| Unitarian Church of Transylvania | |
|---|---|
 Officialinsignia of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania | |
| Type | Nontrinitarian Christianity |
| Classification | RadicalProtestant |
| Orientation | Unitarianism |
| Theology | Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios |
| Polity | Quasi-episcopal |
| Bishop | Rev. István Kovács |
| Associations | International Council of Unitarians and Universalists,European Liberal Protestant Network |
| Region | Romania,Hungary |
| Language | Hungarian |
| Headquarters | Unitarian Church,Cluj-Napoca, Romania |
| Founder | Ferenc Dávid[1] |
| Origin | 1568 |
| Separated from | Hungarian Reformed Church |
| Members | 60,000 in Romania 25,000 in Hungary |
| Places of worship | 125 in Romania 12 in Hungary |
| Secondary schools | 2 |
| Tertiary institutions | Protestant Theological Institute of Cluj |
| Other name | Hungarian Unitarian Church |
| Official website | www.unitarius.org |
TheUnitarian Church of Transylvania (Hungarian:Erdélyi Unitárius Egyház;Romanian:Biserica Unitariană din Transilvania), also known as theHungarian Unitarian Church (Hungarian:Magyar Unitárius Egyház;Romanian:Biserica Unitariană Maghiară), is aNontrinitarianChristian denomination of theUnitarian tradition,[2] based in the city ofCluj,Transylvania, Romania. Founded in 1568 in theEastern Hungarian Kingdom by the Unitarian preacher and theologianFerenc Dávid (c. 1520–1579),[1] it is the oldest continuingUnitariandenomination in the world. It has a majority-Hungarian following, and is one of the 18religious denominations given official recognition by theGovernment of Romania.
The Transylvanian and Hungarian Unitarians represent the only branch of Unitarianism not to have adopted acongregationalist polity, and remains quasi-episcopal; the IrishNon-subscribing Presbyterian Church, a distinct body closely related to Unitarianism, has apresbyterian structure.[3] The Unitarian Church of Transylvania is administered by abishop and two Curators-General, being divided into fiveArchpriestships.[4] Since 2021, its bishop is the Rev. István Kovács. The Church, which uses Hungarian as the liturgical language, also endorses and teaches acatechism.[3]
Together with the CalvinistReformed Church and the twoLutheran churches of Romania (theEvangelical Lutheran Church and theEvangelical Church of Augustan Confession), the Unitarian community runs theProtestant Theological Institute of Cluj, wherein Unitarianism is represented by a distinct section. In addition, it has two high school-level theological educational institutions.[4]
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According to the results of the 2002 census, there are 66,846 Romanian citizens of the Unitarian faith (0.3% of the total population).[5] Church officials place the number of believers at 80,000-100,000.[4] Of the total Hungarian minority, Unitarians represent 4.55%, being the third denominational group after members of theReformed Church in Romania (47.10%) andRoman Catholics (41.20%).[6] Since 1700, the Unitarian Church has had 125parishes — in 2006, there were 110 Unitarian priests and 141 places of worship in Romania.[4]
The vast majority of church adherents live in Transylvania, mostly betweenSighișoara (Segesvár) andOdorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely), more or less aroundDârjiu (Székelyderzs). The Unitarian church is especially strong in Dârjiu,Atid (Etéd),Cristuru Secuiesc (Székelykeresztúr),Feliceni (Felsőboldogfalva),Inlăceni (Énlaka), andMugeni (Bögöz), where Unitarians make up a large majority of the population. All of these localities are situated in the southwestern corner ofHarghita County, except for Sighișoara which is located immediately outside of that area in the Southeastern corner ofMureș County.
The Unitarian Church was first recognized by theEdict of Torda, issued by theTransylvanian Diet under its UnitarianPrinceJohn II Sigismund Zápolya (January 1568),[7] and was first led byFerenc Dávid (a formerCalvinist bishop, who had begun preaching the new doctrine in 1566). Early on, the Unitarian Church had notable successes: it included 425 parishes, made use of the monumentalSt. Michael's Church in Cluj-Napoca,[4] and attracted members of the eastern TransylvanianSzékely community in large numbers.[7]
The Church attracted suspicion from all other established religions,Roman Catholic as well asProtestant, with both camps deeming itheretical.[7] After Dávid's imprisonment and 1579 death in custody, the institution entered a period of decline.[4][7] The church in Transylvania received many refugees following the expulsion of theSocinianPolish Brethren from Poland on July 20, 1658, and maintained contact with the dispersed communities ofPolish Brethren in the Netherlands and Lithuania.Andrzej Wiszowaty Jr., great-great-grandson ofFausto Sozzini, was one of the Polish exiles who taught at theUnitarian College in Cluj-Napoca, in the period in the 1730s when the church was reorganized and strengthened byMihály Lombard de Szentábrahám, author of the church's official statement of faith, theSumma Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios.
Following theUnion of Transylvania with Romania at the end ofWorld War I, Unitarian congregations were established in regions of theOld Kingdom: the first Unitarian church inBucharest was founded in 1933 (its building was later demolished).[4] During World War II, when Hungary ruledNorthern Transylvania, the church, to prove its devotion to the official state ideology, engaged in anti-Semitic activity, despite having previously accepted many converts of Jewish origin.[8]
American and British Unitarians became aware of the survival of the Unitarian Church in Transylvania following the visit ofAlexander Farkas to Pennsylvania in 1831 and publication of hisAccount of the Unitarians of Transylvania, which was communicated in Latin to the Secretary of theBritish and Foreign Unitarian Association and published inThe Unitarian advocate and religious miscellany in 1832. On 5 June 1899 theAmerican Unitarian Association sent a letter to Bishop Jozsef Ferencz of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church inviting the leaders of the church to the firstInternational Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) conference in 1900. With the exception of 1920, Transylvanian Unitarian leaders have been present at all IARF congresses, and, in May 1975,Communist authorities allowed it to welcome the IARF's executive committee in the city of Cluj-Napoca.[9] In 1994, the IARF European Conference was held in the same location.[9] The Transylvanian Unitarian Church is also a founding member of theInternational Council of Unitarians and Universalists.
In 2016, the deputy bishop announced his support forsame-sex marriage.[10] In 2018, the governing body of the church voted to only bless marriages recognized by the state, presently only heterosexual marriages, but did vote to allow individual members to express their own opinions on marriage.[11]
The locality of Dârjiu is home to a 13th-centuryfortified church, later reformed as Unitarian, which is onUNESCO'sWorld Heritage List. Murals, dating back to the Roman Catholic period, showKingLadislaus I of Hungary's legend:Cumans broke into theKingdom of Hungary; Duke Ladislaus, along with his cousin KingSolomon, rode against them and freed a girl believed to be daughter of a Hungarian nobleman from a Cuman's hands. Further murals in the region are to be found at Unitarian churches inMugeni,Crăciunel, and smaller ones inRugănești andCristuru Secuiesc.
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