The Church-Union of the Armenians in Transylvania (16851715)

The 17th and 18th centuries were a time of great change and challenge for Hungary and Transylvania, including wars of liberation, integration into the Habsburg Empire, colonization, and the Re-organisation of daily life. The Hungarian Catholic Church faced significant duties during this period, including the Counter-Reformation in eastern and northern regions. The church-union of Armenians in Transylvania is primarily associated with Bishop Oxendio Virzirescos and missionary efforts. This work explores the responses to these challenges based on discovered and undiscovered sources and critically analyzes secondary literature.

Format: Hardback
Length: 251 pages
Publication date: 09 August 2021
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co KG

The 17th and 18th centuries have been regarded as one of the most exciting periods in the history of Hungary and Transylvania. The wars of liberation to terminate the Ottoman occupation, the integration of the Transylvanian Principality into the Habsburg Empire after 150-years relative independence, the colonization of the uncultivated lands during the Ottoman rule, the re-organisation of daily life, and Prince Francis (Ferenc) Rákóczis independence war (1703-1711) indicated serious challenges for the Habsburg Court in Vienna. This period (1686-1711) felled serious duties to the Hungarian Catholic Church, too. Prior to these duties, the process of Counter-Reformation in Hungary's eastern and northern regions was getting increasingly underway: Orthodox Ruthenians and Romanians in Transylvania united with the Roman Catholic Church. The bishops, who were highly supported by the missionaries delegated from Rome in order to re-organise the Hungarian Catholic Church's religious life, re-appeared at the seats of the abandoned dioceses after the 150-years Ottoman occupation and nearly 110-years pressure from the strong Protestantism supported by the Princes of Transylvania. The Armenians church-union in Transylvania must be, in fact, analysed in this church-historical context. The history of Armenians in Transylvania, escaping from Moldavia and Podolia between 1668 and 1672, should be regarded practically as an undiscovered area from both the Hungarian and international church-historical point of view. The church-union of the Armenians in Transylvania is primarily associated with Bishop Oxendio Virzirescos (1654-1715), an Armenian Uniate cleric educated at Collegium Urbanum in Rome, missionary efforts. In this work, I have tried to look for evident responses to these afore-mentioned challenges.

The 17th and 18th centuries have been regarded as one of the most exciting periods in the history of Hungary and Transylvania. The wars of liberation to terminate the Ottoman occupation, the integration of the Transylvanian Principality into the Habsburg Empire after 150-years relative independence, the colonization of the uncultivated lands during the Ottoman rule, the re-organisation of daily life, and Prince Francis (Ferenc) Rákóczis independence war (1703-1711) indicated serious challenges for the Habsburg Court in Vienna. This period (1686-1711) felled serious duties to the Hungarian Catholic Church, too. Prior to these duties, the process of Counter-Reformation in Hungary's eastern and northern regions was getting increasingly underway: Orthodox Ruthenians and Romanians in Transylvania united with the Roman Catholic Church. The bishops, who were highly supported by the missionaries delegated from Rome in order to re-organise the Hungarian Catholic Church's religious life, re-appeared at the seats of the abandoned dioceses after the 150-years Ottoman occupation and nearly 110-years pressure from the strong Protestantism supported by the Princes of Transylvania. The Armenians church-union in Transylvania must be, in fact, analysed in this church-historical context. The history of Armenians in Transylvania, escaping from Moldavia and Podolia between 1668 and 1672, should be regarded practically as an undiscovered area from both the Hungarian and international church-historical point of view. The church-union of the Armenians in Transylvania is primarily associated with Bishop Oxendio Virzirescos ({PHONE}), an Armenian Uniate cleric educated at Collegium Urbanum in Rome, missionary efforts. In this work, I have tried to look for evident responses to these afore-mentioned challenges.

ISBN-13: 9783525503546