{"id":1642,"date":"2026-11-02T16:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T15:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peregrinus.hu\/?p=1642"},"modified":"2026-11-02T17:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T16:13:16","slug":"four-dishes-served-at-a-traditional-tyrolean-feast-in-hajduszoboszlo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinus.hu\/en\/negy-bevett-vallas-egy-taj-szekelyfold-tortenelmi-egyhazai\/","title":{"rendered":"Four received religions, one land \u2013 The historic churches of Szeklerland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Anyone who visits Szeklerland will quickly notice: the churches in the neighboring villages often belong to different denominations. In Cs\u00edk, there are Baroque-towered Catholic churches, while in H\u00e1romsz\u00e9k and Marossz\u00e9k there are Reformed congregations, and in Udvarhelysz\u00e9k and Erd\u0151vid\u00e9k there are Unitarian communities that preserve the faith. This diversity is the legacy of the unique religious tolerance of Transylvania in the 16th century.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Reformation and religious freedom in Transylvania<\/p>

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In the 16th century, the Reformation spread rapidly in the Principality of Transylvania. In 1568, the Torda Assembly declared the freedom of preaching: priests were free to proclaim their faith, and communities could choose whom to follow. This decision is considered one of the first religious freedom laws in Europe. In the Principality, four established religions \u2013 Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Reformism, and Unitarianism \u2013 enjoyed equal rights, while Orthodox faith continued to exist as a tolerated religion.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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The Catholic Cs\u00edk and the Franciscans<\/p>

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The Szekler region of Cs\u00edk, Gyergy\u00f3 and K\u00e1szon largely remained within the Catholic faith \u2013 the Franciscans played a key role in this. Since Cs\u00edksomly\u00f3 1442 it has been a place of pilgrimage; the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was carved from hornbeam and the 227 centimeter high statue of Mary was made in the early 16th century and survived the 1661 Tatar-Turkish devastation as well. Ign\u00e1c Batthy\u00e1ny, the Transylvanian bishop, recognized it as miraculous in 1798.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The Franciscan presence in H\u00e1romsz\u00e9k is also decisive. The first monk arrived in 1677; the parish church was blessed on October 1, 1690; the present church was built between 1710 and 1729 using elements from the former St. George Chapel; the stone monastery was completed in 1750. The church and the monastery are still an important center of faith in the area today.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Reform\u00e1tus H\u00e1romsz\u00e9k \u00e9s Marossz\u00e9k<\/p>

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The interior of the Reformed churches conforms to the creed: there are no altarpieces or statues; the focus is on the pulpit and the altar rail; the decoration is provided by the painted barrel-vaulted ceiling, the carved pulpit crown and the pulpit. This clean-lined spirit is reflected in the Wartburg Cathedral in Sepsiszentgy\u00f6rgy and the Reformed Cathedral in D\u00e1lnok, whose medieval foundations have survived after the 16th-century renovation. The old trees in the churchyards preserve the memory of the community.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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The Unitarian Parish of Udvarhelysz\u00e9k and the Forest Region<\/p>

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The Unitarian Church considers 1568, the year of the Torod County Assembly, to be the year of its founding; its first bishop was David Ferenc. The Unitarian faith was mainly rooted along the Homor\u00f3d and Nyik\u00f3 rivers, as well as in the Erd\u0151vid\u00e9k region, and today its most famous churches Sz\u00e9kelyderzs and Nagyajta fortresses as well as Homor\u00f3dkar\u00e1csonyfalva medieval walls show that the congregations maintained the medieval churches for centuries \u2013 thus these walls have remained with us.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Shrines and pilgrimage feasts<\/p>

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The high point of the feasts of Catholic communities is the b\u00facs\u00fa \u2013 the feast of the church's patron saint or title \u2013 to which pilgrims also come from the surrounding villages. Outstanding among them is the Whitsun pilgrimage of Cs\u00edksomly\u00f3, attended by several hundred thousand people from every part of the Carpathian Basin. More on this in The Secrets of Cs\u00edksomly\u00f3<\/a> .<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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How to visit?<\/p>

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