the Helvetic Confession (Calvinist/Reformed) and the
Greek Orthodox family of Churches. The Roman Catholic Church alone
remains the public state religion of the Empire. Those of either of
the Protestant faiths or Orthodox believers who live in a situation
in which numbers fail to reach the minimum of one hundred families
to form an official parish are permitted to practice their faith
privately.
The First
Regulation:
Wherever one
hundred families of a common Confession live a community or in close
proximity to one another whether there is a prayer house served by a
pastor or not may organize themselves into a congregation and will
be allowed to erect a prayer house along with a school. Those who
live farther away are free to visit such prayer houses as often as
they desire and call upon the clergy to visit them, especially the
sick. Anyone attempting to hinder this ministry will have to answer
personally for this affront. In terms of the appearance of the
prayer house, unless it is already built, there shall be no bell or
tower nor shall there be an entrance facing a street.
The Second
Regulation:
The congregation
is permitted their own schoolmaster, whose support is the
responsibility of the congregation and he must meet certain
government standards.
The Third
Regulation:
Protestants are
permitted to elect their own pastors and must provide support for
them from their own resources. Where Protestant Church structures
exist i.e. Seniorats or Synods, they must confirm the call. Such
consistories should be established as soon as possible for the sake
of good order.
The Fifth
Regulation:
Protestant clergy
and teachers are no longer responsible to Roman Catholic bishops nor
can they be placed under their jurisdiction, nor must they answer to
them for their theological convictions.
The Sixth
Regulation:
0With regard to
mixed marriages, in the future, the sons of such marriages will be
raised in the religion of the father, and all daughters in the
religion of their mother.
The Edict was
formally decreed in Linz in Austria on October 13, 1781.
There were very
long waits, because of the numerous applications from congregations
and parishes across the Empire, where there had been absolutely no
visible presence of organized Lutheran church life for over one
hundred years. Overnight hundreds of underground congregations
emerged in Austria, Slovakia, Bohemia, Hungary and Slovenia and to
the Emperor’s surprise even in Vienna itself where Lutheranism had
always been banned. Such an application to organize was made by the
congregation in Majos on July 1, 1782.
“Glorious County
Assembly. The undersigned obedient subjects of the Glorious General
Assembly of Tolna County, request to secure permission to publicly
express our faith, to install an appropriate pastor, erect a new
prayer house and a parsonage and send a delegation of
representatives to investigate these possibilities with you.
First of all, it
must be said, the right to practice our Lutheran faith had been
granted to us previously and has now been newly strengthened by
Emperor Joseph II, under whose protection we now claim this right.
(Translator’s
note: This is less than a subtle reminder of the Emperor’s
promises in the past when their ancestors had first emigrated to
Hungary. These were hardly servile peasants like the County
officials were more accustomed to dealing with. In terms of the
time and place, this statement is utterly amazing. The reader will
notice they get even bolder.)
Secondly, we
formerly had the right of publicly practicing our religion and
enjoyed a pastor of our own up to the year 1748, but in that year we
were robbed of this right. We had to be content with the
services of our faithful schoolmaster.
Thirdly, because
our congregation consists of 159 married couples, we are eligible to
be recognized as a congregation.
Fourthly, we are
prepared to assume the costs for the building of a new prayer house,
a parsonage, and for the salaries of our pastor and schoolmaster.”
Their application
was forwarded to the County Administration in Simontornya. The
reader will note the date 1748 differs from the expulsion of the
pastor in 1750. But at that time no church records were kept and
they relied on their memory and used an approximate date.
It took a long
time for the Royal Hungarian Chamber to respond when it set in
motion the first census of Majos and wrote to the congregation to
that effect on January 24, 1783. In February and April of 1783 the
County of Tolna was informed that the Lutheran congregations in
Szekszard, Kety and Bikacs had received approval to build their
prayer houses. The same decision had also been made in regard to
the Lutherans in Felsonana and Kalazno. But Udvari and Szarazd were
not included because they could not arrange the finances to build
one. The request of the congregation in Izmeny was still
outstanding because of two circumstances. They were allowed to
visit a prayer house in their vicinity because they were unable to
bear the costs to erect a prayer house of their own. The Moragy
congregation received permission to publicly practice their faith.
The Reformed and Lutherans in Bonyhad were not granted the public
practice of their faith because both groups could easily access a
prayer house in the vicinity and neither had the required number of
one hundred families. As a result, some of the families moved to
Majos and Mucsfa. Aslonana could not meet the requirements while in
Bataapati the public practice of their faith was recognized and
permitted. Finally, the congregations whose requests had not been
approved were told join themselves to nearby prayer houses and
pastors, but would have to continue paying their church tithes to
support the Roman Catholic priest and schoolmasters in their
communities. Majos belonged to this latter group. The promised
census in Majos was not undertaken.
On December 31,
1783 the Supreme Court Judge of Tolna County, Joseph Dory von
Jobahaza informed the Hungarian State Chamber of a second
application from Majos and wrote that the humble petition of the
Majos congregation with regard to the public practice of their faith
had led to a census as previously promised. It was proven that
number of households and the extended families, as well as the
financial commitment for erecting a prayer house and the support of
a resident pastor and schoolmaster were all in place. The County
counted 92 houses, in which 111 families resided, numbering 602
persons. In the same letter, the Supreme Court Judge further
reported that the Lutheran inhabitants of Bonyhad had appeared
before him and declared that in the event the Majos congregation
received permission to practice their faith publicly by a decree
from the Emperor, they, the Bonyhad Lutherans would become a filial
of Majos.
Along with his
letter, the Judge included a list of all of the families, their
numbers, the taxes they paid and their commitment to the cost of the
anticipated church life they planned for the future. This list was
notarized by Michael Winkler, the Roman Catholic priest in Bonyhad
and Vice Sheriff, Peter Magyari Kossa on behalf of the Protestant
deputies of the County, (he was the Calvinist landlord in Gyonk)
along with Samuel Hajos on behalf of the deputies adhering to the
Augsburg Confession. The letter was dated January 24, 1783 in
Majos.
(Translator’s
note: The head of each household or family had to make a
personal and public profession of faith in the presence of the Roman
Catholic priest and sign a declaration to that effect.)
On December 1,
1783 the Hungarian Royal Chamber in Pressburg announced the decree
that approved the petition of the Izmeny congregation to call a
pastor and permission to build a prayer house. On the same day
another resolution was passed in response to the petition of the
Lutherans in Muscfa even though their number of families was less
than the one hundred that the Edict called for. It was their
feeling that the numbers were still sufficient for them to authorize
the request. From a letter of December 15, 1783 the inhabitants of
Murga received permission to elect a schoolmaster and build a
school. The Majos congregation received a letter dated January 20,
1784 in which they were informed their application to publicly
practice their faith was granted and permission was further given
for them to receive the Lutherans in the market town of Bonyhad as a
filial congregation but with the understanding that their tithes for
the Roman Catholic priest in Bonyhad stayed in effect for them.
This was due to the large influx of recent settlers from
Wurttemberg. Finally on January 26, 1784 the “gracious decree” was
received in Majos, and freedom of religion was granted to them. On
February 3, 1784 the Lutherans of Kety received a similar decree and
permission to erect a prayer house and to support their own
schoolmaster. On the same day, similar decrees arrived in Izmeny
and Mucsfa to call and support a pastor. On March 15, 1784 Izmeny
was granted freedom of religion.
Along with all of
these “gracious decrees” on April 26, 1784 an order was sent to all
of the Protestant pastors in which they were warned not to convert
any Roman Catholics to their faith. However, if someone sought to
embrace the Protestant faith, he was not able to do so without first
receiving six weeks of instruction in Catholicism from a priest and
produce a witness that the person participated in Protestant worship
at their own personal request.
The first pastor
in Majos after the Edict was put into effect was Paul Hagen former
pastor of Ossiarch in Carinthia in Austria and where he had also
served as the “bishop” of all of the underground Lutheran
congregations in the Steiermark. He served from 1784 to August of
1785 until he died suddenly. He, in turn, was succeeded by Peter
Wargott Gerib, who was a Transylvanian Saxon.
Even though the
Edict was in effect, there were still instances of Roman Catholic
interference in the lives of the Lutherans and their congregations.
A complaint from the pastor in Majos to the County indicates such an
issue.
“The village of
Majos whose inhabitants are adherents of the Augsburg Confession
complain against the parish priest and vice-deacon of Bonyhad who,
in spite of the newly promulgated Royal decree proceeded with the
publication of bans of a Lutheran inhabitant residing in Bonyhad.
The Roman Catholic priest prevented the man from leaving to get
married in Majos, even though he paid the priest the necessary
fees. The priest from Bonyhad chastised the Lutheran pastor with
words inappropriate for Christians to speak to one another.”
The County
responded by warning the priest to desist from such interferences in
the future. But in order to placate the priest, the Lutherans and
Reformed in Bonyhad had to provide free labour and building
materials to help build the new Roman Catholic church fit for the
expanding market town along with a special tax only they had to
pay. No Lutheran or Reformed clergyman was allowed to set foot in
the town until 1811, when a Lutheran pastor dared to enter the town
to minister to one his sick members. He was taken to court and
expelled from the County. The furor this caused led to the
imposition of the Edict of Toleration in Bonyhad and the largest
Lutheran congregation in Tolna County emerged there with a high
school, preparatory college and a Lutheran deaconess Motherhouse to
serve the social and spiritual needs of the community in the
following decades until the disillusion of their Order under the
Communists in 1948.
(Translator’s
note: Majos is now incorporated within the city of Bonyhad.
The vast majority of the population of Majos was deported in the
late summer of 1947 and replaced with “new settlers” from Eastern
Hungary. There is still a small remnant Lutheran congregation in
existence. Today, at the front of the church you can see the
memorial to eighty-one of the men and women from Majos who were
taken to the labour camps in the Soviet Union during Christmas 1944
who never returned and died there.
The Places of
Origin of the Settlers
In Majos and
Bonyhad
Ackermann, Johann
Christoph Lorch, Wuerttemberg
Ackermann,
Philip Lorch,
Wuerttenberg
Allmeyer,
Matthias Neusiedl
am See
Arndt, Hans
Jakob
Bleichenbach
Arnold,
Leonhard Nordlingen
Bach, Johann
Friedrich Noertigen
Bardshoff,
Martin Klingenbergen
Bauer,
George Neumsollbach
Bechtel, Appollonia Griesheim
Binder,
Joseph Olhan,
Eisenburg County
Deckmann, Johann
Conrad Bleichenbach
Deckmann, Weigand Bleichenbach
Ehrenfels, Johann
Nicolaus Wolfstein
Ehrhardt, Jakob
Friedrich Klingen
Erdlin,
Daniel Nordlingen
Faul, Johann
Philip Kirchheim
Friedrich,
Johannes Magelsdorf
bei Nurnberg
Gebhard, Johann
Heinrich Schoenberg
Harold,
Adam Brodorf
Heiml, Christoph Besenrind,
Pfalz Bayern
Herold,
Adam Brendorf,
Bayern
Hertlein,
Heinrich Muehlhausen
Hochstatt,
Heinrich Altenbuchhausen
Hoff, Caspar
Gedern
Horn,
Gottlieb Friedland
Klemen, Anna
Appollonia Leutershausen
Kramer,
Jakob Krebsweiler
Kunz, Gyula
Friedrich Frickenhofen,
Wuerttemberg
Ladensteiner, Anna
Maria Granau bei
Pressburg
Liebegott,
Heinrich Bleichenbach
Liebegott,
Catharina Bleichenbach
Mertz, Johann
Adam Heigenbruecken
Miller, Maria
Elisabeth Bei
Hanau
Mueller,
Bernhard Abschwingen
Mueller,
Jakob Oedenburg,
Hungary
Mueller,
Philip Windsheim,
Bayern
Nellinger,
Jakob Rensburg,
Holstein
Neun, Johann
Joachim Bleichenbach
Neun,
Joachim Bleichenbach
Olden, Johanna
Christina Jena
Pflug, Christoph Bleichenbach
Philip,
Johannes Ordenbug,
Bayern-Pfalz
Rausch, Johann
George Bleichenbach
Ritzel,
Johannes Bleichenbach
Ritzel, Johann
Heinrich Bleichenbach
Roesslen, George
Michael Klingenbergen
Roth, Chrisoph Eichelberg
Roth,
Joseph
Oedenburg, Hungary
Schaedel, Elisabeth
Margaret Woekershan
Schmeisser,
Nicolaus Boitelbach,
Zweibruecken
Schuchmann, Johanna
Obergimperg
Spiess, Johann
Lorenz Altershausen,
Franken
Stoeckel, Anna
Maria Lorch,
Wuerttemberg
Thime,
Lorenz Gross-Grotorf,
Wuerttemberg
Wagner,
August Magdeburg
Walter,
Johannes Lindach,
Schwaben
Weber,
Leonhard Neuenstein/Hohenloisch
Wenzel, Ludwig
Adolf Ortenburg/Stollbergisch
Wilms, Johann
Ludwig Martin Moellen/Lauenburgisch
Windecker,
Catharina Bernstein
Winhold,
Konrad Nordlingen
