Religious Freedom.
[by J. C. W. Lindemann]
From Bohemia under Ferdinand II. (the "Catholic") 30,000 citizens and country people were expelled because of their Protestant faith. As in Salzburg, the Jesuits were especially active there.
In 1628 the Protestants in Silesia were so cruelly persecuted for the sake of their religion that even the Catholics were filled with profound abhorrence of such a proceeding. —
Students from Hungary, who studied in Wittenberg, brought Luther's teachings to their homeland. Already in 1525, five royal free cities declared themselves for the pure Gospel, and even in the capital (Ofen, Buda) Vitus Winshemius and Simon Grynäus proclaimed it. They were, of course, expelled; a Lutheran preacher and a school teacher were burned on the pretext that they had caused a riot, and in 1527 King Ferdinand issued a sharp decree against the followers of Luther and other heretics, according to which their books were to be suppressed and they themselves punished in life and limb; but all this was of no avail, the Gospel nevertheless found more and more acceptance. Matthias Devay [DE] did the most for the spread of the gospel in the following years, who is therefore well called the "Hungarian Luther", but later adopted the erroneous Zwinglian doctrine of the Lord's Supper. In 1545, 29 Protestant preachers held a meeting at Erdöd [Ardud], in which they drew up 12 articles, which, as far as we know, are entirely in agreement with the Augsburg Confession. In the following year, five associated towns held a similar meeting at Eperis, in which they expressly declared, in 16 articles adopted at that time, that they wished to adhere to the faith presented in the Augsburg Confession and in Melanchthon's textbook. Luther's teaching had taken firm root.
Now, however, King Ferdinand I commanded in 1548 that worship and religion should be restored to their former constitution and all heresies suppressed; in 1561 the Jesuits were also brought to Hungary for this purpose, and the bishops expended much effort and diligence to eradicate the pure doctrine again; but it was all in vain.
Under Maximilian II, Protestant knowledge spread even more completely in Hungary. He resisted the bishops and advocated the general reintroduction of the lay chalice. The commander of his troops, Lazarus von Schwendi, a faithful Lutheran, also encouraged the Protestant preachers and congregations.
Even Rudolph II did not disturb the Hungarian Lutherans during the first twenty years of his reign; but from 1597 he appeared decidedly hostile. But it was not until 1604 that open force was used against them. An imperial general took away the church at Caschau and forbade worship in the houses. Archbishop Colocza expelled the Protestant preachers from the churches of the county of Zips [now Spiš].
The Protestant cities sent deputies to the emperor, but they were not even allowed to come before him; when they tried to complain at the Diet of Bratislava, their complaint was rejected as confused and unfounded; all the laws enacted for the protection of the Roman Church were solemnly confirmed at that time; but the Lutherans were forbidden, under the severest penalties, to make religious complaints at the Imperial Diet. In the same year war broke out against the Turks and against Stephen Botskai, Prince of Transylvania. A terrible confusion arose, in which Catholics fought against Catholics, Protestants against Protestants. The Peace of Vienna in 1606 put an end to this state of affairs; it was at the same time to be a religious peace for Hungary. The emperor promised all Hungarian estates free religious practice, their clergy and churches were to be protected, and what both parties had taken away from each other in church property during the last unrest was to be returned.
Until 1619, the Lutherans in Hungary had a tolerable situation, although they had gained a clever enemy in the Jesuit Peter Pazmany since 1612. But when Ferdinand II took over the government, they too, like their brothers in Austria, were persecuted again. They had to surrender their churches to the Catholics, because the latter, as Pazmany claimed, had built them. But they were also deprived of those they had built themselves. Through the cunning of the Jesuits and the seductive arts of the court, many Protestant lords became Catholics again, who now, to prove their zeal, in part became fierce persecutors of their former co-religionists. — Under Ferdinand III (since 1637) they received some peace, because George Rakotzi, the Protestant Prince of Transylvania, caused him much trouble. A settlement was reached in 1645, which was also recognized as imperial law in 1647 in Bratislava; only 90 of the 400 churches that had been stolen from the Protestants were restored to them, along with permission to build a few new ones. It was not long before some of these were taken from them again. Protected by the Catholic Emperor and King, the Jesuits could still continue in secret or open persecution.
In 1671, a conspiracy against Emperor Leopold I was discovered, in which mostly only nobles, Catholics as well as Protestants, had taken part. This gave the Jesuits the most beautiful opportunity to completely corrupt the Protestants. They were all accused of rebellion and began to persecute them in an inhuman manner.
In 1674 all Protestant clergymen received the order to appear in court in Bratislava. About 300 presented themselves. They were now designated as the main instigators of the outrage, and without their cause being further investigated, three proposals were made to them: 1. they should resign their office and henceforth live only as private persons; 2. or they should immediately go into exile voluntarily; or 3. preferably become Catholic immediately, in which case they would receive honor and goods. One of these three demands should be signed by every one, with the express addition: [Page 19] "that this is done by them in order that they may avoid the punishment well deserved by their rebellion."
Some allowed themselves to be frightened and signed one of the points presented; but by far the greater majority remained faithful, pleaded innocence, and refused to sign anything. Now the sentence of death was pronounced upon them; but if they would become Catholics, they should be granted life. They remained firm, however, and confessed that they would gladly die. Then their tormentors said to them, "You must not yet die, lest you should have occasion as soon as possible to boast of martyrdom; you will probably be tormented otherwise and more grievously than by a speedy death.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - Continued in Part 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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