History of the Unitarian Church in Székelykeresztúr

We do not have enough data about the spreading of the Reformation among the Székelys, most of them had probably been catholic till the death of Fráter György, and the new faith quickly gained ground during the reign of governing prince János Zsigmond.

The reformation took place in Székelykeresztúr between 1548-1568, in 1548 the town still had a catholic minister whereas in 1568 it had a unitarian one. The promoter of the new faith was most probably the new minister, Marosi Synnig János, a man of great knowledge and culture. In 1568 he was one of the writers of minutes at the religious polemics between Dávid Ferenc and Méliusz Juhász Péter, being one of Dávid Ferenc's closest comrades.

In 1567-68 the catholic church in the center and the parish hall pertaining to it was owned by unitarians. Kovács István, unitarian history-writer said: "...though the unitarian congregation did not include all of the population of the town in 1568, it most certainly included most of it, otherwise the church and its belongings would not have gone into its possession, as they did."

The church was built in the 13th century, at least the nave, the Gothic sanctuary was built in 1458. Few recorded data have been preserved about the early life of the unitarians in Székelykeresztúr, yet the resolution of the 1606 synod of Kolozsvár proves that the unitarian church in Székelykeresztúr was a respectable one. According to this resolution a synod had been held on June the 8th each year, alternately in Kolozsvár and in Székelykeresztúr. We don't know the exact number of synods held here, but we have written proof of the synods held in 1608,1616,1670,1700,1879,1899,1946 and 1988.The right of holding a synod had been transferred to Küküllõ county by bishop Radecky Bálint - elected in 1616 - so that it should be closer to Kolozsvár.

The old church became the unitarians' sole property in 1630, up till then they had shared it with the reformed church. Orbán János speaks about "genuine proof" of this in the recordings of the history of the reformed church According to this recording the two congregations shared but the building, they had their own properties, ministers, masters, tables and singing-chairs. Yet the reformed church would not easily give its share up, onJuly 30, 1642, a committee awarded one of the unitarians' bells to the calvinists. The remaining small bell was recast to the size of the other one at the expense of the unitarians, the 152 forints being paid by a unitarian nobleman from Keresd, called Bethlen Ferenc.

The same committee split the unitarians' property and gave half of it to the reformed.

Yet a time came when secular conditions were against unitarianism, as Sándor János points out, the next two rulers, Bethlen Gábor and Rákoczi György I. promoted the evangelical and reformed faiths. As a result, the number of unitarians in Székelykeresztúr kept decreasing.

In 1767, under the reign of Maria Theresa, the unitarians suffered their greatest loss: that of the church built in the center. As it was described by Nagyajtai Kovács István: "Following the orders of count Hadik András, commander of the Transylvanian division, the church was taken over by armed forces (brachium militare) on the 19th of August, 1767. Later lay people as well as members of the clergy, the catholic dean from Udvarhely and his ministers, members of the court of justice joined them. And with the knowledge of all these, the church, together with its belongings had been submitted to the catholics, rather small in number in Székelykeresztúr at that time. The unitarians showed no resistance. 109 families belonged to the unitarian church accounting for 435 members altogether. They would apply several times to the government offices, but to no avail. Finally, relying on their own resources, they started to make up for the losses. They found a piece of land with thorny bushes in the southern part of the town where they started building a wooden house for the minister and the master. At that time building a church or a chapel without having the permission of the supreme authorities was illegal. Due to unfounded accusations a decree issued on the 1st of December 1768 ordered the unitarians to demolish the building, which they eventually did. 200 years after the victory of unitarianism, the situation of the unitarians in Székelykeresztúr was more than desperate. After 1767 the unitarians felt the brotherly love of the calvinists, holding their services in the reformed church. Permission to build a church of their own was denied several times.

...And then April 1781 came. The members of the protestant denomination came to see better days. Following the resolution for tolerance issued by Joseph II, they were allowed to build churches and schools. This turned things around in Székelykeresztúr, too. The new church was built under the mi-nistry of Árkosi Raffai Sámuel (1777-99), but the tower was unfinished. In the meantime, the members of the Fiatfalva branch-church asked for separation. The synod held in 1799 at Kis-Sáros granted them permission to establish their own church with a new minister. Smaller in number and severed by a fire in 1841, they could hardly carry on with the work. Many unitarian relics, the money raised for the building and 41 mostly unitarian households were reduced to ashes.

Between 1824-1841 however, due to the talent and efforts of minister Péterfi Sándor sen. things got better and the tower was finished. They moved the bells in from the wooden belfry.

Orbán Balázs speaks about the church in the following way: "This church of the unitarians is modest. Nothing extraordinary from an archeological or architectural point of view. [...] next to this temple there is the unitarian high school, that respectable and celebrated Sanctuary of sciences, which is the shrine of intelligence for 2300 unitarians in the Udvarhely county, where an ambitious generation is accumulating spiritual treasures."

While building their church, the unitarians did not aim at luxurious decoration. Their goal was to build the house of God, but make it as simple as possible, because they chose to spend their money on their children's education by building schools. They knew, that a nation could only rise by forming its intellectuals and by working on its science. Their church became as simple as their lifestyle and ceremonies. With its white walls and large windows it serves light - in more than one senses of the word.

The building of the church testifies to the generosity of the unitarians, as shown by the inscription found on the inner walls, under the ceiling: "The great old church having been taken away from the unitarians in 1767, the new church was started in 1782, with the help of God, to worship His holy name, permission being granted by the gracious emperor and king...

It was plastered in 1789, during the curatorship of Patakfalvi Mihály and R. Fazakas István, its tower remained unfinished in times of dearth, its ceiling was made in 1792 during the curatorship of Horváth Mihály by carpenter Szenterzsébet... Patron Tks, committed to building the sacred house of God, the God-fearing congregation, but most of all, Felsõboldogfalvi Marosi István, who , like the bricklayer who put up the walls of Jerico, contributed to the building of the unitarian church. Psalm CXII, line 6. May the truth be remembered for ever."

The pulpit and the Lord's table stand in the middle of the church, indicating the central position of the sermon in the unitarian service. The oldest relic is the crown of the pulpit, made in 1772 and taken over from the former unitarian church - the catholic church at present. The inscription on the pulpit crown reads: "Made by Bíró József and his wife, Bíró Kata from Homoródszentmárton, 1772. Renewed in 1872."

Above the Lord's table there is another inscription: John 17.3 "And this is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

At first the main entrance was from the direction of the unitarian school built in 1793. Later this door was bricked up and this is where the plaque of the victims of World War I was placed.

The organ - during the ministry of Péterfi Sándor jr., famous for his sermons - was made in 1844, from the donations of the congregation and the students. Such a large sum was raised that besides the two existing choirs a third one was built for the organ itself and two more windows were made in the walls. Later the organ was fixed up in 1929 and 2000.

The tower was finished in 1841, we have no record of the bells inside. Like many other bells, they were taken away during World War I. Today the church has two bells. The oldest one bears the inscription: "To replace the bell requisitioned in World War I., 1914, made from the donations of the unitarian congregation in Székelykeresztúr, in Dec. 1921, for 32694 lei, in honor of the One God."

The other bell was cast in Nagyszeben and reads: "Cast from the donations of the Unitarian Women's Association and the congregation in 1938, to replace the cracked bell".

Orbán Balázs mentioned in his book, that the money for the bell came from eggs donated by the people.

The church was enlarged in the time of minister Barabás Lajos and 47 acres of land were acquired. In 1909, while Lõrinczi István was minister, a new modern parish hall was built next to the church. The church has been fixed up several times ever since. In 1950 the two damaged choirs were pulled down. A major renovation took place in 1980-81, in the time of dean Báró József. Under his leadership and with the contribution of the congregation the church became more and more beautiful, the decoration reflecting our Székely identity.

The choirs and the front desks in 1980-81 and the panels of the ceiling in 1988 were adorned with patterns from Udvarhely county. A meeting room was added to the parish hall and hand-woven cloths were laid on the Lord's table and the pulpit. In 1993 a Székely gate was put up with the inscription: "God is one".

Above the benches of the women and men three chandeliers were placed, donated in 1982 by 3 families. On the second day of Easter, 1996, a black marble plaque was put on the wall next to the pulpit, dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of the Hungarian Conquest. Like the pulpit, the plaque has the unitari-an emblem reminding us of Jesus 's teaching: "so be wise as serpentes and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10.16).

In 1989, after dark years of tyranny light shone on our church, too. As a consequence, the Dávid Ferenc Association, the Dávid Ferenc Youth Association and the Women's Association were formed. The changes have also had a positive impact on our relationships with foreign congregations. As borders were opened these relationships were extended and new ones were born like the partnership with the First Parish in Concord Unitarian Universalist congregation.

And then 2000 came...

Our church proved too small on holidays. Therefore in the spring of 2000 under the leadership of dean Szombatfalvi József a choir was built above the women's benches with the help of the congregation and that of the Concord partner church.

Now a newly-painted tower soars high into the sky. In front of the church there is a park with a wooden obelisk. MILLENNIUM. This obelisk represents the past. Our past, without the knowledge of which we have no future ahead. It reminds us of the founding of our state and of our conversion to Christianity. It reminds us of our ancestors, who, assuming sacrifices, built churches and schools; of our ministers, who remained great leaders of their congregations, promoters of faith and national identity in all times and "whose life is the most efficient sermon, the most powerful apology and the most beautiful illustration".