witnesses to the lutheran faith in...

Witnesses To The Lutheran Faith In Bratislava JANKA KRIVOSOVÁ

Translator's Note: The Maly Kostol (Small Church) stands in the center of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Many people walk by it every day without knowing that it is a church. On the outside it looks like any other building on the street. It was deliberately designed that way, in accordance with the restrictions on the building of Lutheran churches in the Austrian Empire still in force in the eighteenth century. The church itself is a sign of the struggle of the Slovak Lutherans to persevere in the midst of a hostile environment. Inside the church hangs a large painting depicting that struggle. It is the vision of fanka Krivosová, a Slovak artist and architect, whose aim was to commemorate the achievements and sufferings of Slovak Lutherans throughout their history. Inevitably, that history is intertwined with the history of the Slovak people as a whole and their struggle for nationhood, for Lutherans played leading roles in that struggle. Ms. Krivosová wrote the following as an interpretation of her painting. It is offered here as an historical document, a testi-

Figure i: The chancel of Maly Kostol, with the painting on the left.

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L U T H E R A N QUARTERLY Volume XVI (2002)

416 LUTHERAN QUARTERLY

mony to how a committed Slovak Lutheran in the late twentieth century viewed the history of her church and her people.

THE FIRST SUNDAY in Advent, 1992, not only commemorated the consecration of both of the Bratislava churches; it was also the

twelfth anniversary of the renovation and reconstruction of the "Maly Kostol" (Small Church). The pastor at the time, Dr. M. Kyska, initiated the project and Prof. Eugen Kramar was the architect. Thanks to careful planning, the renovation achieved its goal of improving the

Figure 2: The baptism of Jesus within a depiction of creation.

WITNESSES TO THE L U T H E R A N FAITH IN BRATISLAVA 417

quality of the interior while respecting the historical integrity of a significant monument from the past. In addition, the renovation included the entire area around the atrium, a space used for various occasions in the life of the Panenska Street church. The whole proj ect required many hours of volunteer labor.

The position of the pulpit on the wall to the right of the altar created a problem regarding the corresponding space to the left. At first a chandelier hung in this space. Later there was a general consensus that the pulpit needed to be balanced by a work of visual art. The ear-

Figure 3 : The evangelists Cyril and Methodius with the priest Rastislav. Below, Jan Hus.


liest suggestion was a tapestry, which would have solved the problem if it had been favorably accepted. But the expense of executing such a project would have been prohibitive at that time and so, finally, I was approached. In 1985 it was not easy to undertake such an enormous task. But one day I received such a compelling inspiration that I could not escape it. I simply had to paint sketches and I began also to collect historical material in order to arrange and supplement my knowledge of decisive eras and persons. Then I bought a roll of canvas and so in the course of a year there arose a portrayal of the history of the Lutherans in Slovakia, or, to be more precise, the history of the Lutherans in Bratislava. The work is 1.5 by 5 meters and was fastened to the wall of the Maly Kostol for the First Sunday in Advent, 1986.

The first part, taking up almost one third of the painting, is the creation, in the form of a picture within a picture. Creation is portrayed by the sphere of space, within which is an event of decisive significance for all Christians, the baptism of the Lord Jesus. At the moment when water from the Jordan poured from the cupped hands of John the Baptist, a sharp shaft of light appeared, the water sparkled in it, and the dove of the Holy Spirit descended, its extended wings

Figure 4: From the left, around Martin Luther: Erasmus of Rotterdam, John Calvm, Philip Melanchthon, Johann Bugenhagen (in back), Conrad

Cordatus, Leonard Stöckel.

WITNESSES T O THE L U T H E R A N FAITH IN BRATISLAVA 419

forming the horizontal of a cross. At that very moment a voice responded and silenced every cry and whisper. Only the Jordan flowed on quietly into the future. This moment is the beginning of the history of Christianity; in the early period Christians, too, were persecuted and put to death on crosses.

Then follows the presence of the Slavs in Europe and the arrival of the evangelists Cyril and Methodius in Great Moravia in 863. Their achievement was extraordinary. They brought the basis of spiritual life: they translated the New Testament, created a new alphabet, and established Old Slavonic as a liturgical language, the fourth alongside Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (so that our language became a world language). Devin, the most famous castle of the Great Moravians—colored green, the color of hope—is represented according to reconstructions made by experts on the basis of archeological excavations.

Jan Hus was a well-known person whose influence also reached into Slovakia. He was a critic and reformer of the church and its practices and in the end the church condemned him to die at the stake in Constance in 1415. He said, "They burn a goose ["Hus" means "goose"], but after me in a hundred years will come a swan and they will not be able to burn it." This prediction was fulfilled almost to the year when in 1517 Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church and so began the reformation of the church. This was the decisive point in the history of Christianity when it split into two branches, each developing in distinctive ways. Luther found his reformation arguments in the Holy Scriptures, which he translated into German so they would be accessible to everyone. His closest co-workers were the literary genius Philip Melanchthon (to Luther's left) and the confessor Bugenhagen (between them in the background). On the far left is the philosopher Erasmus of Rotterdam and next to him the Swiss reformer John Calvin. On the right are two pastors in Slovakia who understood and accepted reformation ideas, Conrad Cordatus, of Kremnica, and Leonard Stöckel. Stöckel not only kept up a lively correspondence with Luther but also as educator in Bardejov opened a school, for which he enacted the first school law, Leges scholae Bartfensis. For this he earned the honorific title Praeceptor Hungariae, "Teacher of Hungary."


Figure 5' On the left, Juraj Thurzo and Elias Láni. Below them, Juraj Tranovsky Upper right. Tobias Masnik, Jan Simonides, Jan Pilarik.

Lower right: galley slaves. Lower left: The city of Sopron.

The first half of the sixteenth century was characterized by a strong influx of the Reformation into Slovakia. Whole parishes, with pastors and nobility, accepted the Reformation. At the same time the Turks were pushing into Europe. After the battle of Mohac in 1526 the way was open for them to enter central Europe and Slovakia. For 150 years Upper Hungary [Slovakia] found itself a neighbor to the Turkish crescent moon; memories of the Turks plundering the land and carrying people away into captivity were always fresh in people's minds.

Palatine Juraj Thurzo, Lord of theVah and Tatras, w h o had his seat at Orava Castle, was (along with the Illesházys) one of the most zealous of the nobility who advocated the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Together with his pastor, the dean Elias Láni, he initiated and prepared the famous Zilma Synod (1610), which established the existence of the Lutheran church in Upper Hungary. Elias Láni was a richly gifted poet, who planned to publish a Lutheran hymnal, and he


Figure 6: Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius) and grieving people as they are expelled from their homes.

prepared a large number of rather melancholy hymns ("Though my heart is sad"; "Though God wishes to punish me") . It needs to be remembered that the development of the Reformation in the second half of the sixteenth century was made possible by the current ruler on the Austrian throne, Maximilian II, who was influenced by humanism and inclined to be tolerant. In that period ninety percent of the inhabitants of Slovakia were Lutherans, according to a report by the Archbishop Pázmany of Esztergom. And with the exception of two families, all the nobility had embraced the Reformation.

The following seventeeth century was marked by gradually increasing intolerance and pressure on the church initiated by R o m e . After the battle of Whi t e Mounta in in 1620 Lutherans in Czech lands endured cruel persecution. Most of them converted; those w h o remained faithful went into exile. O n e of the latter was Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius), philosopher, teacher of nations, and the last bishop of the Un ion of Brethren [Unitas Fratrum], w h o was also a lifelong exile to w h o m Hungary granted temporary asylum. His con-

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Figure 7: On the right the Church of the Holy Savior, now a Jesuit Church after being confiscated. On the left the Magyar and Slovak

church, now the Ursuline Church.

temporary, born on almost the very same day (March 24, 1592), was Juraj Tranovsky, from Tranovice near Tesin in Silesia. H e also found his new home in Slovakia, at first in Orava and finally, in the last years of his life, in Liptovsky Sväty Mikulás. Those were unusually p ro ductive years in which he made Láni's idea a reality by producing a Lutheran hymnal, Cithara Sanctorum, to which he contributed many of his own hymns. H e gave us thereby the well-known "Tranoscius," still in use to this day in some places. And he did all this even though he died somewhat short of his 45 th birthday.

The development of Reformation and humanistic ideas is revealed in the renaissance style of architecture in which the first Lutheran church in Bratislava was built. The German congregation built the Church of the Holy Savior on the Main Square next to the city hall in 1636 and later, in 1659, the congregation received permission to build another church, this one for Magyars and Slovaks. They did not use them for long, however, because the second half of the seventeenth century was the period of Leopold I, w h o strove to make


of Austria a Regnum Mariani, and invited the Jesuits to help him. The German church was taken away in 1672 and is a Jesuit church to this day. The Ursulines took over the church that belonged to the Magyars and Slovaks in 1670, only eleven years after it was consecrated. Lutherans lost their churches throughout the country, especially in 1671.

Persecution continued and in 1673 Leopold set up the first Pres-porsky [Bratislava] Trial, which condemned 3 3 pastors from Orava, Liptov and Zvolen County. The next year it condemned 350 teachers and pastors and required them to convert to Catholicism. Ninety refused and did not submit. As punishment, half were sent into exile and fifty were handed over to the galleys. Of these fifty I mention at least Daniel Sinapius Horcicka or Stefan Pilárik, who described his fate in his work Sors Pilarkiana. Juraj Láni, Tobias Masník and Jan Simonides are also well-known; they were fortunate enough to escape and so they could come to know their native land under spiritual oppression in the monarchy. The last Presporsky Trial provoked such a wave of discontent that the trials had to be discontinued in 1676.

The prevailing atmosphere of persecution and the policy of re-catholicization led to a series of rebellions, the most prominent of which was led by the nobleman Imrich Thököli of Kezmarok. His rebellion forced the court and the ruler to call a congress in Sopron in 1681. This congress made some small concessions to the Lutherans. Since all their churches had been confiscated (889 churches in all), they were allowed to build up to two churches in each county, but only of wood, without foundations, in remote locations, without towers and bells, and resembling residential houses. Such was the wording of the article and so a number of "articular" churches could be built. The painting shows one of the two churches for Orava in Lestiny, the church for Zvolen in Hronsek and the church for Liptov in Paludza, surrounded by godly people in the costumes of the individual regions.

In spite of all the persecution of the Lutherans, confessional unrest was not abating. Tököli's uprising flared up in full force, but the emperor's armies put it down and captured the rebels. Leopold named General Caraffa to settle accounts with the rebels. Caraffa ex-


ecuted such a bloody judgment m Presov that it has entered history as the Presov slaughter (just like the execution of Czech lords in the Old City Square after the Battle of White Mountain ) The medieval building in which Caraffa imprisoned his victims and the whole spiritual atmosphere is painted m an ominous red color called caput mor-tuum, which echos the darkening horizon in the altar painting portraying the crucifixion

It was mevitible that the discontent of the nobility and the horrors in Presov did not remain without consequences Frantisek Rákóczi raised a rebellion against the emperor on behalf of the Lutherans Bishop Daniel Krman was sent by Rákóczi to seek help from the czar in St Petersburg and from the Swedes A flag was dedicated to him in Zilina with the motto Cum Deo pro Patria et Libértate ("With God for Country and Freedom") The result of all this was that Krman spent the last many years of his life in the dungeon of the Bratislava Castle, where he died in 1740, at the same time as Charles III, Maria Theresa's father He was a well-known prisoner and esteemed opponent, and it was a great achievement for the Jesuits when on his deathbed he supposedly received the host as a proof

Figure 8 On the left, Daniel Krman and Matej Bel On the right, Elias Milec and Michal Institons Mosovsky, in front of wooden articular

churches

WITNESSES T O THE L U T H E R A N FAITH IN BRATISLAVA 425

of his conversion to Catholicism and they then arranged for him to be ostentatiously buried in St. Martin's Cathedral.

His fellow pilgrim Matej Bel from Ocova, twenty years his junior, was more fortunate. He was preacher in the German articular church on Panenska Street in the quarter outside the city walls, where the Lutherans moved after the confiscation of their churches and where they built two new churches, one for the Germans and the other for the Magyars and Slovaks. These churches were built of wood and had no towers, as the article stipulated. Matej Bel, called Magnus decus Hungariae, the "Great Ornament of Hungary," not only conducted one of the highest quality schools in Hungary [the Evangelical Lyceum], but also produced, by dint of his huge knowledge of history, the first encyclopedia of individual places in Hungary, Notifia Hungariae novae historico-geographica. In this work he laid the scholarly foundation for historical, geographical and ethnographical knowledge of Slovakia.

His successors, Elias Milec and Michal Institoris Mosovsky, preachers in the articular churches in Bratislava, contributed to the work of education by teaching in the school [the Evangelical Lyceum] and by their own literary production. In addition, Mosovsky built up a library of immeasurable value, which he bequeathed to the church (it is today the property of the Slovak Academy of Sciences) and also left money for the support of the poor and for promising students. Milec and Mosovsky were also the initiators of new churches made of masonry. They built the German church already in 1774—76. They received permission to build it from the Empress Maria Theresa, after Joseph II had become coregent in 1765. Joseph II was influenced by the Enlightenment and eased the severest consequences of the decrees. The building of the great vaulted space of the present Velky Kostol ("Large Church") according to a design by Matej Walch lasted only two years. Similarly, the Magyar and Slovak Lutherans built the Maly Kostol ("Small Church") according to a design by Frantisek Römisch. The church complex was completed by the construction of the Lyceum, also designed by Matej Walch. That a school was built is typical; education became characteristic of the Lutherans.

From the time when the eighteenth century was giving way to the nineteenth, it is necessary to mention a number of noteworthy


Figure 9: Emperor Joseph II in front of the Cathedral of St. Stephen and the church complex on Panenska Street. On the right, Daniel

Krman.

persons who appeared in the pulpits in Bratislava, such as Bilnica, Stromsky, Sevrlay and the Hungarian pastor Rázga.

We now move into the nineteenth century. On the left are three educators who were among the first to realize the importance of mutual self-help for the Slavs. The first is the Moravian Frantisek Palacky, a student at the Bratislava Lyceum who went on to be a participant in the Czech national revival. Pavel Jozef Safárik, from Kobeliarov, working in Prague, wrote an important work on Slavic antiquities. Next to him is the defender of the language of the old Czech Bible, Jan Kollár, the author of "Slavy dcéra," and also pastor in Pest and professor of Slavic archeology at the University ofVienna. His vision was concentrated on the future mission of the Slavs in the world.

The first of the second group of three is Juraj Palkovic, writer, translator and above all the head of the department of languages and Slovak literature at the Evangelical Lyceum. His vision and authority made it possible for Slovaks to begin to imagine a national identity for themselves. His legacy at the Evangelical Lyceum later formed S tur and Stúr's students and followers. Karol Kuzmány, forty years


Figure io Protestant pastor Jan Sebenny (at bottom) and (above) Pastors Biblica, Razga, Sevrlay, Stromsky

younger than Palkovic, became well known as professor of theology m Vienna and as one of the initiators and authors of the Zpevmk

(hymnal), to which he contr ibuted many eloquent and profound hymns H e also made a deep impression in his native land by his participation together with Bishop Stefan Moyzes in the new Matica

Slovenská [a center for the study and advancement of Slovak culture in Martin] and by his authorship of the hymnic song, Kto za pravdu

hori ( "Who burns for the truth") The third person in this group is Pavol Jozeffy, superintendent at Tisovec, the father and source of authority for the Lutheran system of education of the young By means of his wisdom he solved more than one problem, most especially the Magyar attempts to bring about union between the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church Jozeffy's foresight allowed him to see these efforts for what they were an attempt to Magyanze the Slovak people

We arrive now at a host of persons of the nineteenth century who, when the need arose, gave of their many abilities and talents to serve


Figure 11 : From the left: Frantisek Palacky, Pavol Jozef Safárik, Jan Kol-lár, Juraj Palkovic, Karol Kuzmány, Pavol Jozeffy.

the people when they were pressed to the wall, when the pressure for Magyanzation, as in a horrible embrace, extinguished even the last sign of Slovak life. T h e oppression became intense after 1863 when, as a result of the Aust ro-Hunganan realignment, the Magyars achieved a freedom they had not had before. They enforced on the Slovak nation the cruelest possible method of denying their nationhood by declaring that only one nation lived in Hungary—the Mag-

Figure 12: From the left: Jozef Miloslav Hurban, L'udovit' Stúr, Michal Miloslav Hodza, Janko Matuska, Janko Franscisci-Rimavsky, Janko

Krai'.


yar nation—and this nation spoke a different language L'udovit' Stur, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, and Michal Miloslav Hodza became the center and focus for the awakening of the almost dead nation Their foresight, deep learning, and feeling led them into the past, to the national history, to Old Moiavia Devm on the Danube is a memorial to one thousand years of Slovak history, a nation from the Tatras to the Danube This indicated to them that they should work for the Emperor's declaration of an autonomous Slovak R e g i o n in which that nation would be preserved for the future

A row of peerless teachers of the nation begins with Samo Tomasik, pastor in Gemer, and author of many songs and prose pieces and of the hymn, "Hej Slovaci,} ("Arise, Slovaks") O n the fiftieth anniversary of this hymn Prague prepared a tr iumphant reception foi him The next man is Janko Chalupka, pastor in Brezno, w h o had a great gift for satire and irony, which he directed against those Slovaks w h o became Magyars because they wanted to move up in society His youngest brother, Samo Chalupka, used fiery words to arouse Slovak consciousness and religious zeal

In the course of his spiritual development, Darnel Lichard came to be concerned especially with economics and teaching people economics His friend Jan Kadavy began to publish the yearbook Zivena and Ci-

tanka pre malje d'jetki ("Readings for small children") August Honslav Krcmery' publicized his ideas on music by editing the first journal Hla-

hol and he also set Sladkovic's poem Hojze Boze ("O, God") to music

Figure 13 From the left Samo Tomasik Janko Chalupka, Samo Chalupka, Daniel Lichard, Jan Kadavy, August Hanslav Krcmery


Figure 14: Above, from the left: August Horislav Skultéty, Ctibor Zoch,Viliam Paulíny Tóth, Samo Bohdan Hrobañ. Below, from the left:

Andrej Sládkovic, Janko Kalinciak, Mikulas Dohnáhy, Peter Kellner-Hostinsky, Pavol Dobsinsky

August Horislav Skultéty concentrated mostly on youth, edited the journal Zornicka and often worked together with Pavel Dobsinsky. In that crucial time, Ctibor Zoch-Cochius zealously advocated and defended the Slovak language by writing the journal Slovo in Slovak. He took a stand especially against Jan Kollár, who wrote in the Hlasové about the necessity of a unified language for the Czech lands, Moravia, and Slovakia.Viliam Paulíny Tóth, revolutionary, mercenary, publisher, writer, was a broadly influential personality. Andrej Sládkovic was our most sensitive lyricist and was noted for his patriotic enthusiasm. Janko Kalinciak became a keen-eyed satirist of pettiness, backwardness, and careerism.

Mikulas Dohnány, author of Historia povstanja slovenskieho ("History of the Slovak uprising") was, together with Peter Kelner-Hostin-sky, one of those students who moved from Bratislava to Levoca in protest against L'udovit' Stur's losing his teaching position. Keiner-


Hostinsky was a journalist and editor of Národné Novtny ("National news"). As a journalist with a wide-ranging view, he best demonstrated how to feel and understand a sensitivity for the national history. The deep thinker Samo Bohdon Hroboñ was a noteworthy expert on the Slovak language who further explored its possibilities. Pavol Dobsinsky was a tireless collector of folklore—proverbs, songs, and especially myths and fairytales, which he retold with the sensitivity and poetry of a Slovak Hans Christian Andersen.

The revolutionary trio of the period of 1848 were the most determined of S tur s students: Janko Matúska, the author of the Slovak national anthem, Nad Tatrou sa blyska ("Above the Tatras there is lightning"); Janko Fancisci-Rimavsky, the volunteer captain; and Janko Krai, who created revolutionary lyrics.

The last two groups of three belong to the first half of the twentieth century. The first is Samuel Zoch, Bishop of Modra and a person of broad views and wisdom. Then follows his contemporary, Juraj Janoska and the noted expert on Comenius, Jan Kvacala. The last group is a trio of philosophically-inclined writers: Dr. Martin Rázus, author of spiritual poetry and a broad spectrum of prose; Stefan Krcméry, poet and writer, known especially as an editor and enthusiastic participant in the Slovenská Matica; and finally Emil Boleslav Lukac, a philosopher in the pulpit and a poet able to plumb the depths of the hurting soul.

In conclusion, I would like to express in words what the whole picture is about: strength and protection from all danger springs from faith, hope, and love, which flow to everyone from the River Jordan. We are grateful to all who demonstrated firmness in the face of many wrongs, who overcame every crisis with honor and often were able to achieve great things for the service and protection of their own humiliated and oppressed nation. They give cause for pride to a people considered to be mere slaves. We can see this already in early times, when our ancestors received Christianity in such a peaceful way. Jan Kollár described this perfectly in his song: "Others brought slavery to the world along with baptism. They took away from the people their nationality, language, freedom, property... [But] in our midst idols were falling by themselves, and in peace crosses and churches were erected." Only such a firm anchor and deep roots gave them the strength to do great deeds. It is perhaps as Kuzmán sang:


Figure 15: From the left: Samuel Zoch, Juraj Janoska, Jan Kvacala, Martin Rázus, Stefan Krcmery, Emil Boleslav Lukac.

To be a human being is to be a little less than an angel. It is hoped that the artistic portrayal of this painful history will become a source of instruction and encouragement, so that people continue to strive for the same goals. May it testify in a tangible way to the great things that many persons have achieved when they were placed in conditions in which they had to prove the quality of their character.

Translated by Jonathan Sorumfrom Janka Krivosová, Bratislava: His-toricky obraz ν Malom Kostole ev. a.v. Mala vlastivednà kniznica 17g. cislo. (Komárno, Slovakia: VydavateVstvo KT, 2002). The translator thanks Rev. Ondrej Prostrednik and Dr. David P. Daniel for their assistance.

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