LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON. N. J. Presented by Division. M5«37 Section Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/transylvaniain1900corn_0 THE REV. JOSEPH FERENCZ, for more than fifty years Bishop of the Unitarian Churches in Transylvania. Photograph taken in 1922. TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1022 Report of the Commission sent by the American and British Unitarian Churches to Transylvania in IQ22 Ak A> v COMPILED BY v/ LOUIS C. CORNISH THE BEACON PRESS, INC. 25 Beacon Street • Boston, Mass. Copyright, 1923 , By The Beacon Press, Inc. All rights reserved FOREWORD Transylvania, until by the signing of the Trianon Treaty it was given to Roumania, was the easternmost province of Hungary. About 21,000 square miles in area, it is roughly equal in extent to the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Con¬ necticut, and is one of the richest lands in all Europe in minerals and in agricultural fertility. From the time of the Reformation strong Protestant churches have existed here and are now represented by the Presbyterian, Lutheran and Unitarian denom¬ inations. The Unitarian churches, as is true of the others, are closely organized under the management of a rep¬ resentative Consistory and a Bishop elected for life. In 1922 the American and British Unitarian churches sent a Commission to visit their sister churches in Transylvania, the oldest group of Unitarian churches in the world. Similar official visitations have been made occasionally during the past century, but the English and American representatives visiting Tran¬ sylvania in 1919 and 1920, because of the ruin which followed the war, did a work conspicuously important. The Commission sent in 1922 sought to carry forward the work of sustentation which they began. FOREWORD The members of this Commission were Rev. Louis C. Cornish, D.D. of Boston, Rev. Palfrey Perkins of Weston, Rev. Harold E. B. Speight of Boston and Rev. Lawrence Redfern of Liverpool, England. It is hoped that the accompanying reports and account of the visit, fragmentary as they are, may serve to give an impression of the absolutely chaotic conditions in which our fellow-Unitarians and thousands of others are now living. The Commission was not concerned on the one hand with the severe Roumanian criticism of former Hun¬ garian rule and its alleged injustice to minority rights. Even if it was as bad as it is reported to have been, which may be doubted, retaliation will never establish stable conditions. Two wrongs cannot make a right. On the other hand, we were not concerned with the irredentist aspirations of the Hungarians. Natural though these may be, they cannot establish stable con¬ ditions. Stability of life and freedom for all peoples in Transylvania depend upon the establishment of a just modus vivendi under the provisions of the Trianon Treaty safeguarding minority rights, and the en¬ lightened opinion of the world demands that Roumania keep both the letter and the spirit of the Treaty. The book was prepared by Mr. Cornish with the advice and assistance of the other members of the Commission. vi CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE Foreword . v I. A Summary of the Condition of Individuals and Institutions in Transylvania . i II. A Statement Concerning the Condition of Unitarians in Old Hungary, Particularly in Budapest . 15 III. An Account of the Visit of this Commission to the Schools, Colleges, and Fifty of the Unitarian Churches in Transylvania ... 17 IV. A Report on the Colleges and Schools of Transylvania. 129 V. The Report of the Consistory to the Com¬ mission . 136 VI. The Order of the Roumanian Government Re¬ ducing the Number of Minority Churches by Twenty-five per cent, and the Roumanian Order Reducing the Number of Deaneries . 148 VII. The Report of Bishop Jozan and Dr. Csiki and the Presbytery of Budapest Concerning Budapest, Hungary. The Conditions in Budapest August i, 1922.153 VIII. The Proposed Basis of Adjustment to be Submitted by All the Non-Greek-Catholic Churches to the Roumanian Government . 160 IX. ‘‘The Hungarian Officials’ Question” . . . 164 I. A SUMMARY OF THE CONDITION OF INDI¬ VIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS IN TRANSYLVANIA The Commission sent to visit the Transylvanian churches herewith submits its report, based upon a month’s study of conditions, and the testimony of many officials of the Unitarian, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as of other promi¬ nent and trustworthy individuals. At the outset it should be remembered that the diffi¬ culties inherent in the transfer of Transylvania from Hungarian to Roumanian rule are felt equally by the four denominations, comprising all the churches in Transylvania except the Greek Catholic. The suffer¬ ings of the Unitarians are the sufferings of all denom¬ inations other than the Greek Catholic. There is no anti-Unitarian or anti-Presbyterian feeling as such. The Roumanian government has for the most part treated Transylvania as a conquered territory, and Roumanian officials, to put the case in the mildest * possiole way, have shown an entire lack of either under¬ standing or sympathy with the institutions of the ac¬ quired province, which, taken together, represent an [i] 2 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 ancient and high culture. What is reported, therefore, concerning the Unitarian churches could be duplicated of the other non-Greek churches,* and is really a report upon the whole condition of the religious minorities in Transylvania. The Commission went from England directly to Bucharest, the capital of Roumania. There we were courteously received by several high government offi¬ cials. We explained to them that our mission was in no way political, and that it wholly concerned the welfare of our churches (together with that of the entire minority), as guaranteed under the Trianon Treaty. The report may be divided into two fairly distinct parts, (1) the status of individuals and their support; (2) the status of institutions and their maintenance. (1) Conditions have decidedly improved in matters of individual liberty. It will be remembered that after the Roumanian army entered Transylvania there were shocking cases of abuse. The first foreign visitor to reach Kolozsvar (1919) was the Rev. William H. Drummond of London. His trip was attended with very real personal dangers and hardship. The word that he brought out to England and to the United States arrested instant attention among the sister de- *The Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic (Uniate) churches, very similar in ceremonial and doctrine, are for the reader’s convenience alluded to as the Greek churches. [2] INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS nominations in England, Scotland and America. One chief result was the immediate sending of a unit from the American Unitarian churches to the Transylvanian churches (1920), the Rev. Sydney B. Snow, the Rev. Joel H. Metcalf, D.D. and Mr. Edward B. Witte. The report of the Unit confirmed and elaborated the state¬ ments of Mr. Drummond. Men and women had been beaten, had been imprisoned for long periods without trial; there was a general breakdown of the fabric of Transylvanian life. Although often denied, the in¬ stances of personal abuse of Transylvanian people by Roumanian soldiers and civilians are established as facts beyond the slightest possibility of disproval, and must forever be a source of shame to every enlightened Roumanian. These conditions are recalled simply that the contrast with existing conditions may be the better understood. On every side we were told that the physi¬ cal abuses had practically ceased. Here and there some petty official may misuse his authority, but it is the uni¬ versal testimony that the reign of terror is at an end. This is a great gain; it must be clearly understood that the change is almost that of passing from war into peace. We wish to give full credit for this great relief that has come to all the Transylvanian people since the reports of Mr. Drummond and the American Unit were pub¬ lished. It must not be imagined, however, that the ending of personal abuse has brought a return of pre-war con¬ ditions. The main pursuit of people in Transylvania is agriculture. This chief industry has been greatly [3] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 affected by the breaking up of the large estates of the nobles, their re-allotment, the uncertainty of legal procedure and many minor changes. The town indus¬ tries in like manner have been greatly altered. The changes in Cluj-Kolozsvar, a city of 60,000 people be¬ fore the transfer of government, may be taken as an illustration: about 20,000 Roumanians were brought here and settled in houses of Transylvanian people as a way of Roumanianizing the community. These 20,000 Roumanians must live. The dislocation of city conditions that followed can be readily understood. Again, a university of high standing, founded by Uni¬ tarians, and long supported by the Hungarian govern¬ ment, occupied excellent buildings at Kolozsvar. These buildings were taken by the Roumanian government. The faculty, refusing to take the oath of allegiance before the Peace Treaty was ratified, withdrew to Szeged in Old Hungary where they started a new uni¬ versity. Roumanian professors were put in their places, and practically all instruction is given in Rou¬ manian. The Roumanian language is unknown to most Hungarian people, and whatever may be the fiction of free admission for all, the fact is that none but Roumanian students find it practicable to attend the university. The former student body has entirely dis¬ appeared. Transylvanian students, to the number of nearly 2000, are studying in Budapest and Szeged, and are often in great need. Because of the eviction from their homes, because of terror of the lately existing conditions, because of the patriotic and passionate love [4] INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS of Old Hungary, and for many other reasons, thousands of Hungarians left Transylvania after the Roumanian occupation, and as best they can are making new homes for themselves in Hungary. In Budapest alone it is alleged there are now 5000 refugee Unitarians, in addi¬ tion to those formerly resident in the city, not to mention refugees of other affiliations. To summarize this part of our statement, conditions, while free from personal abuse, are tragically hard for thousands of individuals. Their former occupations have either been lost, or have so altered as to entail great suffering. In very brief detail, these conditions again may be summarized. Since Transylvania is largely a farming country, we are led to believe that in the villages there is no serious shortage of food, and food is also fairly abundant in the towns and cities. We saw no cases of under-nourishment, and the many stories of hardship related to us seldom included the lack of food. Clothing is a far more difficult matter. Again, it is harder for the people in the towns and cities than for those in the villages, where there is still much spinning and weaving. Housing in the towns, and particularly in the cities, is a very complex and aggravated problem. Many dwell¬ ings have been commandeered and given to Rou¬ manians. In Kolozsvar, the rooms of all the houses are carefully counted, and only a limited space allowed to each family. It will be seen that life under present conditions is very different from the life of these Transylvanian people prior to the war. [5] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 It was the universal testimony that the ancient insti¬ tutions, Transylvanian schools, colleges, churches, other than the Roumanian, were never in greater peril than they are at the present moment. Either the Roumanian government is blind to the possibilities of allowing several kinds of cultural life to exist in the same State, and so is stupidly beginning to crush out the ancient institutions which long have nourished a high civiliza¬ tion, or — as is alleged — it deliberately intends to crush these institutions, in the hope that the more intelligent Hungarian people will leave Tran¬ sylvania, and its complete occupation by Rouma¬ nians can then be more readily brought to pass. As an illustration of the intense feeling, a Roumanian officer was told that the coercion and suppression of schools and other institutions would result in noth¬ ing less than the ruin of Transylvania. He is said to have replied, “Better a ruined province which the Roumanians own than a prosperous one owned by others.” Your Commission is not sufficiently informed to decide whether the Roumanian policy is due to ig¬ norance or to deliberate intention. It may be ques¬ tioned whether anyone could give a definite answer. Your Commission inclines to the opinion that the Roumanian government in the main is ignorant, and proceeds by methods long since held in disrepute in Great Britain and the United States. Little more than \ [6] INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS half a century ago Roumania was a province of Turkey.* Roumanian ideals, legal practices, etc., are still deeply influenced by Oriental traditions. The Transylvanian institutions are by contrast Occidental. There is here an inevitable conflict in methods and in the conceptions out of which the methods have grown. It is hoped that these comments will make clear the present peril of the institutional life of the four de¬ nominations named. These institutions both express and nourish an ancient civilization. The present cur¬ tailment of their activities and influence, if persisted in, must inevitably strangle the life which these institutions perpetuate. Proceeding now to the details. The Roumanian government after a delay of two years, during which the clergy received no governmental payments, has assumed the support of the ministers and is paying their salaries.! If somewhat irregular in the times when the payments are made, it should be remembered that the Roumanian government is facing extraordinary con¬ ditions of expansion, and together with all the govern¬ ments of that part of Europe has more than once been near bankruptcy. A loan from Great Britain within the last six months is said to have saved the Roumanian State from actual bankruptcy. In the payment of * “ The rise of the Rumanian nation is an event of recent times. Turkish overlordship continued until 1829. In 1878, after much rival influence exerted by both Russia and France, Rumanian independence was finally acknowledged.” See “The New World”, p. 280. f For an explicit statement, see the Report of the Consistory attached, P- 137 * [73 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 salaries our ministers are treated, it is freely stated, as well as the priests of the Roumanian Church. While receiving far less than under the old conditions, it may be fairly said that for the present the ministers with some exceptions are sufficiently provided for. The exceptions are the city ministers,* and those settled in parishes where the land has been taken away. This support of ministers however is threatened with cur¬ tailment. The Roumanian government has issued an order which, if put into operation, will close 25% of the minority churches.| While the Roumanian government gives support with one hand, with the other it is stripping away the endowments of the churches, schools and colleges. Formerly every parish had an acreage for the minister, and also for the school, and often a piece of forest from which the wood was cut and sold for the salaries of the minister and teacher. The high schools, college and divinity school, and consistory with its offices, were supported also from endowments, and practically all the Transylvanian endowments were in land. The Unitarians had in endowments about 7000 acres of land, of which 5000 have now been taken. The Agrarian Reform is an exceedingly complex subject, on which much technical information is needed before a wise judgment can be made. Few would deny that some measure of Agrarian Reform in Transylvania is necessary. Upon paper the new law proposes to give to the people small farms cut from the great estates *See p. 145. fSee p. 149. [ 8 ] INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS formerly held by the nobles, and from the many endow¬ ments in land held for all purposes. The actual work¬ ing of the Agrarian Reform is a very different matter. On paper, payment is required to the former owners, but payment is made on the valuation of 1914, and with no allowance for the change in purchasing power of money. Land assessed for a few hundred lei per acre in 1914 had a real value; to-day a few hundred lei represents scarcely any value. Therefore the effect of paying for land as it was assessed in 1914 in the present currency amounts to confiscation. On paper, the land belonging to the high schools and the colleges is leased, and a rental is supposed to be paid. But we are informed that the four denominations named actually received no rental from their endowment land which had been subjected to forced leases. In the few instances of which we could learn where a rental had been paid, it amounted to from 20 to 70 lei annu¬ ally per acre.* Aside from these confusing details, a certain clear line of division is easily seen. If the Roumanian gov¬ ernment desires reform, why should it apply new agrarian laws ruthlessly to the lands supporting churches and educational institutions, which were at most only modestly endowed, and never presented the problems of the great estates of the nobles? In other countries endowment for education is carefully pre¬ served, property is released from taxation, etc. Here we have the spectacle of the Roumanian government *In August, 1922, 40 lei equaled about twenty-five cents. [9] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 despoiling the very institutions which it is at the same time supporting. Time out of mind, the churches in Transylvania have had their own schools. These are now being closed by the Roumanian government.* The subject is fully treated in another part of this report,f but a few general statements must be kept in mind in this connection. First, no persons outside Transylvania can understand the importance of this issue. We are constrained to accept the unanimous opinion of the representatives of all the denominations named that their schools are vital and absolutely es¬ sential to the life of the people other than Greek Catholics in Transylvania. In the second place, the support of these “Confessional schools” was explicitly guaranteed in the conditions of the Trianon Treaty. In the third place, the Roumanian government has given no support whatever to primary instruction, leaving it wholly to the bounty of the impoverished churches; and in this fails in a plainly stipulated responsibility. The Roumanian government therefore is morally and technically bound to maintain these schools. This obligation is part of its agreement with the Allies. Differences of opinion as to the continuance of Uni¬ tarian, Presbyterian, or Lutheran, or Roman Catholic schools, or other Confessional schools, is not within the province of any but the denominational authorities themselves. The right of the Churches to conduct their *See p. 140. fSee Report on Schools and Colleges, p. 129. [ IO] INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS schools is one of the minority rights guaranteed by Roumania under the Treaty. If the Roumanian gov¬ ernment can put aside the plain guarantee, and its un¬ questioned responsibility concerning the schools, then it can as lightly disregard the other obligations of the Treaty. It is not to be denied that the Roumanian government should have a reasonable oversight of the schools, but it should not, as it has done in a great number of places, take away the school-buildings from the churches and replace the teachers long employed with Roumanian teachers. Thus far this statement has dealt largely with the day schools found in every parish. Further reference should be made to the gymnasia and colleges. These are suffering the same kind of treatment as the day schools. It will be observed that the contention concerns the entire educational life of the non-Roumanian people in Transylvania. The members of these non-Greek- Catholic denominations are believed to be reasonably willing to adapt the curriculum of their educational institutions to the new regime. For example, the Roumanian language has been introduced into all the upper schools. This has been accepted as a necessity. The dispute concerning it has been as to the amount of time to be allowed — whether one year or five years for acquiring the language. Similar differences as to details are constantly referred to, with the result that the main issue is likely to become obscured. Educa¬ tional institutions of any civilization at once express and perpetuate the native ethnical development. It is [ii] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 alleged that this is exactly the crux of the contest be¬ tween these Confessional schools and the Roumanian State. It is alleged that the Roumanian State desires to rob these schools of all their Hungarian cultural values, and make them in fact identical with the Rou¬ manian schools, which are of less academic value, to the end that in another generation the Hungarian culture shall have disappeared. The Commission is not suffi¬ ciently informed to express an intelligent opinion as to whether it is a clash in the habits of thought of two very different peoples, and a lack of appreciation of the most ordinarily accepted habits of thought in such countries as Great Britain and the United States, or whether the action of the Roumanian government against the schools arises from deliberate purpose. While the Commission is unable to determine this point, we call attention as strongly as we are able to the fact that the Roumanian government’s treatment of the schools and colleges, whether inadvertent or intended, is now strangling, and if continued will in the end obliterate, the Hungarian culture. Two further comments may be made in this Report. We heard on every hand of the sharp and constant clashing between the Roumanians who have long lived in Transylvania and the many new arrivals from Old Roumania. The former, because, we believe, of their Transylvanian associations, are of a more advanced type, taken as a whole, than are the newcomers taken as a whole, and they resent their harassment by the petty officials quite as vigorously as do the Hungarians. [12] INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS At a recent meeting at Cluj-Kolozsvar, Mr. Vajda, a Roumanian, and formerly the Prime Minister, is reported to have said, “The foundation of Roumanian culture was laid in Transylvania. They (the present Roumanian Administration) wish to unite us with the Kingdom (of Roumania), and they have dared to say we have no (Transylvanian) traditions. It is a sad farce they are carrying on under the legal form of uni¬ fication. We can tolerate this no longer, for their unification means to separate us, who at heart, in sentiment, are one, and whose unity has been safe¬ guarded by the Trianon Peace.”* Against this statement should stand the assurance of Mr. Constantine Banu, Minister of Cults and Arts, who in Bucharest said to us that the present govern¬ ment desires only the real pacification and prosperity of Transylvania. The sharp differences of opinion indicate among other things one which we are inclined to believe is the chief root of all difficulties, the fact that the opinion and even the orders of the authorities in Bucharest apparently have only a slight effect upon the policies and behavior of the Roumanian rulers of Transylvania. The Roumanian government appears to be a very weak and heterogeneous affair, in which minor officials pay small heed to any well- considered and formulated policy at the capital. Only by the strong pressure of an enlightened public opinion from outside Roumania is there likely to be improve¬ ment. * “The Hungarian Nation,” Nos. 3-5, vol. 3, May 1922, p. 42. [13] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 In conclusion, we desire urgently to appeal for the pressure of such enlightened public opinion from outside in every legitimate way, in order that the more public- spirited members of the Roumanian government may find their position strengthened and be enabled to carry out their plans for improvement. We beg also for the continued support during the period of readjustment of the sister churches of all denominations upon which the very existence of the non-Greek churches in Transylvania depends. [14] II. I A STATEMENT CONCERNING THE CONDI¬ TION OF UNITARIANS IN OLD HUNGARY, PARTICULARLY IN BUDAPEST Before the war, we had one strong Unitarian church at Budapest, and fifteen smaller churches. Since the Roumanian occupation large numbers of Unitarian people have migrated from Transylvania into Old Hun¬ gary. A new church has been founded at Debreczen, where land and a sum of money have been donated. At Szeged a new university has been founded, which is, in fact, the university that formerly existed at Cluj- Kolozsvar. As has been said, the faculty of the Tran¬ sylvanian University removed as a body and continues its teachings at Szeged.* Here there are about 80 men, faculty and students, and a Unitarian church has been organized. In Budapest, our church seats only 250 people; f and there are to-day 6000 registered Uni¬ tarians in the city. Probably never again will con¬ ditions be as fluid as are those of to-day. Mr. Josan, minister of the Budapest church, and under the Con¬ sistory the Suffragan Bishop of the Unitarian churches in Old Hungary, pleads that a new church be started * See p. 4. f See p. 156. [15] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 in Budapest immediately. With his wish the members of this Commission most earnestly sympathize, and we recommend the consideration of the need to the American and British Unitarian Associations. All of these new Unitarian residents in Old Hungary are refugees, and are experiencing great hardship in earning a livelihood. They have no money to give for new churches, but, if assisted, they would give great de¬ votion. They are very intelligent, and many of them are professional people. If it can possibly be avoided, these refugee Unitarians should not be lost to the Unitarian faith and institutions, and unless they can be shepherded into new churches, inevitably they and their children will drift away from the Unitarian fold. [16] III. AN ACCOUNT OF THE VISIT OF THIS COM¬ MISSION TO THE SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND FIFTY OF THE UNITARIAN CHURCHES IN TRANSYLVANIA Rev. Louis C. Cornish, D.D., Rev. Palfrey Perkins and Rev. Harold E. B. Speight, representing the American Unitarian churches, and Rev. Lawrence Redfern, rep¬ resenting the British Unitarian churches, arrived in Bucharest, July 14th, and remained in Transylvania until August 3rd, and in Budapest until August 8th. The following pages present a brief survey of their experiences, which form the basis of the foregoing re¬ port. Individuals are spoken of by their initials. From the detailed narrative of our journey we pur¬ posely omit mention of the conferences about existing conditions held everywhere. Lack of space, not to mention other reasons, makes their chronicling im¬ possible. The narrative is designed to show the basis for the Report, rather than to give a summary of the evidence submitted, and to present a picture of Transylvanian life, especially to those loyal Unitarians who so long and generously have continued to aid their brethren. 3 [17] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 We were met at the station in Bucharest by Professor George Boros, D.D.* representing the Transylvanian churches, a professor in the Unitarian Divinity School at Kolozsvar, and Chief Secretary of the Consistory. Dr. Boros had secured rooms for us at the Hotel Metropole, a large, centrally placed building that was in process of renovation. It was the only place in the crowded city where lodgings could be found. July 15th, Saturday morning. We went to the American Consulate and presented our passports. We met the Vice-Consul, an intelligent Westerner, who recommended our trying to secure rooms in a private house. After luncheon P. P. and L. C. drove to 25 Cobalcescu, one of the best residence streets. The house was a large cement structure. With difficulty we roused the servants and talked to the owner, M. Boerescu, and finally prevailed upon him to take us as lodgers for a few days. We were given two large rooms and moved from the hotel. Dr. Boros and L. C. took one room, the three others a larger room, where we rested during the heat of the day. In the evening we drove out through the Corso thronged with automo¬ biles and carriages, past the Arc de Triomphe f to a garden restaurant, Chateaubriand. The garden was filled with small tables under the trees, and an excellent orchestra was playing Roumanian music. We dined very slowly and listened to the music, talking to our * Honorary degree from Harvard University in 1900. j* Being built to celebrate the coronation of the King, planned for Sep¬ tember 19, 1922, and to take place in Transylvania. [18] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES host in French. Dr. Boros and M. Boerescu were entirely courteous, as might have been expected, but it was apparent that they had recently been enemies in arms. Dr. Boros and L. C. returned before the others, who attended a concert in another garden. July 16th, Sunday. The heat was intense. Dr. Boros preached in the Reformed Church. H. S. went with him. With M. Boerescu, P. P., L. R. and L. C. visited two of the large city churches. In one we attended a requiem mass, upon the first anniversary of the death of a former parishioner. There are no pews in the Greek churches. A few persons sat around the sides, in stalls, holding lighted candles. The doors in the rood screen were open. In the middle of the nave was a table covered with flowers. At this table a priest, with two attendants, all in rich vestments, said the offices while members of the be¬ reaved family stood around him. After the service we were presented to the chief priest of the church, who kindly showed us the relics, communion plate and vest¬ ments. These were kept in safes in the chancel. In the second church visited, very ancient and belong¬ ing to the Metropolitan Bishop, we were shown the body of St. Dimitri, contained in a wonderful silver basket. The bones were covered with rich embroideries, only one blackened hand visible, which the devout are allowed to kiss. The saint died about 250 years ago. Carried in solemn procession through the countryside, these relics are supposed to bring rain in times of drought. [19] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 July 17th, Monday. In the morning we called upon Mr. Jay, the American Minister, a pleasant and friendly gentleman, who met us cordially. We explained the purpose of our visit, that our delegation was one in a long series extending back through many decades, and that our purpose was wholly religious and not in any sense political. Mr. Jay was interested, and advised our calling upon the different Roumanian Ministries. He reminded us that as the United States was not a party to the Treaty, he would be powerless to interfere, no matter how the minorities were treated. The British Minister was absent from Bucharest. While talking with Mr. Jay, the Rev. Henry Atkinson, D. D., Secre¬ tary of the World Peace Alliance, arrived. We continued our talk with him. Later P. P. and L. C. lunched with Dr. and Mrs. Atkinson at their hotel, and had a long conference about the situation in the Balkans. H. S. and Dr. Boros left in the afternoon for Brasso. L. R., P. P. and L. C. remained behind to make certain calls with Dr. Atkinson. It should be said here that the train service had broken down. A bridge having fallen a few days before, the trains could go only as far as the river at Cryova, where the passengers had to transfer over a tem¬ porary bridge to another train. Utter confusion reigned at this place, men and women were robbed, and sometimes pushed off the bridge into the river. Altogether, it was a very trying experience for H. S. and Dr. Boros. In the evening we dined at Capsa’s restaurant, where [ 20 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES we met the American Secretary of the Y. M. C. A., who talked with us about conditions in Bucharest. July 18th, Tuesday. Together with Dr. Atkinson, L. R., F. P. and L. C. drove first to the Ministere des Etrangers. We were met by the Assistant Secretary, who spoke English, and was formerly attached to the Roumanian Legation in Washington. He was fairly cordial, begged us to beware of news from Budapest, listened with courtesy to the purposes of our visit, spoke of his experience in the United States, and then ar¬ ranged by telephone for us to have an interview with the Minister of Cults and Arts, Mr. Constantine Banu. We drove across the city to another Ministry, and were immediately allowed to see Mr. Banu, a tall, dark man with a long beard. He spoke French, but no English. His interpreter was Mr. Ispiri, once a grad¬ uate student at Manchester and Exeter Colleges, Oxford. Dr. Atkinson conducted the first part of the conversation, explaining the purpose of our visit, and saying that we hoped to report improved conditions to the several Protestant bodies in the United States which had sister churches in Transylvania. Mr. Banu expressed cordial approval of our coming. Indeed, he said it was fortunate that we had arrived at this time, as a new constitution was being drafted, and would be presented to the Roumanian Parliament in a pre¬ liminary form in October. He asked if we would make suggestions on the points in which we were interested for the new constitution, which would, he said, safe¬ guard the rights of all religious bodies. We explained [21 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 that he did us too great an honor. If he really wished opinions of legal worth from the United States, we could obtain them for him and would willingly do so, but we were primarily interested in the carrying out of the terms of the Treaty, particularly those provisions safeguarding religious freedom. Dr. Atkinson asked about the schools. Mr. Banu excused himself from answering, as the schools were not in his department. Dr. Atkinson asked if the ministers were being sup¬ ported by the State as provided in the Treaty. Mr. Banu replied that they were, “in proportion/’ He meant that they were supported equally in proportion to the number of adherents and priests. Mr. Banu stated that he himself had seen Bishop Ferencz a few weeks before, and that the Bishop on this point had made no complaint. If we had grievances, comments or even advice to offer after our visit, he would welcome them. His secretary explained to us that there were very many difficulties to be overcome in the way of adjustments, but that the government’s aim was to do everything consistent with the principles of “honor, justice and freedom.” Less than this w T ould touch the “honor” of Roumania. We were shown penciled esti¬ mates proving the support of the ministers, and it was promised that an exact statement would be submitted to Dr. Atkinson.* Dr. Atkinson asked whether it was not true that former Hungarian leaders had been, and were now being, treated harshly. Mr. Banu replied “No.” * Dr. Atkinson told us later in Kolozsvar that he had received the statement. [22] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES To our regret the land question was not discussed. It was mentioned, but it was not in Mr. Banu’s depart¬ ment. The interview lasted about an hour and a half, with many people waiting outside the door, who stared at us indignantly as we left. We next tried to see the Minister of Education, but he was away. We then called upon the Metropolitan. He also was out of town. We lunched at Capsa’s. Because of the trouble on the railroad, we secured an automobile and left Bucharest at 2:30, having experienced such heat as none of us ever had felt before. It was a very exhausting visit. Our route for the first two hours lay over parched and dusty roads. In the distance, straight across the plains, rose the Carpathians, in varied colors of brown and purple and gray. Near Ploesti we witnessed a Roumanian funeral pro¬ cession approaching a church. There was a hearse with plumes and banners and a crowd of peasants following. A very crude band played dismally. We were quite ignorant of the character of the deceased, but judged it to be a military occasion. Further along, we saw the oil fields on the edge of the territory between old Rou- mania and Transylvania. As we approached, many tall chimneys became visible. In one small vista we counted fifty rising from the plain, with the mountain ranges behind them, very picturesque. These oil fields probably are as hotly contested property as could be found in the world. Many of the buildings, belonging [23] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 to English and American companies, were very trim and clean-looking. We climbed slowly from the edge of the Carpathians to the mountain resort of Sinaia, through as beautiful scenery as could be imagined. Long new vistas of the mountains unrolled at every turn. Fertile valleys stretched below us with little roads winding up and round the hillsides. At Sinaia the King and Court have summer palaces. We took tea in the hotel garden. The whole feeling was that of Switzerland. The hotel was very large and clean. Well-dressed people were promenading. A good orchestra played in the garden where the many guests sat at tea. According to national custom, we drank ours with rum. After half an hour’s rest, we climbed slowly up to the highest town, Predeal. The descent was more rapid, but quite as beautiful. The drive was one of the most memorable any of us had ever taken. Of great interest to us were the evidences of ruin along the road. The region had been fought over sev¬ eral times. The Germans destroyed bridges in their re¬ treat, and we crossed the streams on temporary wooden structures. Many houses still occupied were spotted with shell marks. Others were seriously damaged, the roofs broken, the windows torn out, the walls partly fallen in. In places the houses had been completely demolished. Only the crumbled ruins showed where they had stood. We passed two soldiers’ cemeteries close together, one Roumanian, the other German, with little wooden crosses stretching in long rows over the ill- C^4] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES kept fields. The desolation and destructiveness of these past years were tragically symbolized in these ruins. The beauty of the descent through the Carpathians grew dim as night came on, and the last part of our ride was in darkness. At ten o’clock we finally arrived at Brasso, a considerable town, better known on the maps as Kronstadt. Here our church is comparatively new. Before the war plans were made for a building. The confirmed church membership is about 750 persons. We went first to the house of the minister, Mr. Kovacs, and found that he and his committee were waiting for us at the chief hotel. There we discovered that we could not be accommodated. M. Boerescu, our host in Bucharest, had accompanied us as far as Brasso, where his wife and children were spending their holiday. He was of very great assistance. None of our hosts spoke English or French. Dr. Boros departed to try to make arrangements, and L. R., P. P. and L. C. sat at a long table with perhaps a dozen gentlemen of the Committee, and could speak no word to them. We had dined at one o’clock, were tired from our journey, and greatly desired food. All that was brought us was coffee and cakes. An amusing incident followed. P. P. asked for eggs in every language known to him. Finally he drew pictures of eggs on the bill of fare, and as a concluding indication of our needs, stood up, flapped his arms and crowed. His efforts were received with marked appreciation, everyone smiled and nodded. In a few minutes they brought him a raspberry ice! Finally, thanks to Dr. Boros’s return, we obtained [25] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 food about eleven o’clock. Dr. Boros and H. S. secured a room at this hotel, and P. P., L. R. and L. C. drove to another part of the city, to the White Horse Inn, opposite the railroad station, where they passed a fairly comfortable night, in spite of its being one of the most miserable inns that they had ever seen. Our narrative now returns to Bucharest to record the trips taken by H. S. and Dr. Boros. On Monday afternoon, July 17, Dr. Boros and H. S. left Bucharest for Brasso, with difficulty securing seats in a very crowded train after waiting two hours at the station. An intensely hot run of about three hours from Bucharest brought them to a place where a seri¬ ous accident had recently occurred. Passengers had to alight, cross an improvised bridge and take a waiting train; but that sounds simpler than it was! The scene was one of great confusion. Porters finally secured to carry baggage had to be closely watched, and an elderly lady, half hysterical, needed assistance. The north¬ ward stream of passengers was met by a similar rush of southbound travelers, many of them rough soldiers who jostled and pushed their way utterly oblivious to the presence of women and children. In the confusion prevailing on the waiting train Dr. Boros was cleverly robbed of his pocketbook containing valuables. Brasso was reached at 11 p.m. It was midnight when passers-by gave the travelers a lift from the station to the town. The local minister, Mr. Kovacs, and his large family were sound asleep, but eventually the friendly parson led the way to a hotel where beds were [26] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES provided on condition that the room be vacated by seven o’clock next morning. This did not prove to be inconvenient, because a visitation of the district planned for the morrow involved catching a train at 7:15! On Tuesday morning a start was made without break¬ fast for Sepsiszentgyorgy,* reached after a ride of an hour and a half in a slow, dirty, full train. It is a small town in the midst of a rich agricultural region which is partly a flat plain, and partly broken by little wooded hills. Cultivation is intensive, and this year the crops are fortunately good. We have now no church building here. One in the possession of Unitarians for one hun¬ dred and fifty years was taken away long ago and is to-day the Roman Catholic church. Our congregation worships in the Reformed Church. This congregation is the sister church of the Church of the Saviour, Brooklyn. The minister, Joszef Lajos, is Dean of the district. He has a pleasant house, but this is possible only because of a relative’s generosity. Dean Lajos was in great trouble, having that morning received orders to appear in a distant town, with eleven other persons, before a military tribunal to answer to charges arising out of an incident at the welcome extended in Sepsi¬ szentgyorgy to the Unitarian Relief Unit in 1920. Once before the twelve men, including two Unitarian ministers, three Reformed Church ministers, a Roman Catholic priest, and several laymen were summoned * The names of towns will be better understood if it is remembered that the prefixes such as Sepsi, Homorod, and Szelsely, refer to the several districts. These prefixes are used much as the names of States are used in America. [27] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 to appear, but because one was missing all were dis¬ missed and left to bear the expense and inconvenience as best they could. It was our privilege and endeavor to carry some comfort to the distressed minister. Visits were made to several parishes in the neigh¬ borhood, a low carriage of the victoria type, drawn by two ponies, being hired for the day. The dust was dreadful on the roads throughout the trip, and it was necessary to secure soap and water at each parsonage visited. Eight kilometers brought us to Kalnok. The sister church is in Springfield, Mass. Three hundred souls, that is, most of the village, belong to the congregation. In the school there are sixty-eight children, mostly Unitarians, taught by one Unitarian and one Presbyterian teacher. Istvan Biro, the minister here,lives as a bachelor in two very small rooms, the rest of the parsonage now being used for the school. There is a site for a new denomi¬ national school, and lumber is available locally. The quaint little church was of a type common in the south¬ ern part of the country, a notable feature being that the belltower is not built upon the church, but rests upon the ground close by, a structure of timbers, ap¬ pearing at first very curiously out of place. Two or three kilometers in the return direction led the party to Sepsikorispatak (adopted by our church at Rochester, New York), where the minister, Kelemen Szekely, was away from home. As is commonly the case, the minister here manages a farm and raises part of his own income in that way. The Dean examined [28] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES his record books and papers and the apparent state of neglect seemed to call for discipline, which would be undertaken later by the Dean. The question was raised in our minds how some of our ministers at home would like to have one of their senior brethren examine their records and papers in their absence! The church here stands upon a hill surrounded by interesting old gravestones; among modern monuments was one to the memory of a former minister who was greatly loved, but who died as a young man. In the neigh¬ boring village a member of the nobility is Roman Catholic and a strong opponent of the Unitarian activities. Our school here has thirty-six scholars and one teacher. A few kilometers further was the village of Arkos, where we have a good church and an active minister, Benjamin Wegh. Lunch was served at the parsonage, the local teacher and others joining the party. Two rooms in the parsonage, each one about 17 x 12 feet, are used for the school to accommodate about ninety scholars. A sewing machine for the girls and a few wood-carving tools for the boys were noticed: it was especially interesting to see the instruments used by a small orchestra. A young man in the village makes quite good violins, though he taught himself the art by studying violins shown him by wandering gyp¬ sies. The old school was originally the property of the church, but was contracted to the Hungarian govern¬ ment on certain conditions. The Roumanian gov¬ ernment has taken it over but ignores the conditions. [29] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 As the State School it now houses eight scholars who are taught by four teachers! Around the church are high fortress walls several centuries old. As the party entered the building, the teacher (who as always is the organist as well) played the air, “Nearer my God to Thee.” Dr. Boros opened with prayer and introduced H. S., who was welcomed by the minister. H. S. spoke briefly, conveying greetings and expressing interest in the vital work of this church. Of sixteen hundred people in the village eleven hundred and fifty are Unitarians. The sister church is in Orange, N. J. The way now led across the broad valley, but per¬ mitted an inspection of the site where it is hoped to build a church in the chief town in the district, Sepsi- szentgyorgy. Through clouds of dust rising over the “road” all the way for ten kilometers the party pro¬ ceeded to Laborfalva. The minister here, Mr. Goncz, is a big honest farmer who bears the marks of hard work in the fields, but who is apparently alive to his respon¬ sibilities as a pastor. The village is small and very few of its people are of an educated class. Of a population of 272, nearly all are Unitarians, and the minister regards seventy-five other people, scattered in seventeen other places in the vicinity, as a part of his congregation. New Orleans, La., is the sister church in America. For the school a tiny building which was once a granary is used; here twenty-four Unitarian children are taught. Five Unitarian children attend the State School, their parents having for one reason or another found it politic to send them there. The church bell having [30] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES called together about one hundred people, Dr. Boros opened a brief service with prayer and then a layman, president of the district synod, gave an address of welcome and H. S. preached a brief sermon. We then proceeded to the pleasant house of Mr. Ivan Szent, the active young layman. He is evidently the chief land- owner, and lives in considerable comfort. His hospi¬ table wife spoke French and a very little English, and the children soon overcame the barriers of language and adopted their visitors. In the evening Mr. Szent sent Dr. Boros and H. S. in his smart private carriage to Kokbs, where a neat little parsonage offered further hospitality, and the ’wide-awake young minister and his charming wife received the party. A large congregation, comprising most of the village, followed at a respectful distance to the church and there in the dusk, with no artificial light, another brief service was held. It appeared to mean much to the minister, Gabor Benedek, and his parishioners to receive such a visitation. The church at Fairhaven, Mass., is the sister church of Kokos. A short drive led to the railway, and at 9 p.m. two rather weary apostles climbed on to a train in the dark, and sat on the outside platform of a crowded third-class car for a two-hour crawl into Brasso. Here it was found that the other members of the Commission had arrived from Bucharest by automobile, and before retiring all joined in a conference which lasted far into the night. July 19, Wednesday. We had been told that the needs of the local school would be spread before us and [31] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 our counsel asked. L. C., P. P. and L. R., returned to the larger hotel and with Dr. Boros and H. S. met several gentlemen. It was a very futile sort of con¬ ference, interrupted constantly by efforts to secure an automobile to carry us further. This we finally suc¬ ceeded in doing, thanks to M. Boerescu’s untiring assistance. The arrangement with the chauffeur was made final only by our holding his driving license until the completion of his contract. We accomplished nothing in the way of assisting the parish. Neverthe¬ less we learned that a small group of loyal people, with greatly diminished means and against heavy odds, were carrying on a brave struggle for the continuance of their church life. Cleveland is the sister church. After having our passports vised we finally got away from Brasso at 3130. We drove out into the fertile plain of Transylvania, leaving behind us the snow-capped Carpathians, and at five o’clock reached Bolon, where we held our first religious service. The minister, Mr. Lofi, was a graduate of Manchester College, Oxford. The church is a sort of basilica. The men sit in what architecturally is the chancel, the women in the nave. There are galleries in either transept where the children gathered in large numbers and looked down at us. We shall always remember a group of five children in a little archway between the galleries; they looked like an old painting of an angel choir. P. P. offered prayer from the high pulpit; L. R. and L. C. spoke; the minister wel¬ comed us. The Presbyterian minister also welcomed us. Dr. Boros on this, as on all occasions, acted as inter- [32] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES preter, first translating the welcome to us into English, and then our replies into Hungarian. We walked to the school, a poor building compared to the one taken from them by the Roumanian State. We also visited the Reformed Church. The Presbytery, or governing committee of the church, and a large crowd of old and young followed us. We then went to the parsonage, where we enjoyed our first Transylvanian meal, an elaborate supper. After a stay of about an hour, we drove on perhaps three miles to Nagyajta. The minister is Mr. Taar Geza, and the membership of the church numbers about 1000. The sister church is the Second Church in Brooklyn, New York. The church building dates from before the Reformation. It is approached by a steep lane. Around it is a high wall, making it a fortress. Many of the churches which we were to see were forti¬ fied in the same way. Here we held a brief service. Again the Presbyterian minister welcomed us, as well as the minister of the church. The interior was dim and impressive in the late afternoon light. After the service a group of women met us by the church door and pre¬ sented us with flowers. We had a light supper served us at the parsonage. Then followed a long and tiring drive in the dark to Vargyas. We missed our way and did not arrive until midnight. Dr. Boros believed that the minister, Gyorgy Sandor Kiss, an ex-Dean of the district, had been told of our coming; but the message had not reached him, and we descended upon him unannounced. The [ 33 ] 4 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 night watchman quite naturally discovered us as we came through the village, and insisted upon walking before the automobile, waving his staff and his lantern, to the Dean’s house, where he opened the gates and our car entered the courtyard. The Dean’s house deserves a word of description. From the street it presented a wall one story high, broken only by large windows. We entered at the left end into the courtyard through large and high wooden gates. Along this end of the house next the gate ran a veranda or passageway covered by the main roof of the house with deep-set arches forming a sort of cloister. Like many of the Transylvanian houses it was built of a kind of adobe and then whitewashed, the walls being perhaps two feet thick. On the broad sills below the arches were boxes of gay geraniums. Across the back of the house was another veranda partly closed in, with a small table and benches, evidently used as a dining room. Against the white wall behind the unpainted pine benches hung bright-colored home-made rugs. Through this covered porch we entered a good-sized room in which there were desks and cupboards. From this room we passed to the large living room, used also as a dining room. On either side of it stood iron bed¬ steads. It is the Transylvanian custom to have beds in nearly all the rooms; some are used regularly, and others evidently are kept for passing guests. On the left of this room was the kitchen, and on the right another large room, and out of it still another. In these two last were beds. P. P. and L. C. were given [ 34 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES the largest room. Dr. Boros and H. S. slept in the living room, in which were two children in cribs. L. R. went to the school-teacher’s house near by. July 20th. We breakfasted about nine o’clock. Be¬ fore the breakfast L. R. and L. C. had a talk with the host and with the President of the church district, who was a baron. He arrived in his carriage and looked very much like a comfortable, well-set-up English squire. The minister, Gyorgy Sandor Kiss, for over forty years minister of this parish, and for twenty years Dean of the district, was a fine-looking, vigorous man, who spoke to us with pride of his twenty grandchildren. His widowed daughter lives with him. Her eldest son is a student at Budapest. The government had refused to allow him to return home for the summer vacation. There are perhaps two thousand students from Transylvania in Budapest. Most of them, we were told, desired to go home to work on the land during the summer months, but the Roumanian government would not allow any of them to do so. Budapest is the centre of irredentism . To allow two thousand or more students from Budapest to return to Transylvania might create political disturbance. Such apparently is the opinion of the Roumanian govern¬ ment. Passing from these general considerations, the fact that this young man was not permitted to go home con¬ stituted a grievance not only for the minister and his family, but for the whole community, and stimulated hostile feelings toward the Roumanian authorities. [ 35 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 As our breakfast on this Thursday morning was the first taken in a private family in Transylvania, it may be well to describe it. Cold fried chicken, eggs, coarse brown bread, honey and excellent butter were spread before us. A tall bottle standing upon the table aroused our curiosity. It was filled with cold and very strong coffee. A pan of hot milk was brought from the kitchen and placed upon the table, then poured into cups with a silver ladle and mixed with the cold coffee essence. The result was very pleasant. After finishing breakfast, we left the house and walked along very untidy streets to the church. The cattle are driven in from the fields to the barnyards through the streets, leaving them much like the barn¬ yards. The Dean said had he known that we were coming he would have had the village swept! The church was a large building dating from before the Reformation. A congregation of perhaps three hundred gathered. H. S., L. R. and L. C. spoke. It might be well at this point to explain the procedure followed in all the churches. First a hymn was sung, then prayer was offered from the pulpit, usually by one of the visitors. Dr. Boros would translate. Everyone stood. There followed a speech of welcome by the minister, who wore his gown. Sometimes the welcome was given by the lay-president of the congregation. Dr. Boros repeated the speech in English. One of us would next speak on behalf of the American churches; then L. R. would speak on behalf of the English churches, and Dr. Boros would translate each in turn. [36] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES In conclusion Dr. Boros would speak to the congrega¬ tion. There was always a hymn at the beginning and a hymn at the end. The music was unlike any church music that we are familiar with. Its range was very limited, the tempo extremely slow, and the effect some¬ what suggestive of Gregorian chanting. Much of the music was in the minor key, which gave the feeling of melancholy. What the singing often lacked in musical quality was made up in volume and vigor. From the church we returned to the minister’s home. He told us that he seldom saw ministers from outside his district oftener than once in five years. We were very grateful to him for his hospitality and welcome. We left about ten o’clock, and drove to Homorodok- land, the sister church to West Newton. Entering the village, we came to a gateway where a crowd welcomed us, throwing flowers and presenting bouquets. A minister from a neighboring town, Mr. Bencedy, addressed us in English. In most of the villages much attention is paid to the gateways. Just as in the architecture of colonial New England the decoration was lavished upon the door¬ ways, so here ornamentation is placed almost exclusively on the gateways. The entrance to the parsonage enclosure was of a familiar type. Two large and heavy wooden gates admitted the vehicles; beside them a smaller gate was used more conveniently for the people living in the house. Over the uprights, supporting these three [ 37 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 gates, extended a decorated wooden top bearing the following carved inscription: “1809 Az Oklandi Unitarus eklezsia Albert Szigmund papsaga alatt epittette a papi kajasut. Az egyence serif ezen kapu varja kettos ezivut pediz ve ’zheheppen hizarja. Isten akaratjat hirdeto e’o szo’lo’ Lahik itt, in hienj be pre’ dalo’ ho’ borlo.’” Translated it reads: ‘‘The parsonage gate of Oakland was built in Szigmund Albert’s pastorate, 1809. Here the true-hearted are welcomed, but the double- hearted are shut out. The preacher of God’s will dwells here and the trouble¬ maker must not enter.” The church was a pre-Reformation structure within high walls, and contained an interesting old paneled and painted ceiling. We went through the parsonage enclosure and entered the church by the side door. The congregation numbered perhaps six hundred people. H. S. gave the address, and spoke of Oakland and Berkeley in California. After the meeting we went to the minister's house. A broad veranda led from the yard across the side of the house. A large living room opened upon this ve¬ randa, and from this central room smaller rooms opened. A long table was set in the large room. There were [38] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES perhaps twenty-five people at the table, mostly minis¬ ters and church officers. A gypsy band played in the yard during part of the time. As we were about to leave, a discussion occurred between our host, Dr. Boros, and a Roumanian soldier. On inquiry we learned that the Roumanian police officer asked to see our passports. The people were irritated at his demand, which was probably superfluous. We immediately went to the Police Office, where we \ were courteously received and showed our passports. The whole affair took perhaps twenty minutes. Probably the police official intended to impress the village people with his authority. Our entire readiness to show our passports made the situa¬ tion quite easy. We drove back along the valley one mile to Homoro- dujfalu. Here the people in their Hungarian costumes had gathered in the road and stood around the car. They presented us with flowers. The minister ad¬ dressed us and we replied. We then ascended through a long, steep and terraced lane to the church, which was located on the shoulder of a high hill and commanded a magnificent view of the whole valley. This church, both inside and out, showed that the community was not prosperous. The sister church is in Berkeley. Re¬ turning, we went to the parsonage, where we were wel¬ comed by Mr. Bencedy and his wife. In most of the villages visited the parsonage appeared to be the best house. The minister in many places was also a farmer, tilling several acres of land from which he gained much of his living. [ 39 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN I 922 We drove on after perhaps an hour’s stop to Homoro- dalmas. We visited the church, a big and somewhat dilapidated building and then went to the large and well-kept parsonage. The minister was away, but his wife and daughter made us welcome. We entered through an outer office or business room into a sit¬ ting room, measuring perhaps 25 x 16 feet. A charm¬ ing old rosewood cimbale stood near the door. The daughter of the house played for us, touching the wire strings with two small hammers. The cimbale is used in place of the piano in most of the Hungarian orches¬ tras, and we saw a number of these instruments in private houses. At one end of the room stood a massive loom, and the women of the house showed us the linen that they had woven. Some of it they had embroidered as well. On the wall we noticed a coat of arms, painted on a plaque perhaps twelve inches square in blue, white, red and gold. We learned that the family was of dis¬ tinguished lineage. We were shown three pieces of ancient church plate dating from the fourteenth century and continuously used in this church. One was a very beautiful gold and silver chalice of intricate design; the other pieces were simpler, and less interesting. We drove to Homorodkaracsonfalva, where the church stood at the meeting of two roads. The sister church is at Jamaica Plain. The building was very poor and ill-kept. The people had not known of our coming. As in every other instance the church bell rang at our approach. A few men gathered from the fields. We did not attempt to hold a service. [40] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES A peasant woman brought us bouquets. We had a talk with the minister. Here, as in most of the churches, the organ pipes had been taken by the soldiers to be melted into bullets. We always asked by what soldiers. Apparently the Austrian and Roumanian soldiers robbed the churches equally. This seems to be fairly typical of the fate of the churches in the countryside. Whether friends or enemies passed, the people suffered. L. C. climbed a very crude flight of steps — hardly more than a ladder—to the loft and looked at the organ, stripped of half its pipes, only the wooden ones remaining. It was a pitiful little instrument, with only four octaves to the keyboard, yet the minister said that its loss was one of their bitterest hardships. They could not sing nearly so well as formerly. The parish was probably as poor as any we visited. The poverty of this and other villages is of a kind that we know nothing about at home. Many of the people see very little money. Few of them would handle any amount of it in a lifetime. They are well nourished, because they live off their own land. In every village the women may be seen standing at the doors, distaff’s in hand, spinning out the yarn, which later they will knit and weave. The life is of a sim¬ plicity almost impossible for English people or Amer¬ icans to understand. For generations the State has supported the churches, and the churches have sup¬ ported the schools. There is not even a rudimentary comprehension of what we mean by the self-support of [41 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 local institutions. In this village, in answer to the question how much money does the parish raise a year, we were told about one hundred lei (less than a dollar). Because of these primitive conditions, it must not be supposed that the people lack intelligence. On the contrary they are an exceedingly vigorous-minded people. We drove for about an hour to Homorodszentpal. We were met by five young women in national Hun¬ garian costume, bringing us flowers, with which after¬ wards they trimmed the automobile. We went to the large white church set in its green enclosure and sur¬ rounded by its ancient fortifications. Again, this was a pre-Reformation edifice. Like so many, it had once possessed a deep chancel, now occupied by the seats for the men arranged to face the seats in the nave occupied by the women. The pulpit stood against the left wall of the chancel with seats opposite it. One seat for the minister, covered with a canopy, stood directly back of the pulpit. There was excellent feeling displayed here, and a large congregation welcomed us. After the service we went to the parsonage and had refreshments, a good plain cake with a raspberry-flavored water. In New York State, it is called “raspberry shrub.” At Homorodszentmarton a large congregation of village people, perhaps four hundred, were assembled in the big bare church. The sister church is in Mont¬ clair. P. P. went into the pulpit and offered prayer, and afterwards sat in the minister’s seat. The young minister, wrapped in his gown, stood in the middle of the [42] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES church facing P. P. and made his speech of welcome, then translated it himself into excellent English. It evidently had been carefully prepared and memorized, but at the end in his earnestness perhaps he forgot a portion of his translation. “There are three great wrongs,” he concluded with much emphasis, “and these are Faith, Hope and Love.” Following the meeting in the church, where we shook hands with many people, we went to the parsonage, a substantial and well-placed house, very simple and clean. We reached the living room by going up a flight of steps and crossing a veranda. Here refreshments were served. We stayed perhaps half an hour. For the next hour and a half we drove through a long valley, climbing sometimes on one side of the hills and sometimes on the other, as we approached a sort of pass. We saw in the distance — now on one side and now on the other :— four churches, but we did not have time to visit them. We finally reached Szekelyudvarhely, a considerable city, at about ten o’clock. The sister church is in Provi¬ dence, R. I. We drove through lighted and well-paved streets to the parsonage, a commodious city house, where we were cordially welcomed by the minister, Mr. Boloni, and his wife. The gates were opened, the automobile came into the yard, where it stayed for the night, and we were shown up through the veranda and into the big living room. As in some of the better houses where we were entertained, this one-story sub¬ stantial dwelling had a central hallway. On the right [ 43 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 was the kitchen, on the left a large room. Across the end of the hall was the big living room, from which opened on the right a bedroom, and on the left a family parlor. All the rooms, the family parlor, the living room, and the others, had the customary bedsteads in the corners, ornamented with heavy covers. There was long preparation for refreshments, nearly two hours, in fact. Several men came to call upon us and there was much talk. Among them was the father of a theo¬ logical student now studying in the Home Missionary College at Manchester, England. We got to bed after midnight. At eight o’clock in the morning, we held service in the large white church next the parsonage. It was one of the few city churches which we visited, white out¬ side and inside, with tiled floor, and yellow benches. The communion table was covered with a white cloth and had flowers upon it in the national Hungarian colors, red, white and green. The bell rang for ten minutes, perhaps one hundred people gathered. L. C. went into the pulpit and offered prayer. The minister made us a speech of welcome with great emotion. H. S. and L. R. spoke. For the first time since the Rou¬ manian occupation the congregation sang the national Hungarian hymn. This is permitted by the Roumanian authorities, and was in no way irregular. Nearly every¬ one in the church wept. The men who occupied the chief seats, members of the Presbytery of the church, sobbed with their handkerchiefs to their faces. We were constantly impressed by the amount of work [ 44 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES done by our ministers. Mr. Boloni, besides his parish work, which includes at least one daily service in the church, teaches religion for eighteen hours a week in the elementary schools. Following the morning meeting we had a long breakfast. Many choice things were served, particu¬ larly excellent coffee and “chimney cake,” a favorite Hungarian dainty. It is made of sweet batter, wound around a metal form about five inches in diameter, and then baked and sugared. The form is withdrawn, leav¬ ing a hollow tube of cake. It is sweet and rich, but of no marked flavor. At this breakfast table the whole long chimney cake was brought in and exhibited for our entertainment, an appetizing sight. We left about ten o’clock and drove along a beautiful valley to Szentmihaly. The church occupies a central position, from which three sister or filial churches are served. It is a fine old building, beautifully kept, spacious and impressive, about the size of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston. Many of the churches we visited were shabby, due partly to the troubles of the past ten years. Some were not well swept. This church was exceedingly well kept, everything was clean, the paint was white, and the whole effect dignified and very pleasing. In most of the churches the pulpits were shrouded in a velvet cloth from the top to the floor. These draperies added little beauty, although they did lend color to the cold stone and cement interiors. In this church no drapery hid the stone pulpit, which rose like a flower in green and gold against a white [ 45 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 wall. Over all the pulpits there were heavy sounding boards, usually shaped like crowns, elaborately orna¬ mented and colored. Here the sounding board com¬ pleted the design and was beautifully gilded. At home, one of these massive pulpits, even decorated as this was, would be out of place. But in the large bare interior, with its thick white walls, its windows with transparent glass, where the only color was given by the painted blue pews and the red tiled floor, it was effective. It was one of the finest pulpits that we saw. Here, as in many other places, we saw the school¬ rooms and heard the story of the difficulties in support¬ ing the schoolmaster, and of the interference of the Rou¬ manian authorities, despite the provisions of the Peace Treaty. The schoolmaster showed us the furniture made by the scholars, and a large sign with “Welcome” painted upon it, which they had prepared for our coming. He told us stories of hardship, and made courageous statements about the unshaken intention of his people to maintain their churches and schools against all odds. How this can be done if the farming land is permanently taken from them is certainly a problem. All that has kept the great majority of our Transylvanian churches alive is the American support, as all that has kept the schools and colleges alive is the British support. The noble tower of this church before the war con¬ tained two ancient bells which served the mother and filial congregations, and were greatly loved. Both were taken by the Roumanian soldiers. Nearly all the [46] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES churches in pre-war days had two or more bells. In some the smaller bell has been left. Here, as has been said, both bells had been taken. But the congregation could not endure a silent belfry, and had hung in their place a long strip of iron. In our honor this was pounded with a hammer, and gave forth a most melan¬ choly sound. Bells are comparatively inexpensive. A good bell costs in Bucharest from £15 up. A large bell, equivalent to the better bell that was taken, could be purchased for about £40. The minister, Mr. Deak, and his wife were people of independent means and lived in a spacious house like those already described. A dainty luncheon had been prepared for us. These two devoted leaders bore the marks of the suffering and sorrow endured so long with their people. This congregation had expected us the previous evening, and had waited until 1 a.m. for our coming. They were now much disappointed that we arrived unheralded and stayed so short a time. A long and beautiful drive brought us to Marosvasar- hely, where we arrived about three o’clock. It is a city of size and prominence. Our church is comparatively a new movement, occupying a “Prayer House,’’ a small, attractive meeting house, well located on a main street, opposite the leading hotel. The congregation owns also a good adjacent lot, and before the war had accumulated nearly enough money to build a substantial church. Although the congregation numbers six hundred per¬ sons, mostly railroad employees, the undertaking has [ 47 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 of necessity been indefinitely postponed. The sister church is the First Church in Boston. We lunched at the hotel with the minister, Mr. Rediger, of noble birth, a sturdy and attractive man perhaps thirty years of age. He had been thrown into prison without trial and kept there for nearly a year. Finally, when his trial was appointed, he had to pay the judge to hear the case. These facts were published, and the Roumanian authorities instructed the newspapers to state that Roumanian judges expect to receive fees from the accused before trial. Professor Galfi was imprisoned with Mr. Rediger. Galfi and others were flogged. This indignity Mr. Rediger escaped. So far as we can learn, no charges were substantiated against these prominent men. They were apparently selected as men to be disciplined because they were leaders, and for the terrifying effect that brutal treatment given them might have upon others. After two hours we proceeded to Torda. The long drive was very beautiful, with low hills,sweeping to the right, and a great plain, all cultivated, to the left. As we returned to Torda later, the description of this Mecca of Unitarianism will be left until our second visit. We went first to the parsonage, then to the college, next to the Roman Catholic church where the great Diet of Torda was held in 1582, then to see the original of the well-known painting of Francis David, which hangs in the Municipal Building; and, finally, to our own beautiful church, and back to the parsonage, where Mr. Lorinczi and his wife gave us refreshment [48] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES and a cordial welcome. After a rest of an hour and a half, we drove on again to Cluj-Kolozsvar. The drive was a long, slow ascent in the dark to a high plateau. As we came to the highest point, there below us on the plain were the lights of Kolozsvar, the city that has often been called the “Unitarian Rome.” Here our free faith was first officially recognized, and here Francis David preached. We arrived about midnight at the Unitarian College, where we were to lodge. Saturday, July 22nd. As much of our trip centred in Cluj-Kolozsvar,* and in the College, let us first de¬ scribe the College building. It occupies a large city block in a desirable and central location. Built around four sides of a court, it is a dignified and impressive building of four stories, although without architectural pretense. In the high basement are three dining halls and large kitchens, storage rooms, baths, a swimming pool, furnace rooms, and a gymnasium two stories in height. This is used also for entertainments, dances, etc. On the first floor are the offices of administration for the schools and colleges, laboratories for chemistry and physics, a well-equipped museum, a dignified fac¬ ulty room, and several lecture rooms. On the second floor is a large assembly room extending two stories in height, with a deep gallery. This is used for meetings of the General Consistory and for all formal occasions. In general arrangement it is not unlike Sanders Theatre at Harvard University, although of smaller * The Hungarian name is Kolozsvar, the Roumanian name is Cluj. It is now frequently called Cluj-Kolozsvar. 5 [49] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 seating capacity. A high pulpit is the central feature, with smaller desks and platform beneath it. Under the gray stone columns supporting the gallery is a frieze ornamented with gold bas-reliefs of prominent Hun¬ garian Unitarians. It is really a noble room, and seats perhaps eight hundred people. Adjoining it is a smaller Consistory room, where the Representative Consistory meets. Here a long table occupies the centre. Around the wall are seats with small desks in front of them. It looks much like a legislative chamber. The walls are thickly hung with portraits and coats of arms. There are portraits of two women, Miss Sharp of London, and Mrs. Richmond of Providence, Rhode Island, bene¬ factors of the Transylvanian churches. Adjoining this room is the office of the Bishop’s secretary. Next this is the Bishop’s office, a corner room perhaps 25 ft. by 18 ft., with windows on two sides. The walls are hung with portraits. There is a long leather sofa, with arm¬ chairs, table,desk, and many bookshelves; two iron bed¬ steads are tucked away in the corners. This room was occupied by P. P. and L. C. Continuing the description of the other rooms on the second floor, there is a library for the professors, occupied as a bedroom by L. R. and H. S., students’ dormitories, lecture rooms, the exten¬ sive main library, particularly rich in Polish and Hungarian Unitarian history, and the Dean’s room with rosewood furniture. The top floor is given up to dormitories and more lecture rooms. The building is about twenty-five years old. Before its erection the College occupied a building across the [50] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES street, which it still owns, known now as the Old College. This the Roumanians have commandeered, forcing out the girls’ schools which were occupying it. The present building shelters the following activi¬ ties: an elementary school for boys, which is a day school only; a gymnasium or boys’ high school, which supplies both school and lodgings; a divinity school giving lodging and instruction to thirty-six students (now crowded to the top floor); the lodgings for the girl students, who are given some instruction, but find most of their schooling in other city institutions; and lastly, all the denominational activities of a highly centralized administration under the Consistory. During the war, the College was used as a hospital, and was superficially damaged. Before the war the building was adequate. The Girls’ Home which should be in the Old College, now creates in this building a very congested condition, un¬ desirable from every point of view. Two rooms, 15 ft. by 21 ft. in area, are each occupied by nineteen girls. Here they must sleep and study and play. These rooms were formerly used by divinity students, who are now crowded almost as badly on the top floor. In two rooms somewhat larger than those just described, thirty-six men must study and sleep. There can be no privacy or cultural advantages. Such crowding greatly interferes with the work of the schools. Professor Csifo said to us, “How can we train scholars in such congested conditions? And how can we educate the girls when they are so herded together?” [50 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 The Countess Teleki begs that a sum of $4500 be raised for the purpose of purchasing a dwelling to be used for a girls’ dormitory.* The Commission believes that there would be great advantages in taking some forward step at this time. On Saturday we breakfasted in the Bishop’s secre¬ tary’s room, as we did each morning, on coffee, rolls and honey. We devoted the morning to interviews. Im¬ mediately after lunch, P. P. and L. R. departed by automobile for Szekelykeresztur. H. S. and L. C. stayed for the Sunday in Cluj. L. C. was urged to preach at Torda, but after consultation it seemed wiser to remain at the College. We learned on our arrival that Bishop Ferencz’s only son had died two days before and that the funeral would be held on Saturday afternoon. Dr. Boros kindly took our cards to the Bishop. We were told that the funeral would undoubtedly be delayed. When bodies were brought from other towns by railway it often happened that the car carrying the casket would be sidetracked at some small station and the family would have to pay a gratuity to the local agent to get the car attached to another train. A widow, whose property had mostly been taken from her, had to pay a very heavy sum to get the body of her only son removed from a siding, where the car had been deliberately halted in hot weather, and brought into Cluj two days after the date set for the funeral. We were told that it would un¬ doubtedly cost Bishop Ferencz a considerable sum of * Of this about $500 has been pledged. [51] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES money, since he was a prominent man, to bring his son’s body into Cluj. Later in the day we were informed that the body had not arrived, and the funeral would be delayed until Sunday. We were unabl eto verify the statements made concerning this illegal and despi¬ cable way of extorting money, but we repeated these statements to several persons, and were told that they could supply accounts of similar happenings in a number of places. We cannot vouch for these state¬ ments, but regard them as credible. The Roumanian petty officials are paid inadequately, when paid at all. As Roumania was a Turkish province up to fifty years ago, the method of Turkish administration is still the Roumanian habit. The official must collect his income from his district, and the custom permeates the entire fabric of Roumanian life; if you want anything from a public official, you must pay for it. We found other instances, which will be mentioned later. Sunday, July 23. Next to the College, and separated only by a narrow street, stands the beautiful church, a noble structure seating fifteen hundred people. As in so many of the churches, what was architecturally the chancel is now filled with pews facing the pews in the nave. The transepts are very shallow, the seats facing the centre. In the middle stands the round communion table, as is the custom in all the churches. The scrupu¬ lously clean interior has whitened walls and is slightly ornamented. The fine organ fills the gallery over the main entrance. The pulpit, surmounted by the usual heavy sounding board, stands at the junction of transept [ 53 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 and chancel on the left, and is entered through a stair concealed in the masonry. Just before service, we received a call from the Count and Countess Teleki. The recent visit of the Countess to the United States we all gratefully remembered. Bishop Nagy with his chaplain also called upon us. He is the Presbyterian Bishop of Transylvania. He ac¬ companied L. C. to church and sat with him in the pew, a denominational courtesy which was deeply appre¬ ciated. He is a minister of great ability, much honored in the community, who has been a very good friend to our Unitarian people. With these and other friends H. S. and L. C. went in procession from the College to the church, H. S. wearing the long sleeveless black gown used in Transylvania, the full folds of which are carried over the left arm. The church, except for the seats reserved for the students,* was filled with earnest men and women, there being perhaps one thousand persons present. This ancient congregation, undoubtedly the oldest Unitarian Society in the world, is the sister church of King’s Chapel, Boston, and King’s Chapel has been generous in its gifts. We were received with very deep feeling. After a hymn the senior minister, Mr. Karoly Urmossi, offered prayer, the men standing and the women sitting according to their custom. Then Dr. Boros, as Secretary of the Consistory, welcomed and introduced H. S., who preached from the text “I am * The schools were not in session. c 54 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” His sermon had been summarized and printed in Hungarian, and as the synopsis was in the hands of all the congregation they followed him without an interpreter and with the closest attention. Quite a number understood English. After another hymn had been sung, L. C. delivered the greetings of the Canadian and American churches, and spoke upon the meaning of our visit. Dr. Boros interpreted. He then addressed L. C. and announced that by vote of the Consistory L. C. was now made Honorary Chief Secretary of the Transylvanian Church with the privileges and authorities of the high office. L. C. expressed his deep appreciation of the honor thus done the American churches. H. S. was then made Hon¬ orary Minister of the Kolozsvar church and expressed his appreciation. H. S. was asked to stand in the open space before the pulpit, together with Dean Urmossi and his assist¬ ant, Rev. Zoltan Lorinczi. Beside them sat the Pres¬ bytery. Dean Urmossi then presented H. S. with a beautiful communion-table cover, which the Kolozsvar congregation desired him to convey to the sister church, King’s Chapel in Boston. Of fine, hand-woven linen and embroidered with gold, the communion cloth was made by a member of the Kolozsvar congregation nearly three centuries ago. It is an inspiring reminder [ 55 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 of the continuity of Unitarian religious life and faith in storm-swept Transylvania, and no more striking ex¬ pression than this gift could have been given of the fraternal feeling and gratitude of the church. The whole occasion was deeply moving to all present. It was afterwards arranged that a friend should convey the communion cloth to London. None of us wished to risk carrying it across Europe, as we feared it might be confiscated at one of the frontiers.* Following the service we visited the parsonage and paid our respects to Dean Urmossi, and were then taken to call upon the Bishop and Mrs. Ferencz. They live near the church and College. Entering a modest gate¬ way, ornamented by an ancient hatchment, and going through a stone-flagged passage, we went up broad stairs into the Bishop’s dwelling. We were shown through two antechambers into the large living room, where several persons were gathered with the Bishop and his wife. Under any circumstances our meeting him would have been moving; it was now more deeply so. Frail,— he is eighty-seven years of age, — with a calm face through which his spirit shone, he came forward to meet us with great simplicity and said “I cannot greet you as I would, for this afternoon I bury my son.” We replied that we came not as delegates but as friends to mourn with him. We were received intimately, almost as members of the family. H. S. had dinner at the home of Dr. A. de Gyorgyai. * It is now in Boston, Massachusetts. [56] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES He and members of his family speak English well and were charming hosts. Dr. Gyorgyai was professor of surgery (ear, nose and throat) at the University of Transylvania, and when the Roumanians appropriated the property and the University itself was moved to Hungary, he returned to practice, but keeps up his researches, and has been responsible for some notable improvements in apparatus and procedure, being inter¬ nationally known for his work. Life is not what it was for him or his family, and the future is uncertain, but they were cheerful and brave, and testified to the spiritual help they derived from their Unitarian faith. L. C. took lunch with Dr., Mrs. and Miss Boros in a garden restaurant in an old palace yard, and then went back to the College. In the afternoon H. S. and L. C. attended the funeral of the Bishop’s son in the cemetery chapel. Imagine a chapel, perhaps fifty by twenty-five feet, lighted by windows only at the end high above the door, the entire chapel painted black inside, with black crape on the walls, and a high black platform with black canopy. Upon this platform, draped with lace and surrounded with flowers, was the coffin. At its foot stood a small table with a few flowers on it. Down either side of the walls was a single row of chairs. We were immediately shown to places next the Bishop’s family. A few people stood behind the chairs and against the wall, and a few around the door. The service was conducted by Professor Csifo, who entered wearing his gown, and stood at the foot of the casket, [ 57 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 facing it. The service consisted of a rather long ad¬ dress, delivered with great fluency and feeling — very evidently a eulogy — and a long prayer. The casket was then carried out of the chapel by men in black, and placed in a hearse drawn by four horses. The Bishop, his wife, the widow and her children, and intimate friends walked behind the hearse. Dr. Boros had ex¬ plained that we should not be expected to go to the grave, as it might mean standing at least for two hours in the cemetery. We therefore walked away after the funeral procession had started. We were told that more than a thousand persons followed the hearse to the grave. We waited at the College for Professor Csifo, and went with him late in the afternoon to the Countess Teleki’s for tea. A word of explanation should be given concerning these friends. The Countess is an American, born in San Francisco, educated in Germany, and was formerly the Baroness Kemeny. Some ten years after the Baron’s death she married Count Teleki. He is one of the best-known Hungarian noblemen in Transyl¬ vania. He owned large estates, which he brought to a high degree of productiveness, and won prizes for horti¬ culture and agriculture in the Paris Exhibition and other international gatherings. He is widely known in Europe for successful irrigational engineering. He is a man of the highest character and a great worker. His estates have been confiscated, his beautiful home re¬ duced to a ruin, and he possesses to-day only a fragment of his former property. We found the Count and [58] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES Countess living in a peasant’s house of three rooms, adjacent to a small spinning factory owned by the Count. They received us most cordially, and we had a delightful two hours with them and with the Misses Kemeny, daughters of the Countess. We discussed many questions concerning the future of Transylvania and the churches. The Count, a Presbyterian, is a liberal, and in sympathy with his wife’s Unitarian faith. The Countess has been of great service to our churches ever since the Roumanian occupation. July 22-23, l 9 22 * L. R. and P. P. were asked to visit Szekelykeresztur, in the heart of Szekely-land, the seat of the three colleges. The occasion was the dedication of two new church bells, and it was to be a gala day for the whole district. There was some debate over the wisdom of accepting the invitation, since we were told that the gathering was likely to take on a strongly polit¬ ical tone. L. R. and P. P. finally decided, however, to make the trip. Accordingly, the party, including Professor Galfi as interpreter, started directly after lunch from Kolozsvar for the five hours’ motor drive. Professor Galfi, who teaches Old Testament in the divinity school and is a graduate of Manchester College, Oxford, was a delightful companion. He is a strong, virile type of scholar, with a keen sense of humor. It was a beautiful day, and the journey gave us a continuous series of fine views over the rich and varied countryside. We passed great numbers of peasants, leading their little carts from the fields, and it was easy to distinguish between the Roumanian type and the [ 59 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 Hungarian. It was near evening when we finally- reached our destination. We drew up in front of the College, a splendidly impressive modern building, com¬ pleted just before the war, where a flower and flag- trimmed arch had been set up. Standing there in the road, we were greeted by the minister, Stephen Lorinczi, a benign old pastor, in his flowing gown; by the director of the College, a stalwart gentleman with a close- cropped head, and by a lady dressed all in black, who presented us with a great bouquet. All three speeches were fervently impassioned, and our interpreter said that there were many things which he would report to us later. He never did. After this little ceremony we went into the College, where we were to lodge for the night. Beds had been set up in the large faculty room, the walls of which were lined with portraits. There followed an interval of two hours in a sort of anteroom crowded with men and filled with tobacco smoke, when all talked at once and appeared to us to be very much" excited. Nothing was translated, and to this day we do not know just what was going on. We are inclined to believe that there was some resentment over our stipulation that we should report our presence and friendly intentions to the Roumanian authorities of the village. About ten o’clock we were escorted a short distance to the old buildings of the College, near the church. Here, in a low-studded, candle-lighted room, we sat down to supper. There were perhaps twenty men present, ministers from the neighborhood, teachers in [60] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES the College, and four young theological students. We had a simple supper and much good talk, with constant play of wit between Mr. Jozan and Professor Galfi. At least half of those present spoke English. This supper was followed by an extremely pretty incident. We came out of the room on to a high ve¬ randa. There below us in the dark school yard was a group of men and boys, twenty-four in all. It was the village band come to serenade us. They stood in a circle with their instruments and music-racks. At in¬ tervals small boys held up flaring candles, the only light. It was an unforgettable picture. The musicians played three or four selections with vigor and enthusiasm, and at the end of the little concert, Professor Galfi expressed to them our thanks and congratulations. They were farmers and farmers’ boys, who found time, under wise leadership, to practice together and thus keep alive an interest outside their daily routine. Sunday morning after breakfast with Pastor Lo- rinczi, and one or two others, we went to the head¬ quarters of police, and made ourselves known to the Prefect. He was an agreeable and quite polished gentleman, who gave us a courteous reception. The hour for morning service was eleven o’clock, and when we reached the church a great crowd had gathered in the high-walled church yard. Many of the women were in costume; there were swarms of children, and the atmosphere was distinctly festive. The crowd, numbering a thousand, began to pour into the church, which had the appearance of great age, [61] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 and was, in fact, built before the Reformation. It com¬ prised a nave and one very wide and deep transept, opposite which stood the high pulpit. Across the end of the transept was the organ gallery, filled with boys and young men, and at both ends of the nave were galleries for the children. The seats on the floor of the transept were occupied by men; those in the nave by women. There was a paneled ceiling, three hundred years old, painted in the crude manner characteristic of Szekely art. Montreal is the sister church. It has been said that the occasion was a service to dedicate two new bells, bought at great sacrifice by the people to replace those lost during the war. As one man said, “We felt we had no church when we had no bells.” In every respect, then, it was a joyous service, with extra music; and the tides of emotion were running deep in all hearts. Mr. Jozan, our Unitarian minister from Budapest, highly esteemed and much beloved in Transylvania, was the preacher. His sermon, even to us who could not understand his words, was of great beauty and power. When near its end he pointed to¬ ward the belfry, and the deep-toned bell rang out, soon answered by the higher one, and then both clanged together, we caught the meaning of the Latin he was quoting: “ Vivos voco , mortuos plango, fulgura frango .” The congregation was very deeply affected. After the sermon, P. P. went to the pulpit and spoke a few words of greeting and cheer, and then he and L. R. held a baptismal service. Three babies, a boy and two girls, all less than six months old, were brought into [62] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES the church, not by their parents, but by their god¬ mothers. L. R. christened Denes, and P. P. Anna and Irene. In Transylvania it is the custom for the minister to pour water from the chalice on the child’s head while the nurse still holds it. The fact that L. R. and P. P. took the children in their arms and sprinkled the water was apparently very impressive to those present. Many spoke of it, and it was even mentioned in a newspaper account of the event. After the service and a call at the parsonage, where we saw among others the aged mother of our friend, Mr. Csiki, we were told that some friends wished to meet us at the College. Arrived there, we found that no less than seven delegations were prepared to address us. L. R. and P. P. stood at the end of the long faculty room, while these delegations entered in turn from the corridor, greeted us through their spokesmen, and then withdrew. We took turns in replying. There were the town officials, the Presbyterians, the Roman Catholics, the ministers’ wives, the Presbytery of the local church, the teachers of the College, and the ministers of the district. This ceremony lasted one hour and a half. At its conclusion, we walked to a great hall in the vil¬ lage, where three hundred persons had gathered for luncheon. We sat at the head table, and were in¬ terested to find the Roumanian Prefect of Police among the honored guests. We were told that because of the Bishop’s bereavement there would be no formal toasts, but each of us spoke briefly, and there was much in¬ formal toasting and interchange of compliments. [63] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 At half-past four we excused ourselves and were driven to the railway station, a small group following to bid us farewell. Perhaps an hour’s ride on the train brought us to Segesvar, a Saxon town with a high citadel crowned by mediaeval church and castle. There is a very small congregation in this place, meeting in a modest little prayer hall, merely one room of the par¬ sonage. Here at the call of the bell a dozen people gathered. The minister’s wife led the singing at the parlor organ, L. R. made a prayer, and the minister greeted us with deep feeling. P. P. replied, and spoke of the American sister church in Milton, Massachusetts. After the simple service, we spent an hour with the family of five interesting children, and were impressed by the unselfish devotion and brave spirit of these consecrated people. At eight o’clock we took the train for Kolozsvar, no miles distant. The less said about the journey the better. Delay, dirt, vermin, heat and total darkness made the eight-hour ride a veritable nightmare. We were relieved to reach our destination in the dawn, at four-thirty Monday morning. It ought to be said that beneath all the festivity and cheerfulness at Szekelykeresztur there was a deep undercurrent of sadness, if not despair. The great College is cut off from its State support, and finds it difficult to keep in proper condition for its work, as the people are not able to pay a higher rate of tuition. The church had lost some of its woodland, upon which it had partially depended for support. The whole feeling [64] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES expressed to us by a number of people was that the Roumanian State was determined to oppress in these subtle ways the minority population of this ancient village. Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and Uni¬ tarians alike, all are living in constant fear of the danger which threatens their cherished institutions, their culture and their religion. Monday, July 24th. In the late afternoon, L. R. and L. C. called upon the British Consul, Mr. Charles Goodwin. His wife is an American. The Consulate is a pleasing building, and the cool, well-furnished interior was very inviting. Mr. Goodwin was most cordial and helpful. He took us, at our suggestion, to call upon the Roumanian Prefect. Mr. Goodwin’s presence en¬ abled us to have an immediate interview instead of a long period of waiting in antechambers. The Prefect was a Roumanian officer, heavily built, and of Germanic type. Mr. Goodwin translated the conversation. The Prefect gave us a cordial welcome. He said he would be glad to help us in any way he could. He expressed his surprise that there was more than one denomination in Transylvania. In Roumania they had only the Greek Catholic Church, and he said we must give the Rou¬ manians a little time to get used to having more than one denomination! He asked if we had more than one in the United States. Our impression of this Prefect was pleasant enough. He illustrated what seemed to us to be the root of much of the whole colossal difficulty. He was ignorant of the very elements of the diversities inherent in modern civilization. Without necessarily [65] 6 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 meaning to be brutal or repressive, his ignorance would leave him so unaware of the very rudiments of free¬ dom and diversity, both for individuals and institu¬ tions, as to make him in effect a harsh ru]er. We heard nothing alleged against this man personally. He quoted the Crown Prince as having said that it was also new to him to have more than one denomination in the country. In this connection, it should be mentioned that the Crown Prince was in Cluj on the Friday and Saturday, the 21 st and 22nd, and that he invited the Bishops (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Uni¬ tarian), to luncheon with him; owing to his son’s death, Bishop Ferencz did not attend. We were told that it was believed in Cluj that this recognition by the Crown Prince was due to our presence both in Bucharest and Cluj. It was believed that the Ministers in Bucharest thought a courtesy shown to the Bishops when we would know of it was desirable. It seemed to us exceedingly improbable that our mission was of sufficient importance to reach the knowledge of the Crown Prince; but we were assured that our visit would be considered of great importance in Bucharest. We have, of course, no way of judging whether or no this impression had any basis in fact. The Bishop told us that he was a far more im¬ portant person in the eyes of the Roumanians after they knew that he had friends in England and America. We lunched with Professors Boros and Galfi in the restaurant of the Old Palace Garden. After this, L. C. called upon Dr. Atkinson, who had arrived at the New York Hotel, Cluj, and had an hour’s conference with [ 66 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES him before meeting the representatives of the Con¬ sistory at four o’clock. There were present Bishop Ferencz and Baron Horvath (Lay-President of the Consistory), Bishop Nagy, Canon Balars, representing the Roman Catholic Bishop, and himself Supervisor of Roman Catholic education; a lay representative of the Lutheran Church; Dr. Boros, Mr. Kovacs (secretary to the Bishop), Professor Csifo, Professor Galfi, Judge Toth, and others. Bishop Nagy and Canon Balars did most of the talk¬ ing; Bishop Ferencz, Dr. Boros, Professor Csifo and others joining in the presentation of many aspects of the present Transylvanian situation. Their testimony in substance was as follows: The personal abuse, floggings and other brutalities, had largely ceased. While reports state that occasional beatings and imprisonments still occur, all agreed that this phase of brutal treatment of the population by the officials and gendarmes had ended. They believed that the Roumanian government had found it an ineffective method of subduing the people and had discontinued it. Despite more settled conditions, all agreed that never were the institutions of the four denominations, Lu¬ theran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Unitarian, in such peril. It is true that the clergy are being supported by the State. They are not receiving as much as previously, and their payment is irregular, a payment due in April having been received in August while we were there. By some it was alleged that this was because of our [67] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 presence. (Again, we doubted whether our coming had anything to do with this.) Yet restrictive measures are being taken, which, if carried out, will ruin these denominations in Transylvania. First: an order has been given that all churches having less than three hundred confirmed members shall re¬ ceive no support from the State.* This order withdraws support from twenty-seven per cent of the Unitarian churches, from about the same per cent of the Roman Catholic, from somewhat less of the Presbyterian and Lutheran, a total average of twenty-five per cent re¬ duction in the congregations of the four denominations. There is no possibility whatever that the congregations can survive if the State support of the ministers is with¬ drawn. Further, the number three hundred may at any time be changed. If congregations of three hundred members can be arbitrarily suppressed, what assurance is there for the others? Further still, it is alleged that the order will never be applied to the Greek Catholic churches. Its effect in many villages will be to close the minority churches and to drive the entire population into the Greek Catholic Church. If the inhabitants of such villages desire any church services, and all Tran¬ sylvanian people observe baptism, marriage, funeral service and communion, they would be obliged to turn to the ministry of the Greek Church. Even if the order is sent to the Greek churches, all were agreed that in their case it will never be enforced. Second, all minor¬ ity church endowments are being confiscated. It is to *See order of Roumanian government, p. 149. [ 68 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES be remembered that the only form of endowment known in Transylvania is land. The Agrarian Reform Law passed by the Roumanian government looks to the division of the estates of the nobles into small farm holdings. On paper the law appears plausible, if not eminently desirable. Exceptional instances, like Count Teleki’s, might be cited in support of the old regime, but the ownership of vast areas by a few individuals is difficult to defend. In practice, however, the law does not work justly. While it is alleged that the land is to be paid for, as a matter of fact the prices at which it is assessed are the prices of 1914. This means, in the present deflated currency, that property worth many thousands of lei is appraised at hundreds of lei. This is confiscation. The Agrarian Reform Law is applied to the land en¬ dowments of all minority educational and denomina¬ tional institutions, to the colleges, schools and parishes. In the parishes, the land is the principal church support. Each parish owns an acreage for the minister and teachers, and a piece of forest from which it cuts and sells wood for their maintenance. In many instances, these lands have already been taken away, and except for the American help many churches would now be ruined. The land endowment of the colleges has largely been confiscated, and except for the help of the British churches the colleges, the Consistory and Bishop could not continue. We return now to the statement made by Bishop Nagy and others. If this confiscatory policy of the [69] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 Roumanian government cannot be stayed or changed, then the institutions deriving their living in large part from endowment obviously cannot continue. It ap¬ peared to be granted by those present at the council meeting that some kind of agrarian reform was desir¬ able; but they believed that any just law should discriminate in favor of educational and religious insti¬ tutions, and that a reasonable endowment for these public purposes should be conserved instead of de¬ stroyed. There is attached to this report the order received by Bishop Ferencz limiting the number of parishioners in the Unitarian parishes receiving State support. The order was sent to the officials of all minority denomina¬ tions. We were informed that on receipt of this order the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian Churches pro¬ tested. No answer to their protest has been received. Here we touch upon another form of oppression. The courts do not give their decisions in writing. Ap¬ parently, the most that can be gained by a protest is a postponement, which may be indefinite or brief. And, further, the courts issue no summons, sending no mes¬ sage whatever to the Consistory as to the date when the affairs of the Consistory will be considered. The Consistory must employ people to watch in the courts to see when the question of lands belonging to the Con¬ sistory is to be taken up. This statement is true not only of the affairs of the Consistory, but of every in¬ stitution and individual. It was said to us repeatedly, “Remember, there is no law in Roumania, and there [70] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES are no courts!” It was meant that the courts are so uncertain and follow methods so peculiar as to render them unworthy of the name. The council meeting extended until after eight o’clock, and adjourned to meet at ten on Tuesday morning. Dr. Atkinson promised to report to the meeting of the World Peace Commission at Copenhagen, the order from the Roumanian government limiting future pay¬ ments to churches of three hundred or more communi¬ cants, which he felt was a direct violation of the Treaty provisions. We dined in the Palace Garden Restaurant. P. P. and L. C. joined Dr. and Mrs. Atkinson for coffee and talked at length about the Balkan problem. On Tuesday morning, July 25th, the Conference re¬ convened, Bishop Ferencz presiding. Bishop Nagy and Canon Andras Balars were present, and were accom¬ panied by other representatives of their churches. Canon Balars is in charge of all educational matters relating to the Roman Catholic diocese of Transylvania. Dr. Boros acted as interpreter. Dr. Henry Atkinson and H. S. were the Americans present. The other members of the Commission were prevented from attending as will be explained later. From the state¬ ments made and the questions answered the following facts stand out: 1. The expropriation of church and school properties is proceeding, but no more than the actual equivalent of one year’s income, from 200 to 1000 lei, is paid per [71] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 acre. In consequence the church people of all denom¬ inations will find themselves unable to aid the churches and schools. (Nagy) 2. The Roumanians oblige all institutions and firms (industrial, commercial, financial, etc.) to allow more than half of their shares to be bought by Roumanians. The president of each concern must be a Roumanian. The result is that Hungarians lose their possessions and their incomes, and cannot assist churches and schools as before. (Nagy) 3. The Roman Catholic Church in Transylvania had 26,000 acres for the support of educational institutions. From this source it was able to support seven gymna¬ siums and seven boarding schools; it was also able to aid parishes in rebuilding churches and parsonages. If the Agrarian Reform is carried out, the church will re¬ ceive not more than five per cent of its whole former income, and only one of the gymnasiums and one of the schools will be maintained. (Balars) 4. The Reformed Church has had 14,000 acres taken away out of about 21,000. This church had nine gym¬ nasiums, and nine boarding schools. It faces the same results as are faced by the Roman Catholic Church. In the case of Batlan College, it is interesting to note that part of the estate was bought with English money sent over by Queen Anne. (Nagy) 5. The Unitarians possessed 6887 acres in the form of special endowment, and the whole of this property is taken. (This is exclusive of the small properties to be left for the congregations). (Boros) [72] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES 6. The denominational or Confessional schools are closed on different pretexts. (a) Salary of the teacher now paid by the church is de¬ clared inadequate. (b) The rooms which the congregations are using for school purposes (their own schools having been taken by the State) are declared not large enough. (c) Buildings have been taken for other uses by the State. E.g., the Reformed High School for girls had a fine building which was occupied as a hospital for con¬ tagious diseases; very recently the building tempo¬ rarily used was closed by order of the authorities. This case is to be brought to the attention of the Ring. (d) In Hermannstadt the authorities have occupied the Roman Catholic Orphan School which formerly housed 200 children. This was an 18th century establishment. Eighteen Roman Catholic orphans were left in a corner of the building and the other part has been used for Roumanian orphans. (Balars) 7. Dr. Atkinson remarked that M. Angelescu (Min¬ ister of Education) had said that the teachers were unable or refused to teach the Roumanian language according to Roumanian standards, and further that the Department of Education had arranged for summer courses under the University of Bucharest, announce¬ ment of which was sent to every teacher formerly em¬ ployed by Hungary. Those who qualified would be given certificates and recognized as Roumanian teachers. Dr. Atkinson asked how many former Hungarian teachers had attended. The reply was: “From the [73 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 Reformed Church about 300 in different courses.” It was pointed out that elementary teachers are not re¬ quired actually to teach the Roumanian language in elementary classes, and that to enforce their study of the language is a hardship. The Roman Catholic Church did not send teachers to Bucharest, on the ground of the excessive cost of travel and living. For the great majority of teachers these expenses are abso¬ lutely prohibitive. Teachers can, however, study at home and be examined in September. The present gov¬ ernment is demanding French instead of English as the additional language in the schools. This works a hard¬ ship in the Unitarian and Reformed Churches, since it is calculated in time to detach them all from their intimate connections with their co-religionists in Britain and America. Tuesday, July 25th. At 9:30 o’clock L. R., P. P. and L. C. went to police headquarters to secure the endorse¬ ment of our passports, necessary before leaving Koloz- svar, on our way to the Conference at the Consistory. We were accompanied by the secretary of the British Consul. The room was filled with people. Although several officials were present we were kept waiting needlessly for two hours. L. R. and P. P. during the last part of the time were standing in front of a desk, waiting for the final signatures to be placed on the passports. We were all justly angered at the insolent behavior of the young man at the desk, who obviously was waiting for us to bribe him. In turning to speak to P. P., L. R. upset an inkwell, sending the ink over [ 74 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES the books and papers on the desk, and spattering it upon the clothing of the young official. The extra¬ ordinary result was that he wilted as if corrected by a superior officer. He was almost in tears, and after blotting his clothes, left the room. Another official at once attended to us, and we were shown every courtesy. By our needless detention we missed the adjourned Conference at which H. S. and Dr. Atkinson were present. We did not reach the building until after the committee had broken up. On our way back to the College, we passed Dr. and Mrs. Atkinson going to the train. H. S. had already gone, and to our great regret we did not see him again. At five o’clock L. R., P. P. and L. C. went to the Count and Countess Teleki’s for tea. While the Count talked with the others concerning general conditions, L. C. had a long talk with the Countess about Unitarian matters. She begged that something be done about the girls’ lodging place in the College. We told her that we would consider the need and do what we could, but could give her little encouragement. In the evening L. R. and L. C. dined together in the Palace Garden Restaurant, and P. P. joined us somewhat later. Wednesday, July 26th. We held a long meeting in the Bishop’s office. There were present the Bishop, his secretary, Mr. Kovacs, the treasurer, Mr. Hadhazy, and Professors Boros and Csifo. The meeting was wholly concerned with the business of the American Relief Committee, and centred on two points: first, [ 75 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 Mr. Csiki’s return to Kolozsvar; and second, the sending of money from America to Transylvania. Following this meeting, L. R., P. P. and L. C. walked with Dr. Boros to his garden, about an acre in extent, on the shoulder of a high hill. Here Mrs. Boros and Miss Boros met us and we had tea at a charming spot looking out over the city, with a convent in the foreground below us. We stayed until the twilight had turned to darkness, and then walked back with our hosts to their lodgings. Before the Roumanian occupation this family lived in their own beautiful home, one of the best houses in the city. It has been taken away from them and is occupied by a Roumanian army officer of high rank. They are not even allowed one room in it. Six times Dr. Boros had obtained orders from the Bucharest government to the local officials in Kolozsvar to give the Boros family at least part of their house, and the orders have been entirely disregarded. It was said to Dr. Boros that if he would pay a considerable sum of money to the local officials he could have back part of his house. He refused. There is no justification what¬ ever in the Treaty provisions, nor is there any legal sanction, for such robbery. It is wholly arbitrary. We considered protesting to the Prefect in Dr. Boros’s behalf and explaining how bad an impression keeping him and his family out of their house has made in England and America. We decided against such action fearing to make conditions harder for the Boros family after we had gone. [76] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES Thursday, July 27th. We left at nine o’clock by auto¬ mobile for a trip in Szekely-land. Many of the villages are not on the railroad. Where there is railroad connec¬ tion the trains are most infrequent. We secured a Ford car with a good chauffeur, a young Roumanian. Throughout the trip Dr. Boros sat on the front seat to act as guide. P. P., L. R. and L. C. took the back seat. The four bags were placed on the running boards. The car gave no trouble throughout the trip. We drove through the countryside until twelve o’clock, when we reached Dicsoszentmarton. A mile or two out of the town we were met by a committee of welcome in another Ford car. They made us speeches and presented us with flowers. We followed them rather slowly, enjoying lovely vistas across the valley as we descended a long hillside through vineyards into the town, a place of considerable size. The parsonage and church stood on a side street, up an ascent towards the great hill. As we turned the corner into this side street, a large gathering awaiting us cheered. As soon as we got out of the car at the gate, the minister Guido Bela, the genial Dean of the district, met us and made a speech of welcome. We were given bouquets. This church is the sister church of Weston. The Dean greeted us all cordially, but when he learned that P. P. was no other than the minister of Weston, he took him in his arms and kissed him. We went into the parsonage, a large house with a big central room and rooms opening off it; in the large room a table had been set with refresh¬ ments. We had cake and light wine. We were given [ 77 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 time to freshen up after our dusty ride. L. C. went into the courtyard through the kitchen, a long, white room with bare white floor. Beside the open fire on a low stool sat a young peasant mother, nursing her baby, a Madonnalike picture. The whole setting would have delighted an artist. We went to the church, which was well filled. It had a wonderful ancient painted ceiling. P. P. offered the prayer from the pulpit. L. R. and L. C. spoke. From the gallery at the end of the nave a girls’ choir sang, and there was a solo by a young girl sung from the organ loft. P. P. spoke about the Weston church. The school-teacher, followed by six young girls in Hungarian costume, made a short address in English, and presented us with flowers. We returned to the parsonage, where we received three delegations. The first spokesman was from the Roman Catholic church, a fine-looking elderly gentleman. The second was from the Reformed Church, a young minister who spoke very fluently. A third address, on behalf of the Women’s League, comprising the women of the Re¬ formed and Unitarian churches, was made by a lady who spoke excellent English. She was the energetic and enterprising type of modern woman whom we might have met in Boston or Denver. She made a very strik¬ ing speech, pleading that we help save the Magyar culture, now threatened with extinction. After these delegations had been received, we were called into a smaller room, where we met the ministers of the dis¬ trict representing twenty-six churches, and were addressed by the Dean. He explained that the District [78 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES Assembly had been in official session, and had elected P. P. honorary minister of this church. P. P. ac¬ knowledged the honor done him. The Dean then turned to L. C. and explained that he had been made honorary Dean of the district. The word “dean” in Hungarian is “esperes.” L. C. gratefully accepted the honor. There was much handshaking. The company then walked half a mile to a restaurant for luncheon. On the way we saw on the left the old school building, seized by the State, and on the right a new school building, erected by the League of Women. If support is refused to the Confessional schools, then the second school will have been built in vain. At the restaurant perhaps one hundred people sat down at the long tables. There were several speeches, the usual toasts and replies. An orchestra of gypsies played at one end of the room, and played very well. L. C. sat next the lady who had spoken for the League of Women. She told him of the efforts to preserve their institutions. Opposite the restaurant and plainly visible, Roumanian men and women, ragged, dirty, half-clad, were laying the wall of a brick house, the women carrying the hods. After luncheon, we went back to the house for our bags, and then took carriages which were waiting for us. P. P. and L. R. rode in a yellow carriage with coachman in livery, belonging to the Countess and Baron Horvath. Dr. Boros and L. C. followed in a low victoria. A number of carriages accompanied us. We were told afterwards of a curious incident, showing the ancient feeling about matters of precedence. The [ 79 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 coachman driving Dr. Boros and L. C. was told to pre¬ cede the Baron’s carriage containing P. P. and L. R., but the Baron’s coachman refused to start unless his \ carriage went first: representing his family, he would not allow his carriage to follow the village carriages. A two-hour drive took us to Haranglab (meaning Wooden Bell Tower). At the foot of the lane leading up to the church, an arch of flowers and oak leaves had been erected in our honor. The sister church is the Church of the Messiah in St. Louis. L. R. and L. C. spoke. P. P. christened Kalman Busahany, infant son of the minister. It was a tender and moving service, the father and mother standing with the baby, P. P. opposite them beside the communion table, wrapped in the long robe of the Hungarian minister, and the large congregation, all standing reverently. We drove a short distance to the house of Istvan Sautmaris. His brother welcomed us and took us to our host, an invalid in a wheeled chair. The brother’s wife acted as hostess. The house had been in the family since 1521, and was a charming old-fashioned one-story Hungarian mansion. A broad veranda gave access from the garden to the big living room, where there were a number of gentlemen waiting to meet us, in¬ cluding Baron Horvath, with whom we were to spend the night. The porch commanded a beautiful view of the valley. As this entertainment was typical of the sort of friendly visiting among the nobility in the old days, it is worth description. A long table occupied the centre of the room, covered with rich linen, tall, slender [80] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES bottles of wine at regular intervals, and the usual equip¬ ment of silver and white china. The supper consisted of cold meats, delicate breads and cakes, and old wine, with delicious coffee and cigars. Our hostess, the only lady present, herself helped to serve us, sitting with us only at intervals. L. C. was given the seat next to her at the end of the table, P. P. and Dr. Boros at his right, L. R. and Baron Horvath at the left. There were about twenty men at table. There was a feeling of comrade¬ ship and a grace never found except where they spring from old friendship and community of interests. A good deal of the conversation was courteously addressed to us and translated. Altogether it was as lovely a picture of hospitality as one would ever see. Halfway through the meal the sound of men singing came to us through the closed shutters. It was a group of vil¬ lagers singing folk-songs in the garden. Beneath this hospitality and cheer there was, how¬ ever, no sense of security. For example, one of the guests was a former land-owner, here on a visit from Budapest. All his estates had been taken from him. We asked if the Sautmaris family were secure in their ownership of this old estate. “So far,” we were told, “ they have been able to keep it, but no one can tell. If it is taken from them, they will have nothing.” Their problems were similar to those of everyone present. Of Baron Horvath’s difficulties we shall speak later. Some of the guests had nothing. Others expected to lose all they had. All of them were fighting for their schools. All were struggling against daily annoyances 7 [81 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 inflicted by the Roumanian authorities, well calculated, if not intended, so to irritate them that they would leave Transylvania. It would be easy to overestimate thewealth and luxury of this charming home. The garden with its ancient hedges, and to our American eyes its rather curious Hungarian treatment, was no more elaborate than might be found in many a quiet suburban home in America. It was not nearly so elaborate as are the gardens of some of our wealthier people. The house was spacious and massively built, after the fashion of the country. The walls were perhaps two feet thick. It had something of the solidity of an old Southern mansion, but its appointments were modest. Far more complete furnishings could be found in many Western farmhouses. The food and even the wines were pro¬ duced on the farm. The point is that the charm and grace of the occasion were due to the host and the company, and only incidentally to the setting; yet that setting could be produced only by time and the con¬ tinued occupancy of people highly intelligent and cultivated. Perhaps this picture is typical of the life of the landed aristocracy in Transylvania. It was a simple agri¬ cultural life, rich in comforts, but not to be likened to the life of titled people in England or to the complex and luxurious conditions of American wealth. We reluctantly came away about nine o’clock, and drove without lights on the carriage, through such darkness that we could not see the horses, to Deszfalva. [82] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES Here we stopped by the roadside where a group of people with a few lamps was waiting. We went to the parsonage and found our way into a dimly lighted room, where the minister introduced us to his wife. He had been one of the guests at Mr. Sautmaris’, and had asked us to stop in order that L. C. might christen his baby. We were presented to the sleepy little girl, perhaps a year old. People came and went in the parsonage, while the bell in the neighboring belfry announced that something was about to happen, and the villagers came hurrying to the church. After about half an hour’s wait, we picked our way through the dark lane from the parsonage to the church, a large bare structure painted white inside and out, with a stone floor. Before the high pulpit was the round communion table on which stood flowers and three lamps, giving a bright centre to the big interior, filled with shadows. Out to the darkest corners stood the congregation, the men on one side and the women on the other, all waiting for the service. After a prayer and a hymn, L. C., wearing the minister’s gown, went to the communion table and baptized the little Eva. The child slept through the entire service. The sister church is in Baltimore. We picked our way again down the dark lane to the carriages, and drove on to Szokefalva, where P. P. and L. C. were to spend the night. L. R. and Dr. Boros went back to Dicsoszentmarton for the night. In the morn¬ ing, before joining the others, they visited the near-by parish of Dombo. P. P. and L. C. were guests of Baron Horvath and his [83] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 wife, the Countess. In Hungary when a nobleman married a woman with a higher rank, she took his name but kept her own title. The house interested us greatly. Through an ornamental white gateway, dimly seen in the darkness, we drove up a curved driveway to the en¬ trance porch. We passed directly into a beautiful, high- studded room. On one long wall hung tapestries. The long wall opposite was broken by a large stone fireplace. There were windows at either end. The room was per¬ haps fifty by thirty feet. Across the back extended a broad corridor hung with hunting trophies. This mansion follows the usual Hungarian plan of a central living room with rooms opening from it. It was white outside, with a very beautiful red-tiled roof. Parts of it dated from the fourteenth century, and before the Reformation it had been a convent. Over the door was an ancient image of the Madonna. Our rooms were in the guest house, a building at the side of the mansion. The Baron guided us. We entered a low archway, climbed a staircase to a sort of cloister gallery, and at the end found our large chamber. Here the next morning breakfast, consisting of eggs, bacon, coffee and rolls, was brought to us soon after eight o’clock. Soon afterwards the Baron came and took us to the big room where we met the family. The Baron understood English and spoke French. The Countess spoke English well. A German governess, a gentle, sad-looking lady, talked with us in excellent English. The Countess told us of their situation. The Baron had owned an estate near by consisting of nine hundred acres. We shall [84] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES speak of it later. This had been confiscated. The house we were in was inherited by the Countess. This also would be taken from them by the first of January, 1923. According to the terms of the so-called Agrarian Reform Law, thirty acres should be left to the owner of an estate, equivalent to perhaps a little more than a peasant allotment; but when the husband and wife both owned estates, as in this instance, only one piece of thirty acres would be allowed. The family consisted of two little girls and an invalid son. The Countess said, “After the first of January we shall be very poor indeed.” It is hard to see how thirty acres of land could possibly support this family, even in the most meagre way. We were told that they had nothing else. It was an extraor¬ dinary experience to sit in this beautiful salon, talking with these cultivated people, and to realize that in all probability we were among the last guests whom they would entertain in their charming country home. Asked if there were any hope of staying the process of confiscation, the Baron replied that he was employing counsel. We were told in Cluj later that there was no hope; that this family would certainly be ruined as their neighbors had been. The place had a further historical interest. A mem¬ ber of the Paget family, well-known English Unitarians, married an Hungarian countess. This was formerly their home. On one side of the ancient white gateway, cut in stone, were the arms of the Paget family, on the other those of the Countess. The Countess Horvath wished us to see Mr. Paget’s garden. Across the lawn [85] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 and down a low terrace, we discovered a very lovely little formal garden. It was a transplanted bit of England. A stone table in the centre suggested that here Mr. Paget and his countess used to take their tea in the good old English way. Dr. Boros and L. R. arrived soon after nine o’clock. We crossed the road to the church where the people met us at the gate and gave us flowers. The interior was rather poor, and the church needed repairs. The ceiling was in bad condition. After prayer the minister made us an earnest address. He announced to L. R. that years before the land on which the church stood had been given by Mr. Paget, and that as L. R. was the first English minister to visit the parish, they begged him to accept the title of Honorary Minister. L. R. responded. We were in the church perhaps half an hour and then went to the parsonage. We returned to the mansion and after taking a few photographs and expressing our thanks, rode away. We drove about three miles to Szeplak, and called at the parsonage of Rev. Sandor Bodagy. We were wel¬ comed by the minister’s wife, a young woman with two little children. She was distressed that her husband was away. After a pleasant call we asked to see the church. It proved to be one of the most attractive that we had seen. Small and clean, it was well decorated, and had a distinction about it not easy to convey. It measured perhaps 45 ft. by 20 ft., and as was the case with most of the churches, had windows on one side only, and none at the ends. Above us, as we entered, [ 86 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES was a small organ gallery. The pews stood on either side of a broad aisle to the middle of the church. Then there was an open space, with the pulpit on the left; a round communion table stood in the middle. Oppo¬ site, against the wall, was a covered pew for the Baron Horvath and his family. From the other end extended another row of seats for the men. Facing us as we entered the church, was an interesting tablet, dating from the 16th century, in memory of a member of the Horvath family. It was lettered with evident care, but with somewhat irregular lines sloping slightly up¬ ward. The tablet had once been colored. There were still traces of red and blue in the initials and in the coat of arms. The good taste and dignity of this building were due to its being the Horvath family chapel. The residence was just across the road. This was the other estate owned by the Baron Horvath, our host of the previous night. We entered the gates and looked across a neglected lawn at the fine old one-story mansion with its steep tiled roof. It was apparently closed, but we were told that it was occupied by Rouma¬ nians. Here when the Roumanians entered Transylvania the Horvaths were beset by a band of soldiers. The Countess, disguising herself as a peasant, escaped from what would have been certain torture by these Rou¬ manians. They took weapons from the Baron’s wall, and told him to produce money or be killed. Just how he escaped death we were not informed. Our minister assisted him in his flight, with the result that the next morning two soldiers went to the parsonage and told the [By] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 minister’s wife that they would kill her and her children. She and the children knelt before the soldiers, pleaded for their lives, and gave them what money they had — two hundred lei. The soldiers departed. It is to be remembered that Transylvania was ceded by the Trianon Treaty to Roumania, that this occupation occurred prior to the ratification of the Treaty, and that nevertheless the Roumanian troops treated the Tran¬ sylvanians as conquered peoples were treated in the Middle Ages. Here was a peaceful village, with flocks of geese walking by the side of the road, the men in the fields harvesting the crops, the women spinning, our little church standing in its quiet beauty, and yet only yesterday these scenes had been enacted. Now we were told that there was no sense of security: no one knew what might happen at any time. It was said to us again and again, “There is no law, there is no gov¬ ernment.” By this was meant that every petty Rou¬ manian official did as he pleased, and terrorized as he saw fit. There was practically no governmental over¬ sight, and no capacity for administration. We drove to Bordosz, a small village with a bare church. Some fifteen years ago the old building was abandoned, and the new church built* It is a sub¬ stantial, clean building, gray outside and white inside, with yellow painted pews. Next it stands a clean, small parsonage. The sister church is the First Parish in Hingham. The minister, Peter Odon, and his wife, were interested when they learned that L. C. had been minister of the Hingham church. Until quite recently [ 88 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES this society was a daughter or filial church of the much larger church at Rava. The family had one little boy just beginning to talk. He went to P. P. and surprised us by saying very slowly and clearly, “I am Peter Odon, Junior, a little Unitarian Transylvanian boy.” He then shook hands with P. P. We held a brief service in the church. P. P. offered prayer; L. R. and L. C. spoke. We drove for about an hour up a beautiful valley, the hills closing nearer and nearer as we ascended. It may be well here to mention a few features of the countryside. The land is cultivated continuously. There are no walls or fences of any sort. Only stone markers indicate the boundaries. The roads wind be¬ tween cultivated fields that reach as far as one can see on either side to the hills, and on the hillsides are the forests, coveted sources of wealth. Seen from the high places, the effect of these cultivated fields is most in¬ teresting and beautiful. Here are squares of grain, next them others of corn. Long rows of vegetables stretch like ribbons, now this way, now that, but all are in regular plots, with here and there a road threading its way between them, and now and again groups of peasants, both men and women, harvesting. Another surprising feature is the entire absence of houses. We would drive through these cultivated lands, literally for miles, without seeing a single house or meeting a vehicle; then suddenly we would find ourselves in the middle of a village. The people do not live on the land they cultivate, but crowd in closely built villages. Whether this custom grew out of a love for companion- [89] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 ship or for protection we could not learn. On the one hand the custom gives community life that scattered farms could not. On the other hand, it involves walk¬ ing several miles to farm the land, and driving the cattle the same distance. To the labor of harvesting the crops is added their transportation. It is not uncommon for a farmer to haul his hay three miles to his barns. About two o’clock we arrived at Rava, a village at the head of the valley. It numbers two thousand people, and has but one church, the Unitarian. The first auto¬ mobile seen in Rava brought Mr. Snow, Mr. Metcalf, and Mr. Witte. Ours was the second and created great interest. A large crowd met us at the church, the men in the national costume, heavy boots to the knees, tight- fitting homespun woolen trousers belted, soft white shirt, perhaps with a little embroidery about the collar, and a coat, sometimes of sheepskin, sometimes of dark cloth, thrown over the shoulders, the arms not put through the sleeves, and usually a dark felt hat. Some of the women were in national costume, but most of them were in colored cotton gowns. Many were bare¬ footed. The church was a large and really beautiful building, dating from the fourteenth century. It stood on a corner, the main street in front of it, a narrow street leading to the hill just behind. It was fortified with a strong wall, as were most of the ancient churches. Tall poplar trees stood inside the wall, a unique feature. The interior was of the basilica type, about 90 ft. by 45 ft., and perhaps 50 ft. high. The handsomely carved [90] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES pulpit was covered with one of the velvet cloths already described. The pews and woodwork were painted blue and white, rather crudely, but the whole effect of the church, both outside and in, was dignified and im¬ pressive. A large congregation gathered. P. P. offered prayer; L. R. and L. C. spoke. In making his speech of welcome the minister, Mr. Fogarosz, said that as L. C. was a former minister of Hingham, the sister church to the former filial congregation of Rava, the congregation desired to make him Honorary Minister. Dr. Boros had explained that this was one of the churches not needing aid from the American churches, but like other unaided churches it greatly desired a sister church in America for the sake of fellowship and correspondence. L. C. explained that the First Church in Hingham would be glad to adopt the church at Rava, so long as this meant only the interchange of friendly courtesies. The minister is Dean of the district. We were given dinner at the parsonage at about four o’clock. A beautiful old silver communion cup, dating from 1612, was brought out for our inspection. The minister and L. C. jested a little about what the duties of the honorary minister would be, and L. C. was told that he would be expected to take the daily service in the church at six o’clock every morning and to preach two sermons on Sunday. L. C. agreed to return as soon as he could settle up his affairs at home. The church lacked one bell, and the people were trying to raise money to purchase a second. It was hard for us to sense the peril which threatened [91 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 \ the parish. Here were an abundance of food, sub¬ stantial dwellings, a noble church; apparently there was comfort and plenty. Yet the forest, which had largely supported the church and school, had been taken by the Roumanians, and if the endowment land were taken also, as they feared it would be, they would face nothing less than ruin. What sustains these people in this period is their belief that something will happen to avert the ultimate disaster. In our own minds we questioned constantly whether the Hungarian administration had been as perfect as was implied, and whether it might not be possible, by giving Transylvania a better administration, to wean the people from a desire for a return to Hungarian rule. Apparently this was a “counsel of perfection.” The fact that everything Roumanian is in their experience so much worse than anything these people ever knew under Hungarian rule, makes them look back upon the Hungarian rule as idyllic. The uncertainty that now prevails, the fact that “There is no law,” and that officials do as they please, make the former conditions seem like absolute security and peace. Forty minutes’ ride brought us to Csokfalva, a small village. The automobile entered the parsonage en¬ closure, where girls in costume met us with flowers, with which they afterwards trimmed the car. We went to the church, a well-placed building, where a large congregation gathered. All three of us took part in the service. We tried to photograph the crowd in the street, where groups of girls walked abreast lifting [92] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES garlands. Opposite the parsonage was a tiny Roman Catholic chapel with two bells hung on a stout post, and above them a little thatched roof, — a quaint, primi¬ tive belfry. We had refreshments in the parsonage. Detroit is the sister church. As evening came we drove on to Nyaradszentmarton, another village, where the minister serves three filial congregations besides his parish. The house of the Dean, Fazalsas Lajos, had the usual large room opening from the porch. At the left was one good-sized bed¬ room, and next it a smaller bedroom. Down the centre of the large room was a long table, seating some twenty people. We sat at table for nearly two hours. It would perhaps be interesting to note the kind of dinner served us at ten o'clock. There was soup, then a long wait; fried chicken, followed by another long period of wait¬ ing; and then came an apple tart, and we supposed this was the end. Quite a period of waiting; more con¬ versation; then to our surprise we were served with roast duck, which was followed after another interval by sweet cakes and coffee. After this we asked to be excused and went to bed. In the morning Dr. Boros told us that the guests sat at table drinking coffee and talking until after one a.m. We were really troubled when we thought of the labor that the minister's wife and the women of the household had put into the prepa¬ ration of that dinner. The amount of food consumed, and the work involved, must have been enormous, and these were poor people. We asked Dr. Boros if there was not some way in which we could offer indirect [ 93 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 compensation, but he said that we could not do so with¬ out hurting the feelings of our kind hosts. They were the finest type of devoted gentlepeople. July 29th. At ten o’clock we held service in the church — a fine old pre-Reformation building. There was a good number of people present. P. P. offered the prayer; L. R. and L. C. spoke. About eleven o’clock we departed, taking the Dean with us. L. C. sat on the top of the hood, with L. R. between his feet, the Dean and P. P. on either side, and Dr. Boros and the chauffeur in front. We drove about two miles across the flat valley to one of the filial congregations at Buzahaza, a very primitive community. On festival days the Dean must leave his house before five o’clock in the morning to reach this filial congregation and return for the service in his larger church. We saw the small school, con¬ cerning which, as everywhere, there is deep anxiety. Then we visited the little ruined church, one hundred and fifty years old. Upon a loose stone foundation rest the sills and the framework of the building. Between the uprights are loosely woven sticks, a sort of wicker work; on this is laid the adobe mud. If kept in repair, such buildings last for long periods; once out of repair they go quickly. This was a tiny church, not more than twenty by forty feet. A little gallery, a dignified old pulpit, the pine woodwork sun-stained in soft shades of brown and not painted, gave it a distinctive character. Indeed, few churches that we saw had more atmosphere. It would cost no more than $250 to re¬ build it, using the old framework and laying up sub- [ 94 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES stantial and permanent brick walls. It was evident that the Dean was exceedingly anxious that we should do something about rebuilding this poor dilapidated little temple. He did not ask us, but he watched us closely, with deep wistfulness and anxiety. His hope and prayer could not for a moment be misunderstood or forgotten. The services at present are held in the schoolhouse, as the authorities, because of its ruinous condition, have very properly forbidden worship in the church. The sister church of Nyaradszentmarton is Arlington Street, Boston. We next drove to another filial congregation under the ministry of the Dean. A dignified Presbyterian church stood in its enclosure, but we were told it was not used. Near by was the Unitarian schoolhouse, used both for the school and for worship. Here we parted with the Dean, who stood weeping in the road as we came away, a noble, a pathetic figure. He has poured out his life sacrificially for the fifteen hundred communicants under his care. On our way to Galfalva, we passed a town with a large and picturesque cattle market. We arrived at noon and went to the parsonage, a substantial and very well-kept house. We entered the yard and found that the usual veranda had been changed in this instance to a glass-enclosed porch. Here we met a number of ministers from the district, officers of the church and others. The sister church is at Chestnut Hill. We were shown the parsonage, and then taken to the church, which occupied a commanding position on the hillside, [ 95 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 overlooking the valley. A steep road led up the hill by one side of it, giving it much architectural dignity. The tower faced the main road with an appearance of great height. Fortification walls surrounded the building, which dated from before the Reformation. L. C. of¬ fered the prayer; P. P. and L. R. spoke. There was a large congregation. Outside the church we took pic¬ tures of the people and the minister. We visited the school and returned to the parsonage for luncheon, which was a very pleasant occasion; several ministers and their wives were present. We left about three o’clock and drove a few miles to Nyaradszentlaszlo. Here we walked a short distance along a road and turned to the left up a steep hillside toward the ancient church. We were met by a crowd of men and women, carrying flowers. The minister, dressed in a very shabby gown, which had turned from black to green with age, made us a speech of welcome in the road. The church, a really beautiful building, dating from the fourteenth century, was surrounded by a fortification, and unlike most of the churches, was entered at the end of the nave. The interior was one of the noblest that we saw; very high and broad, with a deep chancel. It had distinctly better architectural feeling than many of the other churches. We held a brief service; L. C. spoke. One of the most interesting features in this church was an ancient bell of excellent tone, 497 years old. It rang us goodwill and farewell. We heard its voice following us in benediction long after we had left the place. [96] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES P. P. offered through Dr. Boros to present a new gown to the minister. Dr. Boros insisted that the min¬ ister was fairly well-to-do, and considered his gown quite good enough. It would be a mistake to suggest the gift. In this village again, it was hard for us to see the peril of the people, who were very anxious as to their future. The minister had not received all the payment he was entitled to, and except for his private means he could not have continued his services. The people were very poor. The sister church is at Quincy, Massa¬ chusetts. In Transylvania it is the custom for humbler people to kiss the hands of their superiors. Peasant women apparently desired to shake hands with us, and then would attempt to kiss our hands. It was a courtesy to refuse to have the hands kissed, the implication being “I am not worthy, you are quite mistaken, you are our equals.” At this village two old men succeeded in kissing L. R.’s hand, much to his discomfort. We drove to Szentharomsag (meaning “The Holy Trinity,”) a remote and poor village, charmingly located on a hillside. Buffalo is the sister church. A curious accident had occurred here. The large and substantial brick church was built twenty years ago and had been occupied for perhaps ten years. Then, in a period of unusual rains, the hill slid, carrying away the front of the church, and rendering the rest of it unsafe. There was no earthquake. The whole hill is of soft clay, and under the excessive rain it oozed and shifted its posi¬ tion. Possibly the building had not been set on deep [ 97 ] 8 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 foundations. We entered the ruin. It had been a church of dignified proportions and rather costly con¬ struction, and represented the toil of years. The parish, too poor to repair it, worships in a small school- house. We visited this school, and had cakes and “raspberry shrub.” The minister and his wife were very fine people. Here again it was borne in upon us what hard conditions they were bravely facing. We drove for about half an hour to Szentgericze (meaning “Holy Dove”). For several miles we had seen this church standing high on the crest of a hill overlooking the valley. We skirted the foot of the hill, passing the main entrance marked by a high gate, and drove to the parsonage entrance. We were welcomed by a crowd of people who gave us flowers. The bell was ringing. We had been expected earlier. We proceeded at once across the courtyard, through the parsonage veranda, up a steep ascent and across an interesting old graveyard, to the church. There was a large attendance; L. R. and L. C. spoke; P. P. offered the prayer. We met many of the people, among them the aged organist and teacher. Before the change in the government he was eligible for a pension. He had petitioned the Roumanian authorities for the support due him; they had asked him to present a full statement. This he had done, but had never received an answer. He had been waiting two years. Ministers and teachers, under the old regime, were entitled to slender but sufficient retiring allowances. Under the new regime the obligation has been ignored. Inevitably [98] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES this entails great hardship. At the end of our talk, the teacher left us to conduct a child’s funeral for which the bell was then tolling. As in this instance, the teachers often act as assistant ministers. We returned to the parsonage, a house superior to many we had seen. It had the usual arrangement of a large central living room, in the middle of which the table was spread. The minister, Denes Kerestesz, and two deacons sat at the table with us, the wife and the two daughters serving us. He seemed to us more the type of the German professor than of the Hungarian minister. During dinner a poor widow came to see us and we were asked to assist her. This was her story. Her husband had worked in the coal mines of West Virginia, where he had been killed. Two men from this village witnessed the accident and had testified. Under the State insurance law of West Virginia the widow is entitled to $15 a month, a substantial sum of money in Transylvania. The necessary papers had been filed and the claim granted, but the signatures had to be witnessed before an official, and they were taken to the Roumanian Prefect of Police. There they had remained indefinitely. It had been explained to the widow indirectly that the papers would go through if she would give half the pension each month to the Prefect, otherwise she would get nothing. The widow had re¬ fused to divide her pension with the Prefect. We told the minister to have the papers prepared in duplicate, and to send them to us. We would see what could be done. This widow must support five children and her [ 99 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 invalid father, who was formerly the lay president of the church, all on a two-acre farm. She was poorly clad and barefooted, with a careworn, sad, but very intelligent face. This story reveals the habit of nearly all Roumanian officials of whom we heard. They add to their income and enrich themselves as they can, regardless of the methods. After a long, dusty drive we reached Torda, a con¬ siderable city, and went directly to the home of the Dean, Mr. Lorinczi. Here we met Mr. Jozan, our minister at Budapest. It was the first time he had been in Transylvania and his native place Torda since the war. We sat at table with a group of distinguished- looking men, and the delicious supper lasted until eleven o’clock. Afterward P. P. and L. C. were the guests of the former director of the Torda College, now in Rou¬ manian hands. He is at great sacrifice the principal of the Unitarian high school maintained by the Torda congregation.* He is a man of parts and cultivation, whose wife in her own right is a countess. We walked a few blocks along the quiet street to a large apartment dwelling, where our hosts occupied the ground floor. We entered the yard through a gate at one end. Across the back of the house was a veranda. A hallway led to the central living room, into which again the other rooms led. P. P. and L. C. were quartered in the family parlor. Knowing the long journey we had taken, our friends had kindly prepared baths for us at five o’clock. It seemed only courteous for one of us to bathe, even * See account of Torda schools in report by L. R. p. 130. [ 100 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES at midnight. Hot baths in Transylvania are not easily obtained. In the few houses having bathrooms a gas heater usually stands in one corner over the tap, and it takes a considerable time to heat the water. Clad in his bathrobe L. C. was led through the sleeping rooms of all the members of the family to the bathroom, and then was led back again. The family we"e all in their beds and asleep. Sunday, July 30th. After a pleasant breakfast with our kind hosts and their four beautiful children, we left Torda at ten o’clock, and drove through the lovely countryside to Sinfalva. We had not expected to stop here, but a large number of people had gathered in front of the church. Professor Galfi of the Kolozsvar College, who was a native of the place, made us a speech of wel¬ come in English. The sister churches are at Westwood and West Roxbury. We went into the church, a large pre-Reformation building, and perhaps three hundred people followed us. We were already behind time, and could not hold a regular service, but L. C. went into the pulpit and offered a prayer, and Dr. Boros spoke briefly. We were in the church perhaps twenty minutes. From Sinfalva we drove to Varfalva. As we neared the vil¬ lage, we passed people walking from neighboring towns on their way to the church service. Some, we were told, had been on the road since 3:00 a.m. Varfalva is situated on the edge of a mountainous district, and is approached along a beautiful winding road. The church stands on the hillside, in a com¬ manding position overlooking the valley. We climbed [ 101 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 the picturesque steep village street to the house occupied by the widow of a former minister, who had prepared rather an elaborate breakfast for us, chicken, wine and sweets. At the two tables were perhaps thirty people, including the Baron Joszika, who represented a distin¬ guished Roman Catholic family. We then were taken to a second breakfast in an orchard adjacent to the church, where long tables were spread, and many of the pedestrians whom we had passed on the road were eating. Here we stayed only five minutes, and were excused from taking food, but we shook hands and paid our respects. Then we went to the parsonage, which overlooks the church enclosure, and commands a view of the valley. The sister church is in Waltham. It is not easy to convey the right impression of the Varfalva church. Imagine a large, high, stone edi¬ fice of the fourteenth century, plastered outside and in, painted white, seating perhaps fifteen hundred people. It consisted of a nave and deep chancel without transepts. Galleries extended across the end of the chancel, which was filled with seats for the men. In a gallery at the end of the nave sat the young unmarried men. The nave was filled with women and girls. A high and beautiful pulpit stood at the left wall of the chancel; behind it the minister’s seat. In the open space just in front of the chancel was the round com¬ munion table. Into this church the great congregation crowded, many standing in the aisles and around the doors. Every seat was occupied. The occasion was notable not only because of our visit, but for another [ 102 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES and more important reason, the settlement of the new minister, Andras Potoki. The installation service followed this order. First there was a hymn. Then Dean Lorinczi of Torda, the Dean of the district, made an impassioned address. We were not quite clear of its purport, but judged it to be an exhortation to the people and the new minister. He also read the Bishop’s letter, formally appointing the young graduate of the Divinity School to this ancient parish. The boyish- looking minister of about twenty-six years, wrapped in the new gown given him by P. P., then went into the pulpit, offered prayer, and preached for about twenty minutes, with great vigor and without notes. It is the accepted custom for our ministers to write the sermon, memorize it word for word, rehearse it if need be and deliver it with fluency and rapidity. This young man spoke with the composure and the manner of a man long accustomed to public speaking. He ended his sermon with a short prayer, all the people standing. Indeed it is the custom for everyone to stand during the prayer. On entering the church the men and women always stand for a moment in prayer, just as the Cath¬ olics kneel. It appears to be the custom also for the men in private devotion to place the hat partly over the face. Following the prayer by the minister, L. C. gave from the high pulpit a brief sermon, which was trans¬ lated by Dr. Boros. The ministers of the district then gathered around the communion table while Dean Lorinczi welcomed the new minister, who responded. A very interesting ceremony followed._L. R. was asked [ 103 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 to join the ministers at the communion table, and was made honorary Dean of the district of Torda. One trying feature of this interesting service, lasting as it did for two and a half hours, was the lack of air. Except for the two doors of the church, which were kept open, there was no ventilation whatever. People in Transylvania, although they live much in the open, fear draughts. The heat in the church was suffocating. We went to the parsonage and received a delegation consisting of the minister and several laymen from Csegez, a village high in the hills. They greatly desired us to visit their church. The sister church is Wellesley Hills. Their church is in ruin, their town very poor. If it be possible, they hope we will assist in re-building the church. Lack of time, and the fact that the auto¬ mobile could not reach this village on account of poor roads, made it impossible for us to accept the invitation. We next were taken to the orchard, where a long dinner was served and many speeches were made. There were perhaps a hundred and fifty people at table. The dinner consisted of soup, chicken, other meats, wine and sweets. During the dinner the Dean rose and came to L. R., welcomed him as the new Dean and kissed him affectionately. We all made speeches. Indeed every¬ one who wished to speak arose and said something. The feeling of the occasion was very happy, and a great deal was due to the enthusiasm about the new minister. We were told the next day that this party lasted into the night, with dancing, ending at daybreak on Monday morning. We came away about four o’clock. [ 104 ] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES The next hour and a half took us through one of the loveliest regions ever dreamed of. We came down a beautiful valley, then turned across a stream to follow another valley up into the hills to one of the most pic¬ turesque villages that could be found in all Europe, Toroczko. Its white houses, well-kept and ordered, cluster in a little valley at the very foot of a great mountain of rock like a miniature Matterhorn. As you stand in the central square with its gushing fountain and the big white church, this towering mass of rock dominates the whole scene. Farther along the valley are the fields, rich with crops. In this surpassingly beautiful setting, Toroczko presents a picture of com¬ fort and of prosperity, in sharp contrast to the meagre¬ ness and poverty of many of the villages. The sister church is at Portland, Maine. At the gate of the parsonage we were met by three young women in the beautiful Saxon costumes. One was for the maiden, another for the betrothed, and a third for the bride, and very lovely they all were, par¬ ticularly the bridal costume. These three beautiful young women were worthy of the artist’s brush. We ascended a flight of steps, and went through a covered veranda, used as a dining room, into the big living room. P. P. and L. C. had an inner room; L. R. and Dr. Boros the big room. Here we rested for a little, and at seven o’clock went to the beautiful old church, stand¬ ing within its walled enclosure, very clean and well- kept, the only church in the town, serving the entire community of 2300 persons, with a confirmed member- [ 105 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 ship of 1500 communicants. The minister, Stephen Nemesh, gave us a most cordial welcome in Hungarian, speaking with great emotion. He then addressed us in English, reading a carefully prepared speech, a copy of which we brought away. He set forth the dangers and perils which the congregation was facing, and begged for our sympathy and help. P. P. ascended the pulpit and preached a brief sermon, which Dr. Boros translated. Many of the women wore their brilliant costumes. There were perhaps a thousand people pres¬ ent, among them Mr. Jozan of Budapest, formerly the minister of this parish. It was pleasant to see the en¬ thusiasm with which the congregation greeted their former minister, and they were very cordial to us. At the end of the service P. P. was made honorary minister. It is hard to convey in any adequate way an impression either of the village or of this ancient house of worship. The most beautiful church we saw in Transylvania, larger than St. Paul’s Cathedral, Boston, it was one of the most worshipful and attractive churches we had been in. It was beautiful in its proportions, in its quiet decoration and gleaming white walls. In the midst of such surroundings it was hard to realize the anxiety of the people. So far there had been little friction with the Roumanian authorities, but there was no security and much foreboding. “If the endow¬ ment is taken away, what can be done?” we asked. And we were told, “Nothing. It means ruin.” They were fearful that their land would be confiscated, and that the schools would not be permitted to continue. [106] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES Throughout the twenty-three years of his pastorate the minister had never failed to hold daily morning service in the church at six o’clock. In winter this meant holding the service by lantern light. The churches are unlighted. In all these years he had never been to the church but twice when there were no wor¬ shipers, and these occasions were in times of heavy storms. He and his wife and family were attractive people of the finest type. After the service we drove to Toroczko-szent-gyorgy to call upon the minister, Millos Gal, and to see the ancient church. The road lay along the valley for per¬ haps three miles through fertile fields, past the ruin of a castle, and into a small village, where there were two churches, Reformed and Unitarian. Ours was a pleas¬ ing old building, standing at the centre of the village. The minister had formerly been settled at Budapest, and is a graduate of Manchester College, Oxford. He spoke excellent English. We asked why the pulpit and communion table were covered in black, and why black funeral wreaths were hung against the gallery wall. “Had there been a funeral that afternoon?” He said that he had had the church draped in black ever since the Roumanian occupation. Dr. Boros remonstrated, “We cannot live in this way, it is hard on your people.” The minister replied, “As long as I am here we shall continue to mourn.” We felt that this attitude must be depressing to the congregation. We were told that the minister and his wife would soon remove to Budapest. The sister church is in Philadelphia. C 107 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 We went to the parsonage, the house where Brassia (perhaps the most distinguished Hungarian Unitarian of the nineteenth century) was born in 1819. The minister’s wife was dressed entirely in black, and we were told that she refused to make any calls or go about at all, and spent most of the time at her rosewood grand, piano. At our request, she played for us with real talent. After an hour’s call we drove back to Toroczko. In the morning we walked once more around our beautiful church. We also saw an ancient Toroczko house, where there was interesting old painted furniture and beautiful costumes were unpacked for us. At about ten o’clock we left with great regret one of the loveliest spots we had ever seen. Monday, July 31st. We reached Rakosz at eleven o’clock. The church stands in a narrow roadway, and as we slowly approached the door, flowers were not only handed to us, but literally showered upon us in bouquets, which fell about the automobile and upon it, and quite buried us. The whole back of the car, level with our necks, was full of bouquets. We made a brief call at the parsonage and went on to the church, where there was a good congregation. The pulpit and com¬ munion table were covered in black. The minister made us a passionate address, one of the few speeches we heard which was obviously political. L. R. chris¬ tened a baby girl. He must have impressed the people by his reverence and feeling even though they could not understand his words. Following the service we went to the parsonage, a small three-roomed house, pleas- [108] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES antly located and well furnished, with a superb view. We met a former minister, a fine old gentleman who had lived in this parsonage for thirty years. Across the road was a small parish hall, built within recent years at the chancel end of the church. From the doorway there was a very lovely view for miles down the valley. Here luncheon was served, but we could stay only a very short time. Returning to the parsonage, P. P. and L. C. climbed into the minister’s two-seated wagon drawn by a mare, the colt accompanying its mother and wearing a garland around its neck. L. R. went in the automobile with Dr. Boros and the minister’s wife. We drove a few miles to Vargyon. Here we paid a ceremonious call at the parsonage. The minister’s wife was ill, and the daughter of another minister welcomed us. Then we crossed the street to the church, where a few people were gathered. L. C. offered prayer from the pulpit. The bell rang continuously during our visit, to inform the people in the fields of our presence. The minister, Mr. Kovacs, had been one of the speakers at the orchard dinner the day before. As we were leav¬ ing, the daughter of the neighboring minister came to say good-by. She was a wholesome, pretty girl of nineteen or twenty, dressed in a red and black print gown, and a big hat trimmed with red, a lovely picture to remember. Our next stop was at Kovend, where we were very cordially received. The crowd filled the street. We drove to the house of the minister, Mr. Adamosi, a noble- [ 109 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 man, and a man of means. It stood in a considerable enclosure, separated by a low fence from a field where threshing was going on. Bare-footed, sturdy men and women were carrying bundles of grain to the big machines. The scene was full of color. The house, owned by our host, was one of the most spacious that we visited. Through an enclosed porch, a sort of sitting room, we entered a large bedroom, and behind this a big living room where two tables were spread for dinner. A long wing of the house contained other rooms, including the kitchen. We went immediately to the church. It was re¬ decorated a few years before the war, and contained a beautiful modern paneled ceiling, painted in old Hun¬ garian designs. The fine pulpit was concealed by drapery and adorned with a garland of oak-leaves. A large congregation welcomed us. We held the usual service. L. C. offered prayer. P. P. and L. R. spoke. Meadville is the sister church. Afterwards a crowd that must have numbered twelve hundred people fol¬ lowed us back to the house. Many flowers were given us, and the young women decorated the auto¬ mobile. There followed a long dinner. At the head of our table sat the aged mother of our hostess, and at the foot the lay president of the district, our host and hostess at the head and foot of the second table. The delicious dinner consisted of soup, roast veal, apple tart, chicken, “floating island” with raspberries, and coffee. Four servants waited upon us. There was light wine, and many toasts were proposed. A gypsy [no] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES orchestra played in one of the outer rooms. Our hostess was a very interesting young woman of pleasing per¬ sonality and fine appearance. We noticed that after the first course she withdrew for a few moments and re¬ turned wearing another gown. Dr. Boros explained that this had no particular significance, except that, having worn her very best at church, she naturally took it ofF and put on her second best during dinner. Her mother was a very striking old lady. Nurses brought in two charming little children for us to see. During the dessert and coffee several persons sang, and we were asked to do our part. L. R. and P. P., who sing very well together, sang “Drink to me only with thine eyes/’ P. P. taking the tenor and L. R. the air. This was received with appreciation, but we were told candidly that it was “much too sad.” Of course the words were not understood, but evidently the music seemed too plaintive. L. R. then sang “Macnamara’s Band,” P. P. and L. C. helping with the chorus, which was re¬ ceived with great applause. A visiting minister sang very well indeed. Then the young people began dancing czardas, the Hungarian national dance. It was graceful and pleasing and unlike anything we had ever seen. Nothing would do but we must dance. Our hostess in¬ vited us in turn to dance with her, and we did our best. It is hard to describe the real friendliness and jollity characterizing this dinner. It was one of the high watermarks of the abundant hospitality extended to us. No such combination of dignity and ease could be found at home, and for this reason it was all the more interest- [in ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 ing. We drove away very reluctantly, and after perhaps half an hour came to Szentmihaley. The church stands at a bend in the road. A man who was watching for us from the belfry promptly be¬ gan ringing the bell, and the people gathered; many, indeed, had already come. At the church gate three little girls in national costume gave us flowers. The church, a large, bare and rather dreary building, was well filled. The gallery at the end of the nave was crowded with children, most of them under ten years of age. Several ministers from neighboring churches were present. Three speeches of welcome were made. We all took part in the service. Afterwards we went to the parsonage, a very simple home, with a finely spiritual atmosphere. As we entered the porch, the president of the local Presbytery, an honest farmer, came forward and made us a speech. Dr. Boros told us that the church had been through a period of decline, and was at a very low ebb when the present minister took it. Now it had “come back”, and the credit was to be shared between the minister and this lay president. He was a sturdy, fine type of man. We wished we had more men like him in our American churches. While we were being entertained in the living room, we heard the bell tolling and learned that an epidemic of scarlet fever was raging in the village, causing the death of at least one little child a day. The bell was tolling for a child’s funeral. Yet the whole village had gathered to welcome us, and the church gallery had been crowded with children. Evidently there was no [112] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES thought of quarantine or even of keeping the children apart as we should have done. A very moving incident occurred while we were still in the parsonage. A girl, perhaps nineteen or twenty years of age, dressed in simple black, was introduced to us, — a fine, comely, and very able-looking young woman. She had finished one year at the Normal College for Teachers. Her ambition was to become a teacher and make a place for herself; but her father had died six weeks before, and all her dreams were ended. She could not possibly go on; there was no money. It developed that her expenses for one year at the college would amount to thirty-five dollars. P. P., after a little conference with Dr. Boros, promised this sum for the next year, and Dr. Boros explained the gift to her. She wept and kissed P. P.’s hand, before he was aware of what she was trying to do. Everyone was rather tearful. Dr. Boros in this situa¬ tion was a revelation of fatherly gentleness and kind¬ ness. When we left, the girl stood waving us good-by. The tears had gone and the smiles had come. So small an amount of money in Transylvania to-day means the release of a life into its ambition. This girl’s desire for an education is precisely the kind of motive on which the future of the country must depend, and which the strangling of the educational institutions, unless prevented, is certain to kill. In the early evening we continued our drive to Torda. We had been told that there would be no service, but perhaps a concert. Then we were told there would be no concert. We arrived at Dean Lorinczi’s house, [ ii3 ] 9 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 where we had stopped before, expecting that our day’s experiences were at an end, and that after a short stop for supper we should continue on our way. At the Dean’s house, however, we were told that people were waiting for us in the church, and as quickly as we could we walked the short distance to the noble old building to find it crowded to the very doors. Twelve hundred people had patiently waited for our coming since five o’clock, and it was now after eight. The church is a massive stone temple, dating from before the Reforma¬ tion. The large windows were filled with plain glass. There was a fine stone pulpit. Withal there was a sense of dignity that was really impressive. Across what was once the chancel there was the usual deep organ gallery packed with people. In another gallery across the end of the nave was the famous men’s choral society of Torda of about fifty voices. The service was as follows: A hymn, led by the organist; L. C. offered the prayer from the high stone pulpit. P. P. and L. R. spoke from the stalls directly beneath. Dr. Boros translated. The Dean spoke ardently and at length. He commissioned us to tell the Rev. Abbot Peterson that he was made honorary minister of the Torda church, Torda and the First Parish in Brookline being sister churches. The men’s choir sang without accompaniment. L. C. spoke. There was a soprano solo. The service ended with a second selection by the men’s choir. The service lasted about two hours. Upon the communion table were flowers, and around it on the stone floor a ribbon-like arrangement of very small blossoms in red, green and [114] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES white, the Hungarian colors. Several Roumanian soldiers were present, and we were told that Roumanian officials also were in the congregation. L. C/s theme was the significance of Torda. Here in 1582, in the noble old thirteenth century (Roman Catholic) church, a short distance from our present church, was held the famous Diet of Torda, in which the principle of religious freedom was publicly pro¬ claimed by Francis David and first adopted as the laws of a country. What was first accepted in Torda three hundred and fifty years ago is now the priceless pos¬ session of the civilized world. Though religious liberty may be retarded now and again, yet it is destined to become the birthright of all intelligent peoples. Torda will always be a Mecca for enlightened men, because here it was first politically accepted that “Faith is the gift of God.” We returned to the parsonage, and thence rode across the city to a garden restaurant, where we had supper. There were at table perhaps thirty persons, including Dr. Boros, the Dean and his wife, their son and little girls, our hostess at Kovend and her niece, the former director of the famous Torda College (who had enter¬ tained us on our earlier visit), the principal of the Girls’ School, and others. An amusing incident revealed how difficult it was for us to understand one another. “What will you have to eat?” we were asked. “What is there?” “Anything you like,” was the reply. “But please tell us what is prepared.” “Well,” it was an¬ swered, “there is roast beef, that is what you call roast [115] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 pork.” “Roast beef would be very nice/’ we answered. “But there is no roast beef/’ we were told. “What is there?” “There is roast pork.” “And what is the choice?” “Roast pork,” was the answer. Slowly we learned that roast pork was the only dish prepared, and in due time delicious pork chops were served us on thick wooden discs. The dish was a kind of planked pork, like our planked beef-steak, and made a most appetiz¬ ing supper. There were light wines and many toasts. We had been entertained once by the Dean of Torda. We could not accept a second dinner, and after much explanation and some argument, it was at length agreed that the three visitors should be the hosts of the even¬ ing. We felt also that some recognition was due from us to the choral society. The fifty men had followed us to the garden and sang twice most beautifully for our pleasure. We were told that it was the customary thing to do to send wine for the men. This we did, and received their really very appreciative thanks. And here was the sequel. Our bill for the entire entertain¬ ment, including the dinner for thirty persons, the wine for fifty men, and the usual tips, because of the de¬ preciated currency, amounted to something less than $3.00 in American money. A moving incident occurred during the dinner. We had been attracted by the Dean’s son, a winning youth about twenty years old. After diligent inquiry, we learned that he had intended entering the Divinity School at Kolozsvar this autumn, but had been obliged to abandon the plan because his father could not afford [116] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES to send him. The Divinity School provides lodging, books and instruction without charge. The expense which prohibited the young man from preparing for the ministry was the cost of table board for an academic year of forty-two weeks. The total expense for the year’s food in American money would be about $24.00. L. C. asked to be allowed to give the year’s board. After some protesting, this was arranged, and the young man was told of the gift, which he accepted with shy appreciation. After our farewells we started on the long drive to Kolozsvar, over an absolutely deserted road under a starlit sky, and about one o’clock arrived at the College. This was the end of our journeyings among the churches. Cluj-Kolozsvar, August 1st. In the morning we went through the College building. The Director and the faculty escorted us, and in each department the pro¬ fessor in charge gave us a formal welcome. We found that Bishop Ferencz had been plunged into a second great sorrow. His son-in-law had died in Budapest, leaving a widow and two children almost unprovided for. In the afternoon, with the college faculty, about twenty men in all, we made a formal call of sympathy upon the Bishop and his wife. We were taken through the familiar doorway, orna¬ mented with its ancient hatchment, through the ante¬ rooms to the living room, where the Bishop received us standing, and Mrs. Ferencz seated upon the sofa. We all stood. Dr. Boros made a speech of condolence, the Bishop replied. We then started to withdraw, but the C 117 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 Bishop came forward and shook hands with the three visitors and spoke with us briefly. A curious little misunderstanding arose as we went to the Bishop’s house. We felt that it was an intrusion for three strangers to enter with the men who had worked intimately for so many years with the Bishop, and we held back a little, intending to follow the fac¬ ulty; but we were misunderstood as desiring to make of ourselves a second and quite seperate delegation. A professor said to L. C., “You are now one of us, and you must not go in separately.” This disclosed our mistake, and we followed Dr. Boros into the room ahead of the others. At noon we went to the home of Professor and Mrs. Csifo for luncheon. Our hostess had kindly prepared many typical Hungarian delicacies. We afterwards had coffee on the balcony. It was a delightful occasion. At four o’clock we had a second long committee meeting in our room at the College. There were present the Bishop; Mr. Kovacs, the secretary; Mr. Hadhazy, treasurer; Professors Boros and Csifo, P. P. and L. C. In the evening a meeting of the Francis David Asso¬ ciation was held in our honor in the large Consistory room. The lay president of the Consistory presided, and there was a distinguished company which filled the hall. There were speeches by the president and secre¬ tary of the Women’s League, and by several of the men. We all responded. There was a violin solo. The wife of the Presbyterian minister recited an original poem. There was an illustrated lecture on Francis David and [118] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES his time. The professor of Art exhibited beautiful church silver. The meeting lasted about three hours. In arranging to draw money for our return trip to London, we decided to enter in this account the ex¬ changes which we had made. In Italy, there were 97 lira to the pound; in Roumania 162 lei to the dollar; in Austria from 53,000 to 58,000 kronen to the dollar; in Hungary from 1900 to 2500 kronen to the dollar; in Germany about 4000 marks to the pound. Wednesday, August 2nd. In the morning a deputa¬ tion called upon P. P. and made him Honorary Dean of Koloszdoboka. Each of us had now been made a Dean. L. R. and L. C. had been made Honorary Ministers of a parish. P. P. was Honorary Minister of two churches. L. C. had an interesting interview with Professor Csifo. He explained his great desire that students should go from Kolozsvar for a year or two to study in the United States, just as they had gone for a long time to Manchester College, Oxford. He also desired that American students should come to Kolozsvar. L. C. regarded the first wish as possible, and said we all would do what we could to help bring it to pass. Of the second wish, he was doubtful. If for no other reason, the lan¬ guage would be a great barrier. It is worth while for an Hungarian student to learn English; it may be questioned whether it would be worth while for an American student to learn Hungarian. At about eleven o'clock we were summoned to a formal meeting of the Consistory. At the head of a long [119] I TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 table in the centre of the room were the venerable Bishop and the lay president, Baron Horvath; the offi¬ cers of the Consistory sat at either side; the delegate members occupied the stalls along the wall. Dr. Boros presented us. The Bishop made a formal speech of welcome. L. R. and L. C. replied on behalf of the British and American churches. We were present about fifteen minutes and remained standing. Then we were escorted out of the room, and the Consistory proceeded to business. Mr. Jozan was present as a member of the Consistory from Budapest for the first time since the war. We withdrew to the office of the Bishop’s secretary, where we received a delegation of twenty professors from the colleges and schools. Professor Csifo spoke on their behalf, relating their great sufferings, present privations, and the need of the schools. L. R. replied. The British churches have been more in touch with the schools than have our American churches, having con¬ tributed largely to their support. In the afternoon we had been invited to tea with Mrs. Boros. L. C. had previously accepted an invitation from the Count and Countess Teleki. The Secretary of Agriculture for Transylvania was present also. He spoke no English, and L. C. no German, so they could not converse. Count Teleki showed a diagram of part of the estate he had lost, outlining an elaborate system of irrigation which he and his father had slowly per¬ fected through a long number of years. He was trying to dissuade the Roumanians from cutting this land into [ 120] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES many small holdings and abandoning the irrigation. Without it the land is entirely arid and profitless, yet the Roumanians were so ignorant that they were entirely ignoring the irrigation in their plan of division. L. C. drove to Dr. Boros’s apartment. P. P. and L. R. had been there for an hour, and had been enjoying music. Miss Boros had sung. The son of the minister of the Kolozsvar church had played the violin. P. P. had accompanied them on the piano. The minister’s son was a fair-haired young man of twenty years, just entering the Divinity School. Miss Boros showed us artistic Hungarian jewelry and woodwork which she had made. Tea was served to us. We then went to a dinner given for us in the big gymnasium by the Francis David Association. There were perhaps seventy-five gentlemen present and five ladies: Miss Kovary; the Secretary of the Women’s Alliance; Mrs. Boros and Miss Boros; and the Countess Teleki. Long tables were arranged in a hollow square. At the head sat the Bishop; L. C. on his right, then the Countess, then the representative of the Lutheran Bishop, and next, just round the corner, Miss Kovary, and next her, Count Teleki; on the Bishop’s left sat the Baron Horvath; L. R.; then the Roman Catholic rep¬ resentative; and the representative of the Presbyterian Bishop. P. P. and Dr. Boros sat opposite the Bishop. There were speeches by the Bishop, the Catholic, Pres¬ byterian and Lutheran representatives, Mr. Kiss, Professor Csifo, Dr. Boros, Mr. Lorinczi, the Dean of Torda, Mr. Jozan, and several persons whom we did not C 121 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 know. We all responded. After the more formal speaking, it seemed to be in order for anyone to speak who wished to do so. In all perhaps eighteen people spoke, and they spoke well and briefly. L. C. made a second speech, which Professor Csifo translated, thank¬ ing Dr. Boros for his great kindness, and the service he had done us in going about with us and translating everything that we had said and everything that had been said to us. At midnight the Bishop rose and said that it was time for an old gentleman like himself to retire. Dr. Boros whispered to us that we were ex¬ pected to follow, which, after some handshaking, we did. Later, from our windows, we heard what we thought was singing in another building, but it appeared that after we had left, the Francis David Association continued to have toasts and drink light wine and sing. L. R. from his room heard them as late as 2:00 a . m . Thursday, August 3rd. At eight o’clock every morning during our stay we heard the church bell ringing for morning service. Each of us had attended some of these morning services. There were always a few people in the church. The service consisted of organ music and a prayer. On this last morning of our stay L. C. was asked to conduct the service. Several of our friends came to share it with us. L. R. and P. P. sat together. The organ played for perhaps ten min¬ utes. Then, wearing the Dean’s gown, L. C. went into the high pulpit and offered prayer. Nearly everyone in the church understood English. Here in the oldest Unitarian church in the world, at the centre of the C 122] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES Transylvanian church life, we asked the blessing of God upon our mission. At ten-thirty we left for the frontier by automobile. Many of our friends stood on the sidewalk before the College to see us leave, and the Bishop from his office window waved his farewell. Our drive was a tiring and hazardous experience. We had none too much time, and the car was driven much faster than was pleasant, and very recklessly. In one place we barely missed going over an embank¬ ment into a river. At a second place the car skidded, and for a few seconds we believed it must surely turn over. We had two blow-outs, which involved delays. But finally we reached the frontier at Bihai-Pispoki, where the train was already at the station. Mr. Jozan, also traveling to Budapest, met us and we were hurried through the customs, where we were treated cour¬ teously. We boarded a crowded train on which there was not a seat to be had. After standing for an hour or more, the Hungarian customs officials on the train gave us their own com¬ partment, standing in the corridor themselves. We were thankful to reach Budapest shortly after ten o'clock. Budapest We were met at the station by the two sons of Mr. Jozan, and by Mr. Csiki, whom we were very happy indeed to see after the months which had elapsed since he left America. The city of Budapest sent automobiles [ 123 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 to meet us, and we were told that we were guests of the city. Mr. Jozan’s assistant, the Rev. Mr. Biro, was also of the party. Mr. Csiki had engaged rooms for us at the Hotel Astoria, where excellent accommodations cost us about fifty cents a day apiece. It had been ar¬ ranged that we should have Friday to ourselves. We spent much of the day talking with Mr. Csiki. Saturday, August 5th. A big meeting, called a re¬ ception, was held in the hall of the Calvinist Divinity School. There were perhaps five hundred persons present, of all denominations. On the platform were representatives of twelve church and social organiza¬ tions. All of them made addresses of greeting, some speaking in English. We had supposed this was to be a religious and social gathering, but to our surprise we found it an irredentist meeting. Each of the speakers emphasized the political side, desired us to help Hun¬ gary regain Transylvania, and ignored the fact that our purpose in coming had been to solace the Unitarian churches. L. C. spoke first in reply, and tried to counteract the tendency of the speeches by emphasiz¬ ing the religious nature of our mission and pointing out the long relationship between the American and Tran¬ sylvanian churches. His speech failed to awaken a response. P. P. and L. R. spoke along the same lines. The only interest of this group, many of whom were not Unitarians, was in the restoration of Hungary. There was music by a brilliant pianist, songs and declamation. Sunday, August 6th. We went to the church at half-past ten o’clock. The Society owns an office build- [124] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES mg, the income from which constitutes its endowment. On the top floor is the church, Gothic in character, with high vaulting and much oak paneling. It holds per¬ haps 275 people, and was crowded to overflowing. Places of honor in the chancel were occupied by the British Minister and his wife, and the American Min¬ ister and his wife. We were led to our seats by little girls in Hungarian costume, who presented us with flowers. After music, there was a prayer and sermon by Mr. Csiki. A former soprano of the Royal Opera sang in English a setting of “Hark, hark, my soul.” Mr. Jozan addressed us, first in Hungarian and then in English, presenting P. P. and L. C. with a beautiful illuminated address, recording the gratitude felt for our visit. This gift is to be hung in the Association Rooms in Boston. A similar document was presented to L. R. for the British and Foreign Association in London. P. P. gave a short sermon from the pulpit, and Mr. Csiki translated it. L. R. and L. C. spoke. The lay presi¬ dent of the Society, Mr. Lajos, made a brief speech. The service lasted about two hours. Immediately afterwards we met the Presbytery in the Parish Room. There were present perhaps twenty persons, all laymen except Mr. Csiki, Mr. Biro, and Mr. Jozan, who was in the chair. He is now the Suf¬ fragan Bishop of the Unitarian Churches in Old Hun¬ gary. Mr. Csiki for the Presbytery presented a statement in English, the substance of which was as follows. Before the ceding of Transylvania to Rou- mania the number of Unitarians in Budapest had [125] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 slowly increased. The church founded about 25 years ago had grown to a membership of about 1500 persons. The church equipment, auditorium and parish rooms, had become inadequate. Since the ceding of Transyl¬ vania, there has been a great influx of Transylvanians, and the number of Unitarians now in the city is no less than six thousand. Of these, many will permanently remain in Budapest. Inadequate before, the church cannot begin to meet the present conditions. Many people come and cannot obtain entrance. Many live in another part of the city. In short, a second church is needed. If the two Associations, British and Amer¬ ican, could finance another movement, it would under more settled conditions become self-supporting, and would be another permanent influence in a city of a million inhabitants. L. C. replied that while we could give no least en¬ couragement that such a plan could be carried out, we would, of course, present it to the Directors of the American Unitarian Association. L. R. replied in the same vein on behalf of the British and Foreign Asso¬ ciation. The meeting lasted perhaps an hour and a half. After the meeting we were taken to St. Margaret’s Island in the middle of the Danube, a really splendid park, formerly the estate of the Grand Duke Joseph. Accessible by bridges from both Buda and Pest, it is a wonderful addition to the life of the people. Here we lunched with a small group of laymen. We then walked about, saw the ruins of the monastery, and the baths. [126] VISIT TO SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES Later in the afternoon we met many of the church people at tea in another part of the same garden. Monday, August 7th. We took lunch with Mr. Hohler, the British Minister, at the Legation. It is on the heights of the Citadel near the Royal Palace, a cool and spacious house, dating from the fifteenth century. We were shown into a curious sort of cloistered room, the ceiling supported by low arches resting on central pillars, the end of the room looking over the garden and river. We ascended a long stair and entered a narrow gallery with high fireplace, tapestried walls, and win¬ dows on one side. Beautiful old furniture stood along the walls. Here Mr. Hohler and his wife received us. Luncheon was served. It was a delightful hour at table with much conversation about our journey, and Tran¬ sylvanian conditions. The whole atmosphere was immeasurably less strange and foreign. There came to us vividly all that this British Legation broadly represents in the Empire and the United States where Anglo-Saxon institutions are fundamentally the same. We felt once more in touch with stability, order, and that liberty which is the in¬ heritance of the Common Law. The portraits of the King and Queen on the wall seemed to symbolize the sanctities of a civilization scarcely known in the land we had visited, but which is to us the very foundation of life. We felt almost at home again. Mr. Hohler particularly asked us to send him our report. We inquired if he considered that delegations such as ours were of real use. He replied that he should [ 127 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 be glad to say officially that he regarded them as of inestimable importance. We drove to the Hotel Gelert, where by appointment we met Dr. Kolto, formerly Chief Justice of Transyl¬ vania, a devoted Unitarian. He had been asked to draw up a statement of the claims of all the non- Greek denominations in Transylvania, which should be the basis of discussion with the Roumanian govern¬ ment. He mentioned a number of points regarding the history and the development of the churches, and the present situation. The substance of all that he pre¬ sented is contained in his written statement, attached to this report. At the end of the afternoon we took tea with Mr. and Mrs. Jozan, who had invited a number of people to meet us. Tea was served on a high balcony of the house, which stands on a hilltop in Buda. The whole city lay before us in the growing twilight, the spire of our church visible across the Danube. This was our last official engagement, and we shall never forget the kindness of our hosts nor the beauty of the city under the light of the rising moon. The next evening we started upon our homeward journey. [128] IV A REPORT ON THE COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS OF TRANSYLVANIA By Lawrence Redfern of Liverpool The Unitarian Church in Transylvania, from the earliest days of its existence, has been passionately de¬ voted to the cause of education, and in this as in other spheres of activity has a long and honorable record. Long before the Hungarian State assumed any re¬ sponsibility for the education of its people, each congregation had its own elementary school which was staffed, equipped and maintained by the Church. The same is true in a greater or less degree of the other non- Greek denominations. Hence it has come about that by tradition both ele¬ mentary and higher education in Hungary has de¬ veloped, and developed successfully, on church lines. Even the first universities were founded on a religious basis. It is not surprising therefore that in the Hun¬ garian mind there is a deeply-rooted conviction that education, in its fullest and broadest aspects, cannot be carried on apart from religious education. This fact must be grasped before there can be any clear under¬ standing of the present schools problem in Transyl¬ vania. It is a tradition that is widely different from our [ 129 ] 10 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 British and American educational theories. To discuss whether it is good or bad to promote education on denominational lines is entirely irrelevant to the present situation. In Transylvania the schools question is inseparably bound up with the question of the Rights of Religious Minorities, and the maintenance of all denominational or Confessional schools was guaranteed by the Roumanian government in the Peace Treaty. But we will return to this later. In the latter part of the nineteenth century the Hun¬ garian State, realizing its responsibility towards its people in the matter of education, and in consequence making demands of the denominational schools which their financial resources were too slender to meet, entered into a contract with the churches concerned regulating the maintenance and control of their ele¬ mentary schools. In certain instances the denomina¬ tional school was replaced by a State school proper. But in the majority of cases the Hungarian govern¬ ment agreed to a system of State aid for denominational schools, and in return claimed certain rights of super¬ vision and control over school buildings and properties and the standard of education. This contract was honorably carried out by both parties and was in being until the dismemberment of Hungary. In addition to its elementary schools — now 48 in number — the Unitarian Church also owns and con¬ trols three upper schools, one in Torda which dates from the year 1566, a second in Kolozsvar, and a third in Szekelykeresztur. In each of these schools there are [ 13° ] REPORT ON SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES about 300 pupils, and the support of this higher edu¬ cation was also dependent in part upon Hungarian State aid. At Kolozsvar and Szekelykeresztur the school buildings are spacious and well-equipped; but in Torda the original ample building has been arbitrarily seized by the Roumanian government for a State in¬ stitution, and the premises now in use are entirely inadequate. All three schools have an able and devoted staff of teachers, and have done a magnificent work in preparing pupils for graduation into the State univer¬ sities. At Kolozsvar there is also a Unitarian Theological College, which exists solely for the purpose of preparing students for the ministry of the Unitarian Church. This institution with its professors and tutors was also in receipt of State aid from the Hungarian government, but was entirely free from State interference. It will be gathered from the foregoing statement that up to the time of the Peace Treaty the Unitarian Church in Transylvania, with the help of the Hungarian State, had maintained an elaborate system of education which for a long period of time had helped to mould the life of an enlightened and cultured people. At the present moment that system is in peril of extinction, in spite of the guarantees clearly laid down in the Peace Treaty that the rights of religious minorities, and of the schools belonging to those minorities, would be pro¬ tected and maintained by the Roumanian government. Up to the present time the elementary schools under Unitarian control (and the same may be said of the other C H 1 1 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 denominational schools) have received no government aid whatsoever. In some cases the Roumanian author¬ ities, claiming that they are now the lawful successors of the Hungarian State in Transylvania, have seized denominational school buildings and their equipment without any compensation or compromise, and have converted them into Roumanian State schools. In many instances the teachers and scholars who have thus been driven out, have been provided with temporary accommodation, with the result that sometimes in quite a small village where there are few if any Roumanian children, there is a Roumanian State school with per¬ haps two teachers and half a dozen scholars, and a Unitarian or other denominational school with two teachers and 50 or 60 scholars. Moreover, so far from recognizing its financial obli¬ gations towards denominational schools, the Roumanian government through its recent agrarian legislation would seem to be bent upon their economic ruin. Under the Hungarian regime these schools were only in part maintained by State aid. For the rest they were dependent upon landed property bequeathed in past years by individual Unitarians who desired to perpet¬ uate Unitarian institutions. The total amount of land belonging to our Church before the Roumanian occu¬ pation was about 7000 acres. Over 5000 acres have already been confiscated, and another thousand taken on a system of forced leases and given to Roumanian settlers who pay little or nothing for their holdings. This so-called agrarian reform has left in the possession C 13 2 ] REPORT ON SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES of the Unitarian Church less than a thousand acres for the maintenance of a vigorous and far-reaching edu¬ cational and religious life. At the present time the position is being maintained with the utmost difficulty. Large debts have been incurred in connection with the schools, and have had to be met by extraordinary efforts which cannot be continued. Of all the tales of heroic endurance which have marked the past few years of Unitarian life in Transylvania nothing surpasses the heroism of the teachers in the elementary and upper schools, who have remained at their posts, although their salaries have been, and still are, scarcely sufficient for the bare necessities of life. But this state of things cannot go on indefinitely, and unless time brings quickly to the Roumanian rulers both wisdom and a changed policy, or unless further help is forthcoming from brethren in other lands, there will be no other course available than to close the schools. From evidence which comes to hand, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is the con¬ summation, the tragic consummation, which Roumania most ardently desires and is seeking by economic pres¬ sure to achieve. At any rate, only two alternative explanations are possible. Either the Roumanian gov¬ ernment is blind to the possibilities of allowing several kinds of cultural life to exist in the same State, and is stupidly beginning to crush out ancient institutions which have nourished a high civilization, or it is deliber¬ ately trying to crush these institutions in the belief that [ 133 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 a ruined province will be easier to control than an enlightened and prosperous one. In an interview with the Minister of Cults and Arts in Bucharest, we were informed that in the autumn of this year the government is to submit the draft of a new constitution for the whole of Roumania, a con¬ stitution inspired, so we were assured, by a liberal and tolerant spirit. Past experience does not prompt us to build our hopes too high. But even if this new consti¬ tution materializes, and even if all the good things that were said about it are realized, a considerable time must elapse before it can have any material effect upon the conditions of religious minorities in Transylvania and their schools. These institutions may well die while Bucharest argues and deliberates. At any rate during the long period of readjustment — if any readjustment be attempted — these schools must have a fighting chance to live. The centre of the whole problem would seem to have shifted for the time being, from the churches to the schools. The splendid generosity of the American Unitarian churches, by their system of “adoption,” has made the position of the Transylvanian churches more secure, at any rate for a limited period. Furthermore, the Roumanian government after a delay of two years has recognized the status of the Unitarian ministry, and is now making regular pay¬ ments towards the salaries of ministers. But the schools remain unprovided for, nay, they have been despoiled of their endowments. In the past, they [i34] REPORT ON SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES have contributed in no small part to the culture and civilization of Transylvania. Such a state of things calls for the active help and sympathy of all who desire to uphold the liberal spirit, whether in religion or education, in all parts of the world. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, through its Committee on Work in Europe, published in October, 1922, an appeal for the allied bodies in Europe, asking among other items for $50,000 “for the support of schools and other educational institutions in the Hungarian Reformed Church in Transylvania.” On page 10 of the pamphlet it justifies this appeal with the following statement: \ “The rights and even the very existence of the schools and other educational institutions of the Hungarian Re¬ formed faith have been imperiled in Roumania. The Magyars have in the past laid great stress upon the impor¬ tance of church schools, and in fact the educational system under the monarchy was for the most part in the hands of the churches through their denominational schools. Four- fifths of the elementary schools were conducted by the churches. Thus the school became an integral and essential part of the church’s program to an extent not known in this country. The Roumanian Government has declared in favor of a complete system of state schools, and by confiscation or other repressive measures is forcing the church schools to the wall. This involves placing the education of Protestant boys and girls in the hands of Greek Orthodox teachers, who by the very nature of the case, cannot be neutral on matters of religion, since one must be Greek Orthodox to be a good Roumanian. Among the educational institutions thus imperiled is the Hungarian [ 135 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 University at Kolozsvar, which has long been a center of Protestantism in Transylvania. “The Magyars in Transylvania are ready to be loyal subjects of the Roumanian, since they must, but they also wish to be loyal to their Protestant faith and to educate their children in such loyalty. These schools can still be preserved to the church and to Protestantism, if America will help.” [136] V THE REPORT OF THE CONSISTORY TO THE COMMISSION I. Former Conditions In the year 1918, the Unitarians received from the Hungarian government yearly, the following aids: 1. For Church purposes: (a) Under the XXth Article of the law passed in 1848.171.400- Cron. (b) For general Church purposes. . . 100.000- (c) For increasing the general funds, sinking fund. 15.800- “ (d) Supplement for minister’s pay¬ ment.117.473-82 “ (e) Payment for ministers with re¬ gard to the years of their serv¬ ices. 44.228- (f) The same for the old ministers.. 17.572- (g) Aid for the assistant ministers. . 2.000- 2. For School and College purposes: (a) Aid for the College at Kolozsvar 48.110- (b) “ “ “ “ “ Szekely- keresztur. 36.000- (c) Supplement of payment for schoolteachers under XV-XVI Articles of law passed in 1913 46.137- c 137 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 (d) Supplement of payment for the professors of the College at Kolozsvar. 20.900- Cron. (e) The same at Szekelykeresztur.. . 16.400- Sum total.636.020-82. Cron. Besides these, the supplement of payment for the theological professors and the fees for the ministers for teaching religion in the schools, were covered by the Hungarian government. The ministers, teachers and professors got, beside all the (mentioned) aids, some supplement for their families, some war aid and a cer¬ tain amount for clothing. In short, they did get all that was granted to the government officials. Upon the annexation of Transylvania to Roumania, we had in 1918, one Theological College, two Middle Schools at Kolozsvar and Szekelykeresztur, and twenty- six denominational elementary schools; 112 mother, six associate, and fifty filial congregations, cared for by hi ministers, all of them under the administration of one bishop and the Representative Consistory at Kolozsvar. The end of the world war brought us great calamities and altered our state. After the first of January, 1919, we received no aid from the Hungarian government, nor from the so-called Roumanian gar¬ risoning authorities. Later on, the Peace Treaty annexed Transylvania to Roumania, but the Rou¬ manian government also postponed giving us any aid until the 24th of April, 1921. For two years and nearly four months we received nothing. Then we got the first aid, counting from the first of July, 1920. A year [138] REPORT OF THE CONSISTORY and a half was left out of the reckoning. This aid was given exclusively for the ministers, deans, bishop, theo¬ logical professors, the officials of the headquarters, the ministers living on pension, and the widows and orphans of ministers. For the year 1921-22, that is, from the first of April, 1921, to the 31st of March, 1922, the following amounts were given to us by the Roumanian government: 1. 2. 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 . 7 - Supplement of payment for min¬ isters . Help for ministers living on pen¬ sion, for the widows and orphans of ministers. To the bishops and officials of the headquarters. To the deans (for traveling ex¬ penses) . Administration expenses to the Representative Consistory and Theological Academy. To the professors and servants of the Theological College. Board fees for the students of the Theological College. 1,148.262-40 Lei 63.300- 221.439- 49.632- 204.274- 5 0.000- 15.000- Sum total.1.751.907-40 Lei For a year and a half (as stated above, that is, from the 1st of January, 1919, to the 30th of June, 1920) nothing was given to us by the government, not even those amounts which were fixed by law for the supple¬ ment of payment for teachers and professors. Only in December, 1921, did the government send us 500.000 lei on behalf of the professors of our colleges. [ 139 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 II. The Effect of Lack of Support For this reason, from the 1st of January, 1919 (during the period mentioned), the Church and the congregation were obliged to maintain all their institutions from their own resources. Although we did our best and strained our strength, still we had to reduce all expenses and curtail the salaries of all our men to the lowest possible point — to such sums as to secure only the barest living. In such circumstances the English and American aid, reaching us in April, 1920, was most highly appreciated, and benefited those who had served us with great self-sacrifice and perseverance. This assistance enabled us to relieve many of the ministers, teachers, professors and officials from their over¬ whelming burden of material cares. III. The Schools In order to maintain our schools and colleges, the Church had a very heavy burden, even in 1918; but after this year, owing to the altered circumstances, the Church was obliged to undertake still heavier burdens in order to defend and preserve our faith and culture. To the 26 elementary schools mentioned above, 45 new ones were added in September, 1919. These existed until the end of 1920, and the support of their teachers, who endured and struggled with great perseverance, fell upon the Church as an added burden. Out of the 45 there were 23 which were forced to close at the end of 1920 for want of school buildings. This point should be clearly C Ho] REPORT OF THE CONSISTORY understood. The school buildings belonged formerly to our congregations, but were delivered under contract to the Hungarian government. They were taken away by force from the congregations by the Roumanian government, upon the pretext that they wished to keep up government elementary schools of Hungarian language. All protests on the part of the Church, telling how the schools, entirely furnished and arranged, were given over only to the Hungarian government, were entirely in vain. The Roumanian government claims that it is the successor of the Hungarian govern¬ ment, and kept all the school buildings and furniture and arrangements. We clearly understand the dangers of such proceedings. We fear them exceedingly. We sincerely beseech our English and American friends to consider this question thoroughly, for to solve it as truth requires is a matter of the very greatest moment to our Church. Upon the first view perhaps you cannot comprehend the importance of it; but consider what the schools mean for any people and their faith, and you will come to understand that to keep our schools is the most important interest of our lives. It is the foundation on which we stand. We must stick to our schools and education with all our power; all the more so because before the law referring to the people’s educa¬ tion was passed, in 1868, all our congregations had their own elementary schools. Many of these were taken over by the Hungarian government, because the congregations could not pay the increasing needs and expenses of edu¬ cation demanded by the government. To lose any of our [ 141 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 schools caused us always great anxiety, even when they went over by contract to the Hungarian government. Last year we had elementary schools in the following congregations: (1) Two at Kolozsvar, Meszko, Szind, Haranglab, Kukullodombo, Ikland, Iszlo, Nyaradszentlaszlo, Ny- aradszentmarton, Csikfalva, Buzahaza, Jobbagyfalva, Nyomat, Szentharomsag, Szekelykal, Vadad, Csehet- falva, Firtosmarton, Magyarzsakod, Rava, Szekely- keresztur, Szekelyszentmihaly, Tordatfalva, Sepsiko- rospatak, Kisaddrjan; altogether 26. (2) In consequence of our new situation, there are newly set up schools in the following congregations: Magyarzovat, Alsofelsoszentmihalyfalva, Toroczko, To- roczkoszentgyorgy, Bethlenszentmiklos, Dicsoszent- marton, Magyarsaros, Csokfalva, Nyaradgalfalva, Kissolymos, Szentabraham, Szekelyderzs, Homorods- zentmarton, Vargyas, Arkos, Nagyajta, Bolon, Kalnok, Szentivanlaborfalva, Kokos, Sepsiszentkiraly, Okland; altogether 22. These 48 schools have no government aid whatever, though it is against the laws and the Peace Treaty, re¬ ferring specially to the rights of the minority. The budget of these schools shows in this year: 960.330 lei need; the congregations cover from this 224.930 lei, the American aid 253.287-50 lei. There remains uncovered — 482.112-50 lei. In order to cover this in the last year, we were obliged to borrow some money from the different funds, and to expend some part of our capital. C 142 ] REPORT OF THE CONSISTORY IV. The Colleges The colleges at Kolozsvar, Szekelykeresztur, and Torda can be maintained only with great difficulty. The latter was kept up, even in the last session, only by the great sacrifice of the townspeople and the parents of the students. The two former ones have a large deficit, so that our professors and teachers could hardly get enough to maintain themselves and their families. Their only salvation was the sum sent by our English brethren. The deficit of these two colleges was in the year 1921- 1922, the following: (a) At the College of Kolozsvar 134.876-60 Lei (b) “ “ “ “ Szekelykeresztur 75.739—38 However, the budget for the next year, 1922-1923, shows the following deficit: (a) At the College of Kolozsvar 421.859-72 Lei (b) “ “ “ “ Szekelykeresztur 374.056-16 (c) “ “ “ “ Torda 206.716-19 “ For our colleges we have had nothing except the 500.000 lei already mentioned above as paid in Dec. 1921, although by law it is the duty of the government to pay the grants for maintaining the colleges and all the supplements which should make the payments of professors and teachers equal to those of the govern¬ ment officials. We could maintain our colleges without State aid, only by charging the students exorbitantly high fees, which is impossible, for the students cannot pay more; or by collecting endowments, which we can- [ 143 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 not do at this time. We have maintained our work only by making use of every resource; and our professors and teachers have contented themselves as best they could with such amounts as could only just secure their barest livings. We always have encouraged them to keep on, believing and hoping that we should soon be able to arrange their payments. The aid of our English brethren, in a sum of 135.000 lei, we have in fact gratefully received. It greatly helped us, but it could not satisfy all the needs, and we continue to feel deep disappointment and distress. By constitutional laws our schools ought to be helped by the State. The salaries of the teachers ought to be made equal by the government to the sum which the teachers in the Roumanian state schools receive. V. The Denominational Agencies The government grants a salary to the Bishop and the central officials, but it is not sufficient to meet even the barest needs of the peasants. The Bishop has 4000 lei ($64.80) for a month. This is less than is received by a theological professor. The Secretary receives 1950 lei; the Treasurer 1550 lei, etc. Under Hun¬ garian rule, up to the end of 1918, these officials were decently paid by the government, as was before stated (See I). VI. The Theological School At the theological academy the salary of four pro¬ fessors and of a servant is paid by the government. A certain sum is also allowed for bureau expenses. But C 144] REPORT OF THE CONSISTORY the academy according to its constitution needs at least six professors to meet modern educational needs. The expenses of certain special lectures are to be paid by the church. Formerly the help of the Hungarian govern¬ ment enabled us not only to keep up this academy, but also to develop it. Some of the accommodations of the theological academy were taken for the purposes of a Unitarian Girls’ Home, for which no place could be found outside the College buildings. VII. Education of Girls The education of our girls is a very important prob¬ lem, and difficult to solve in these hard times. The education of girls was neglected for a long time in our country, and in our Church. We had no schools for girls of our own. Under the Hungarian government the girls of our denomination found their way into the insti¬ tutions of the State. In the new era we are obliged to educate our girls together with the boys, since we had not the means to found a new school for them. Co¬ education, however, is now prohibited by the Rou¬ manian government, and this is a great blow to us. Nevertheless we hope that the new order, against which we have protested, will not be carried out. VIII. Support of Ministers For our ministers some remuneration is given by the government, but it is of far less value than the value of the old payments. It was 1600-2400 crowns before C 145] 11 TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 1919, and now it is 7800-13,200 lei. It is true, how¬ ever, that the majority of ministers in this way receive a minimum living. But in some congregations, where no payment in kind is given to the ministers, they receive not even a minimum payment. Such are Abrudbanya, Kolozsvar, Szekelyudvarhely, Fogaras, Brasso, Sepsiszentgyorgy, Segesvar, Bordos, and some others.* In these places 80-100 thousand lei would be the sum for a minister if they were paid in the same proportion as they were paid previously from the above- mentioned Hungarian State allowance. IX. Lack of Buildings In several of our congregations there is no church build¬ ing. Such are: Brasso, Sepsiszentgyorgy, Petrozseny, Lupeny, Vulkan, Jobbagyfalva, etc. In some others the church building is out of repair, so that it cannot be used. Such are in Csegez, Buzahaza, Szentharomsag. The same conditions obtain in many places with regard to the school buildings and parsonages. Such congregations formerly got some thousands of crowns, which with their own sacrifices enabled them to restore their churches and other buildings. Now they get nothing for these purposes. X. All Publication has Ceased We cannot maintain our religious literature. Our literary products are sufficient and good, but they are * Where ministers have land and farm it, and are paid partly in kind, diminished salaries are less important than in the cities, where the ministers have no land and receive no payment in kind. [146] REPORT OF THE CONSISTORY lying in our desks. We cannot pay for printing. Our periodicals, “The Christian Seedsower,” “The Unitarian Pulpit,” “The Unitarian Church ” face great difficulties. The last two are not now published. A printing press is almost indispensable for our denomination, but we cannot afford it. XI. Summary of Conditions All this we bring before you, so that you may see our situation quite clearly. This misery is not the conse¬ quence of carelessness on our part. It is the outcome of a dreadful event in the history of Europe. The life and work of our Church have been secured in the past by our property, by the zeal of our people, and by State allowances assured by the laws of the country. Now the situation is utterly changed, and the above-men¬ tioned means are not at our disposal. (1) The State allowance is not in proportion with the demands of life changed by the Great War. (2) The State allowance for our schools and teachers, assured by the Hungarian laws, we do not receive. (3) We do not get any support from the government for sustaining the equipment of our congregations, the schools and buildings, and our people cannot make the same self-sacrificing gifts now that they could before the war, for they are themselves impoverished. (4) Our Hungarian State Bonds, worth more than two millions of crowns, give no income since the war. (5) Our landed property, bequeathed mainly for educational purposes by our ancestors, is now expro- [i47] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 priated by the State, in accordance with the agrarian law, which points out first of all the properties oi churches to be expropriated. We have thus lost more than three thousand acres of landed property. (6) Our houses and other buildings are mostly re¬ quired by the government, and the rents cannot be raised. (7) The majority of our fellowship are poor people, who carry a heavy burden in supporting their own congregations. They are not used to supporting the central institutions and public schools. (8) The building that contains our College and schools, was erected with the help of the Hungarian government. The State paid the yearly amortise- ments. This debt the Roumanian government does not recognize, and it is not inclined to pay the yearly amortisements. We ask you to know our situation. We lay before you our misery. You have helped us with your liberality, and we are very grateful for it. We desire to use it in the best way for the benefit of our common faith and the further development of Unitarian Christianity. We hope that our Church life will be strong again, our institutions continue to live, and that we can face the trials of the future. In the name of the Representative Consistory of the Hungarian Unitarian Church, we are Your Christian Brethren (Signed by the Bishop and Representative Consistory). Cluj, July 16th, 1922. [148] VI THE ORDER OF THE ROUMANIAN GOVERN¬ MENT REDUCING THE NUMBER OF MINOR¬ ITY CHURCHES BY TWENTY-FIVE PER CENT, AND THE ROUMANIAN ORDER RE¬ DUCING THE NUMBER OF DEANERIES Here are two orders of the Roumanian government of November, 1921, sent to the Bishops of the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Unitarian Churches. The original of each of these translations was received by the Unitarian Bishop, Joseph Ferencz. The first limits the State support — and no church in Transylvania can live without it — to congregations of three hundred members or over. If put into effect, it means the suppression of twenty-five per cent of the minority churches throughout Transylvania. The recommendation that the parishes with “less than three hundred souls” shall be maintained in future by ministers in other parishes is not practical. On paper it looks plausible. In reality, anyone informed of the situation in Transylvania realizes beyond the slightest doubt that this plan could not be put into operation. Distance, lack of communication and other reasons prevent. Already many ministers in Transylvania [ 149] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 serve a central parish and filial congregations in the vicinity. A slight increase of this method in occasional instances may be possible, but to recombine twenty-five per cent of the minority churches under ministers of other churches is simply impossible. The order there¬ fore cannot be excused on any such plan of readjust¬ ment. If put into effect it means nothing less than the closing of one out of every four of the minority churches, which Roumania under the provision of the Treaty solemnly agreed to maintain. The second order concerns the traveling expenses of the deans of districts. The Unitarian churches are or¬ ganized first in districts and then in the representative assembly of the entire denomination in Transylvania. The deans are prominent ministers in the districts, receiving no salaries as deans, and receiving only travel¬ ing expenses from the State. The same organization of districts and assemblies is followed in the Lutheran and Presbyterian churches and with some modification in the Roman Catholic Church. The order applies equally to all four minority denominations. It costs no more to pay the traveling expenses of two ministers, each to visit ten parishes, than it would cost to pay the expense of one minister to visit twenty parishes. As the dis¬ tricts are far separated, communication is often both difficult and costly. The combining of several districts into a single church district would mean a greater expense than would be the case if men resident in the several districts made official visits. What then is the purpose of this order? The four minority Churches [150] ORDER OF THE ROUMANIAN GOVERNMENT claim that it illustrates the policy of the Roumanian government to interfere constantly with the church administration, to break up the groups that have long been in association, and to complicate church adminis¬ tration by adding unnecessary difficulties. The second order is a violation of treaty provisions in spirit if not in letter. Considered as embarrassing and as creating hardship, it was not unsurmountable. The first order is a flat violation of both the letter and the spirit of the Trianon Treaty, which guaranteed the support of minority institutions. TRANSLATION FROM THE ROUMANIAN Roumania Bukharest, November 16, 1921. (Seal) Ministry of Public Worship and Arts General Offices No. 59549 _ N. B. In your reply kindly refer to this number. Rev. Bishop: The Ministry of Public Worship and Arts, in consideration of the excessive number of protopopies consisting of from scarcely three to six parishes, has decided that beginning April 1, 1922, it will accord State allowance only to such of the protopopies as have a number of at least 20 parishes under their direction. In consequence you are requested kindly to proceed, as far as possible, to make a new redistriction of the protopopies in charge of your Most High Reverence, bearing in mind the principle, estab¬ lished by us, regarding the State allowance for protopopes. We take this opportunity to emphasize the fact that we do not wish, by any means, to infringe upon your liberty to determine the number of protopopies and of parishes belonging to them, as you may deem proper, but the Ministry will make budgetary provision, [151 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 and will accord allowances to only those protopopies which will con¬ form to the principle mentioned above. You are therefore requested to send here, immediately, the table of the redistriction of the proper protopopies, for this table is urgently needed for the completion of all work required for the future budget. In regard to the State allowance for protopopes for the current budgetary year you are informed that, beginning April 1, 1922, every protopope will receive a monthly allowance of 550 lei, with an additional per diem allowance of 40 lei for every visit to the parishes belonging to the protopopy, such visits to be limited to a maximum of four a month. You will therefore kindly see that a table showing the visits made, with enclosed required documentary proofs, is forwarded immediately. We ask you to accept, Most Reverend Bishop, the assurance of our high esteem. (Signed) Arghiren, For the Minister. (Signed) Dr. P. Ionescu, General Director. Mr. Ydsif Ferencz, Unitarian Bishop, Cluj, Transylvania. TRANSLATION FROM ROUMANIAN Roumania Bukharest, November 16, 1921. (Seal) Ministry of Public Worship and Arts General Offices No. 59550 N. B. In your reply kindly refer to this number. Rev. Bishop: We have the honor to inform you that the Ministry of Public Worship, guided by the desire to ameliorate the salaries of the Clergy, has decided that vacant parishes of less than three hundred parishioners shall be maintained only after a previous approval by [ 152 ] ORDER OF THE ROUMANIAN GOVERNMENT the Ministry. But if the Ministry will not give the approval for re-establishment of such parishes, they shall be affiliated with other congregations. If such parishes are maintained without the previous approval of the Ministry of Public Worship, the Priest shall have no right to a salary from the State. You are requested to take cognizance of this decision, and that the services of such vacant parishes with a congregation of less than three hundred souls shall, as far as possible, be maintained, in future, by Priests from other parishes with a congregation of less than three hundred souls. In the meantime we inform you that in future new parishes may be established only in cases where it has been proved that (i) there are at least one thousand followers; that (2) the parish owns its Parochial House and its Church, and that (3) the members will obligate themselves to contribute one-third (} 6 ) of the Priest’s salary. (Signed) Arghiren, For the Minister. (Signed) Dr. P. Ionescu, General Director. Mr. Yosif Ferencz, Unitarian Bishop, Cluj, Transylvania. [153] VII THE REPORT OF BISHOP JOZAN AND DR. CSIKI AND THE PRESBYTERY OF BUDA¬ PEST CONCERNING BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. THE CONDITIONS IN BUDAPEST AUGUST i, 1922 Gentlemen — Most Beloved Brethren in Jesus Christ: On behalf of over six thousand Unitarian people, lately settled down in this city and its close neighbor¬ hood, have we come to see you on this occasion. In the course of the last two and a half years the number of Unitarians in this city and its close neighborhood has unexpectedly increased from about 2300 to a num¬ ber of over six thousand. The new settlers are all Transylvanian refugees, who, having been compelled to leave their ancient homes, offered however poor means of livelihood, have moved to this city. This situation has confronted Unitarianism with a great problem of vital and historic importance, upon the urgent solution of which depends not only the religious future of several thousand Unitarians, but even the possibility of further extension of Unitarian Chris¬ tianity; it might well be said, the future of the Unitarian [ 154 ] REPORT OF BISHOP JOZAN AND DR. CSIKI cause in Hungary. If we failed to meet the challenge and solve this problem of vital importance, organizing over 4000 of these Unitarian people in some kind of re¬ ligious institution, they, having lost all relations with any Unitarian body whatever, and the feeling of one fellowship, in time might easily be lost to our common cause. On the contrary, if we succeed in bringing and keeping them in a church organization, not only they themselves will be saved for our cause, but their rightly directed religious activities will — we feel sure of it — open wonderful possibilities for further extension of Unitarianism in this country. The situation here is so full of immense possibilities for Unitarianism that nowhere in the world can it be so successfully advanced as in this very place. In the earnest feeling of the fact that it is we who will be held responsible by history for taking advantage of the situation, have we brought our humble request and proposal to you as the rep¬ resentatives of the American and British Unitarian churches. The proper solution of this burning problem requires — of course — materials too, which at present cannot be met by these ill-fated people, once prosperous, now deprived of all their properties and short even of the most necessary means of livelihood. After a serious and exhaustive discussion of this urgent and pressing problem, it has unanimously been decided that the American and British Unitarian Associations and the other Unitarian organizations that are concerned in the Unitarian cause, be humbly requested to establish a [ 155 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 Unitarian Missionary House in the capital. The incor¬ porated name of the institution we propose might be: UNITARIAN MISSIONARY HOUSE IN BUDAPEST Field of Activities 1. The house should, first of all, contain a Chapel for divine services for those several thousand Unitarians, residing in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth districts of the city, who, owing to the long distance are absolutely unable to reach the present church on Sun¬ days. But not only the distance necessitates a new place for worship in Budapest. The present church, the only one in the city, was built in a time when only 200 Unitarians lived here. It cannot possibly be enlarged. It can seat not more than 250 people, so that the large majority of the church-going Unitarians in Budapest cannot be seated in it. It very often happens, since the number has so largely increased, that three quarters of the people cannot get into the church, so that they have to go home without worshiping, or attend churches undesirable from a liberal point of view. 2. The number of homeless Transylvanian Unita¬ rian University students alone is over 120 to-day in Budapest, and, owing to special circumstances, is still rapidly increasing year after year. They are entirely cut off from their homes and former church relations. All the orthodox churches, financially better situated than ours, have already found effective means, — C 156] REPORT OF BISHOP JOZAN AND DR. CSIKI mostly through the assistance of their brethren in for¬ eign lands, — of taking care and getting hold of home¬ less students and other young people in Budapest. They are specially eager to get hold of our youth by offering homes and other kinds of care to these unfortu¬ nate young folk. The Unitarian Missionary House should provide a common home, a dormitory, for homeless ones, and an atmosphere in which their Unitarian faith would be strengthened in their weary hearts. Moreover it should provide a place of education for all the children and youth in the capital and its neighborhood, where, on the type of church schools, they would be taught the Unitarian religion, the English language, American and English history, literature and so forth, by vol¬ untary teachers, forming an English-Speaking Union. Nothing could do so much toward strengthening the feeling of brotherhood as such an education. It may well be expected that youth even from outside would be drawn by it. Young people who once enjoyed the blessing of such an institute, would never forget what they owed to England and America for it. They would constantly bear a feeling of gratitude in their hearts and a readiness to do whatever they could in return for the good they had enjoyed. The Unitarian Missionary House would render it possible to organize the many hundreds of our youth on the type of the Y. P. R. U. in America and England. That would bring them into a systematic co-operation with their young brethren across the sea. [ 157 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 3. The Unitarian Missionary House should be, in the real sense of the word, a house of meeting for the various and expanding activities of the several thousand Unitarian laymen in Budapest and in the country, along the line of advancing Unitarianism in this part of the world. A permanent house of meeting would render it possible for laymen to organize themselves in one large fellowship on the type of the American and Eng¬ lish Laymen’s League and to serve, in an active and systematic co-operation with the Leagues, the same cause in central Europe. Nowhere in Europe is offered such a fine opportunity for this kind of activities as in this very city of Budapest. But nothing can be done to take advantage of these immense possi¬ bilities, unless a centre is secured for the various activities. To-day the situation is that there is not even a single room to meet in and exchange ideas as to the program. Our people are extremely eager to get into co-operation with American and English laymen. 4. On the type of the American Unitarian Women’s Alliance an Alliance has recently been formed in Buda¬ pest, including all the Unitarian women and those interested in the liberal movement in the capital and the country. But it is absolutely unable to carry out its expanding and beautiful program, unless a centre is secured for activities. 5. The Unitarian Missionary House should be a forum of Unitarian Christianity whence liberal religious ideas should be propagated, corresponding to the cam- [158] REPORT OF BISHOP JOZAN AND DR. CSIKI paign that the American Laymen’s League has recently undertaken. 6. The Unitarian Missionary House should not con¬ fine its activities within the territory of Budapest. It should reach with its missionary work many thousand shepherdless Unitarians in the country and numerous unchurched people keenly interested in liberal move¬ ment. A work among them would open wonderful possibilities of starting new Unitarian churches in cities where there are now no Unitarian churches. The prospect deserves attention from all who have at heart the spreading of Unitarian thought. The Unitarian Missionary House, true to its name and aims, should work under the auspices and direction of the A. U. A. And the B. F. U. A. also. They should appoint a pastor, who should minister to and direct the whole institute and report to the headquarters in Boston and London from time to time. With an elected Board of Trustees they should bear responsibility for the work. The whole scheme could be realized by purchasing a three or four floored house in a suitable part of the city. It would cost at present approximately $10,000 in American money. We have all reasons for assuring you that a purchase like this, even from the strictly business point of view, would be the best investment anyone could make to-day with American and English money. Owing to the special economic conditions here the real value of the house would in any case shortly exceed that of the sum invested. C l S 9 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 The building, of course, would remain the property of the purchasers. The transformation of the building for the special work to be done in it and equipments, including a chapel, dormitory for the homeless students, and other places of activities, would cost at present approximately $ 2000. It is rightly expected, that the institute, acquiring and> developing resources of its own, after a while will maintain itself. Until then an approximate subvention of $1000, in American money, would be needed for its general maintenance in a year. In the keen feeling of responsibility for saving many thousand Unitarians for our cause, and for further ad¬ vancing of our common faith and truth, for which a never-dreamed-of opportunity is offered, have we placed our humble request and proposal before you. Being encouraged by your good will, manifested so many times in the past, whenever Unitarianism was con¬ cerned, we take the liberty to hope that our request and proposal will be taken into kind consideration and called attention to wherever the advancement of the cause may be had at heart. The problem is burning. It is urging solution and earnest work without delay. On behalf of many thousand fellow-workers, Your faithful Brothers in the Common Faith. [160] VIII THE PROPOSED BASIS OF ADJUSTMENT TO BE SUBMITTED BY ALL THE NON-GREEK- CATHOLIC CHURCHES TO THE ROUMANIAN GOVERNMENT With regard to the obligation imposed upon them by signing the Treaty of Dec. 9, 1919, with reference to the rights of minorities, the legislative body of Roumania passed the following laws: Article 1. Roumania shall fully acknowledge and respect all the Hungarian laws that formerly had secured full autonomy, religious liberty and equal rights for all the legally “received” churches in Transylvania and in parts of Hungary, which under the Treaty of Trianon came under the sovereignty of Roumania. Article 2. In accordance with Article 1, the “Hungarian National Character” of the Hungarian¬ speaking Churches such as Roman Catholic, Reformed (Calvinist), Unitarian, and Lutheran in present Rou¬ mania shall be respected, and equal rights shall be provided as to each other's relation on one hand, and also as to their relation to the Greek Oriental church on the other hand. It shall also be provided that Hungarian-speaking 12 [ 161 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 Greek Orientals, if there are any, may organize them¬ selves as such into independent Churches. Article 3. Liberty and freedom in religion, as ex¬ pressed in Article 1 implies that the adherents of the Churches named under Article 2 shall not be inter¬ fered with, either directly, or indirectly, either by the State, or civic functioneers, or any Church Authorities, in their religious practices or services, rites, in express¬ ing religious feelings and convictions, in their liturgy, in use of ritual instruments, books, hymn books, in use of church buildings, schools, bells, cemeteries and the like — in observing their religious festivals according to Gregorian Calendar — as all these are clearly stated in their ecclesiastical constitutions. No force shall be used to compel anyone to observe festivals not stated in the constitution of his or her own Church (except those of the State, as national holidays). Article 4. The Church Autonomy, as acknowledged by Article 1 implies, that the churches, named under Article 2, A. May make their own laws and statutes relating to the entire field of their religious activities, and may put them into effect without interference. Laws made by right, provided by Church Autonomy, do not necessitate Governmental approval (as far as they are not contrarious to the laws of the State, in effect). In executing duly legislated laws, the churches shall be assisted by the State. B. The churches may “ipso jure” establish and [ 162] PROPOSED BASIS OF ADJUSTMENT develop schools of all kinds and degree, such as ele¬ mentary and high schools and colleges and other educa¬ tional and charitable institutes of all character. They make the plans of instruction and supply hand-books and teachers for their own schools (respecting the right of supervision of the State). The children shall be per¬ mitted to attend schools of any denomination the parents desire. The churches may supply chaplains for their own adherents in the army and navy. C. The churches shall be left in possession of their real estates as well as movable goods, serving religious and educational purposes. Properties of these kinds may be accepted or acquired in the future too. The churches may accept aids from fellow-workers in foreign lands. They shall not be deprived of their properties by the Government, and shall not be interfered with in using their own church buildings. They may freely accept endowment as bequests. No state control shall be exercised over properties of such kind. The churches shall enjoy full freedom and security of property. D. The churches shall enjoy liberty of press. Article 5. The churches named under Article 2 shall be supported by the State in their religious and educational aims. The measure of support shall be settled by laws after mutual agreement of the rep¬ resentatives of the Government on one hand, and of the representatives of the churches concerned, on the other, — with the understanding that the support shall be paid counting back to the first of January, 1919. Article 6. The former constitutional unity of the [ 163] w TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 churches, named under Article 2, with their sisters in Hungary and in other lands may be sustained and shall be received. Sister churches in the territory of Old Roumania shall be considered as attached to their mother-bodies in Transylvania. [ 164] IX “THE HUNGARIAN OFFICIALS’ QUESTION” In Hungary the officials were appointed for life and were entitled to a pension. The county officials were elected for six years and mostly re-elected, and had a right too to a pension. Roumania took over the imperium in the spring of the year 1919 — over those parts of Hungary which were later linked to it by the treaty, and wanted the officials to put down the oath of fidelity. The officials declared themselves ready to accept a formula wherein they would pledge themselves to do faithfully their work, but the Roumanian government, represented here by the Consul Diligent, insisted upon the oath of fidelity. The officials refused it, according to the 43rd para¬ graph of the international treaty of The Hague, which declares “It is forbidden to force the population of the occupied country to put down the oath of fidelity to an inimical power.” The Roumanian government dismissed the officials and did not pay them, though, after the law, they had to receive their payment till they should get their pension. C 165 ] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 After the treaty’s signature, June, 1920, the Rou¬ manian government ordered all the officials to put down the oath of fidelity. Ninety-nine per cent of the officials presented themselves till the 15th of August, 1920, and the government did make no attempt to take in the oath and only a few of them were reinstated by the state. Most of the officials were obliged to go to Hungary, where they got salaries as officials in over-number till August, 1921. After that date those repatriated can get only pensions as they who remained on the territory linked to Roumania, in the sense of the international law. But they got nothing till to-day. About 2000 petitions for pension are since two years unheeded. The petitioners are in distress, and they urge in vain. The following list shows how many officials presented themselves to put down the oath of fidelity and are still on Roumanian territory: I. Officials of the Ministry of Interior: a. Kolozsvar. 152 b. Marosvasarhely. 34 c. In different part in the counties. . . . 454 II. Officials of the Land courts. 477 III. “ “ “ Financial administration.. . 153 IV. “ “ “ of commerce. 1 . 9 and inspectors of industry. 137 V. “ of the Ministry of agriculture. ... 94 VI. “ for education. 399 Total. I 9 I 4 [166] "THE HUNGARIAN OFFICIALS’ QUESTION” All these officials have received neither payment nor pension from the state since three years. Some found employment in private places, but the old ones and those from the county got no employment. In the educational branch several teachers are employed by the different churches in their schools, but the payment remains far behind that given by the state, and besides the churches do not know if they will be able to employ them permanently, because the Roumanian state heaps difficulties before these schools. The number of school masters and middle school¬ teachers employed by Professors Teachers the Catholic Church are 118 103 Protestant (C 70 250 Unitarian << 8 4 i Total 196 394 590 Most of the above-mentioned officials are married, so that their number with families amount nearly to 10,000. All these are in great need, many of them have sold already their last piece of furniture, and they live a life entirely disproportioned to their education and social condition. It would be a good and noble work if the philan¬ thropic societies and missions of the other countries of Europe and America would help these cultured and unhappy families who have received no help what¬ ever till now. This could be either in money or in [167] TRANSYLVANIA IN 1922 clothes or other materials. The officials would be also happy if someone would lend them the sum of their payments or pensions, due to them from the Roumanian state, till they get paid. The officials have written several petitions and memorandums to the Roumanian government, but have had no definite answer. In the name of the temporary Commission. Kolozsvar , 1922. 15. Julie. Appeared in “Gazetta Officiale” 1920. No. 15. 3rd of July, 1920. No. 1674. From the Meeting on the 27th of June, 1920. Gentlemen: When the sister countries were joined to the mother-country several functionaries of the joined parts did not take the oath of allegiance towards the new state and its king. These functionaries created by this very unfavorable con¬ ditions to themselves. As the political situation with those countries to which these functionaries belonged before is now settled, I think it fair to put an end to the above said situation. Led by these causes I propose to give a month’s time to all the functionaries and lawyers of the joined parts to take the oath of allegiance, after which they shall benefit by all the rights belonging to them as Roumanian nationals and by all the rights which they have gained by their services in those countries where they belonged before. I also propose that a year’s time shall be given to the func¬ tionaries and lawyers of the joined parts to learn the Roumanian language; that they shall only then be definitely put back in all their formerly acquired rights. If you accept this proposition, please sign joined protocol. 1920. 27. June. General Avarescu, prime minister. [168] “THE HUNGARIAN OFFICIALS’ QUESTION” No. 1674 The conference of the ministers held on the 28th. of June 1920 has discussed the prime minister’s referendum 2559-1920 and after due consideration of the question has decided that one month’s time shall be given to all functionaries and lawyers of the joined parts to take the oath of allegiance after which they shall benefit of all the rights belonging to them as Roumanian nationals and of all rights which they have gained by their services in those countries where they be belonged to before. A year’s time shall be given to the functionaries and lawyers of the joined parts to learn the Roumanian language and they shall only then be definitely put back in all their formerly acquired rights. This month’s time begins with the publication of this protocol in the “Monitirul Official.” General Avarescu, Trancu Jasi Gr., Sergiu Nita, Gudalbu T., Stircea I. V. Argentoianu G. Garofild C. General Valeanu, Taslanu Okt, Goga Oktavian. [ 169] Date Due f !! ■ r iff™* 1 ''- - ‘ * ” i &