In both Torda (Turda) and Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), the Hungarian Unitarian Church commemorated the first religious tolerance law in the world’s history, the Edict of Torda, the Declaration of Religious Freedom and Tolerance, on its 453rd anniversary on January 13, 2021.
“Egy az Isten” is Hungarian for, “God is One” and has been the defining statement of Unitarians in Central Europe since the 16th century. But it is as much a rallying cry for equality, freedom and justice, as it is a theological statement. On January 13, 1568, the 27-year-old Hungarian King János Zsigmond (John Sigismund), the only Unitarian King in world history, issued the first-ever religious tolerance law, the Edict of Torda. Besides allowing for the right to religious freedom and freedom of conscience, it also gave the right to all congregations to elect their own preachers. The Hungarian Unitarian Church commemorated this event in Torda and in Kolozsvár.
Celebration in Kolozsvár
“Although the world is under lockdown, with the help of God, in our souls, we are free.”
– said Orsolya Farkas, the minister of the Mózes Berde Unitarian High School in Székelykeresztúr (Cristuru Secuiesc) in the Unitarian Church in downtown Kolozsvár, reported maszol.ro.
The school’s Vice President, Dr. Sándor Lakatos pointed out that 453 years ago, thanks to the Edict of Torda, Transylvania became the “treasured garden” of religious tolerance and peace. “The freedom of and patience toward people who think differently from us is more relevant today than ever. The first conclusion of our celebration today should be that:
patience is not an obsolete phrase but an inevitable keystone of our social human existence, the indispensable ingredient of the fulfillment of Jesus’s gospels.”
–he said.
Toward the end of the celebration, the bishop of the Hungarian Unitarian Church, Ferenc Bálint Benczédi, gave a speech. “Four-and-a-half centuries ago, our ancestors had the courage to take a permissive stance, instead of the [previous] discriminatory and restricting prohibition, and by this they gave an example that still obligates us today,” – said the church leader.
The Unitarian bishop also mentioned that exactly one year ago, they declared the year 2020 the Year of Responsibility, but seeing the situation today, they have decided to prolong it.
“God, give us faith, love and hope in the year of 2021 too, because if we have these three things, then there are no hard times we cannot overcome.”
– he added. The commemoration in Kolozsvár ended with the laying of a wreath at the statue of the Hungarian Unitarian Church founder Ferenc Dávid (1520-1579).
Commemoration in Torda
Unitarian believers also had an intimate celebration at the Unitarian Church of Torda, 35 kilometers from Kolozsvár, where the vice president of János Zsigmond Unitarian High School, Zsolt Solymosi, was preaching and where the text of the Edict of Torda itself was read out loud.
Consul of Hungary Viktor Dávid Kőrösi attended the event as well, while minister Norbert Rácz from Kolozsvár read a message from Bishop Ferenc Bálint Benczédi. At the end of the event, the participants laid their wreaths at the Memorial for Religious Freedom.
Original text of the Edict of Torda (January 13, 1568)
“Preachers everywhere are to preach the gospel according to their understanding of it. If the parish willingly receives it, good. But if not, let there be no compulsion on it to do so, since that would not ease any man’s soul; but let each parish keep a minister whose teaching is acceptable to it. Let no superintendent or anyone else act violently or abusively to a preacher. No one may threaten another on account of his teaching, with imprisonment or deprivation of office. For faith is a gift from God; it comes from listening, and listening is through God’s word.” (János Erdö, Transylvanian Unitarian Church Translated by Judit Gellérd; Chico, CA: The Center for Free Religion, 1990).
Title image: Commemoration at the Unitarian Church of Torda on January 13, 2021. (Photo: Gábor Kiss)
