Szekler Sabbatarians
Encyclopedia
The Szekler Sabbatarians (in Transylvanian Saxon: (Siebenbürgen) Sambatianer; in German
: Siebenbürgische Sabbatianer; in Hungarian
: Szombatosok, zombatosok, sabbatariusok, zsidózók, Şomrei Sabat) were a religious group in Transylvania
and Hungary
between the Sixteenth and Nineteenth centuries who held Unitarian
and judaizing beliefs.
, led by the Matthias Vehe
's followers András Eőssy and Simon Péchi who founded the Sabbatarians 1588, after Ferenc Dávid
died in prison.
Initially they believed Jesus to be the messiah, but a human rather than divine messiah. Gradually they passed to read only the Old Testament
and to celebrate Torah
's feasts, follow dietary laws, and a strict observance of seventh-day Sabbath, but not circumcision.
Most of their followers were of Székely
ethnicity and had experienced periods of tolerance and persecution. In May 23, 1621, Simon Péchi, the Chancellor of Transylvania was dismissed and arrested for political reasons at the order of Prince Gábor Bethlen. On September 29 of the following year, the Transylvanian Diet made a law against the Judaizers. Thirteen years later, on May 13, 1635, the Diet set the explicit deadline of Christmas Day 1635 for the Sabbatarians to convert to one of the four accepted Christian religions of the Principality. When the great persecution began in 1635 they numbered 20,000 members.
Starting May 23, 1638, Sabbatarian believers were tortured and their writings confiscated in Kolozsvár and Marosvásárhely.
On July 7, the trials started in Dés. All property of the convicted was confiscated, and they were sentenced to prison and, by the decree of Prince György Rákóczi I, to hard labor as well. A Sabbatarian goldsmith from Kolozsvár, János Torockai, was condemned to be stoned to death. On July 14, Simon Péchi was sentenced to prison and died next year.
The believers had to practice their Jewish religion in secret for the next 230 years, while pretending to be Catholic or Unitarian, so their numbers were in the hundreds only when their conversion to Judaism was allowed from 1868-1874.
At the insistence of Dr. Beck, the Bucharest rabbi, József Bánóczi and Prof. Wilhelm Bacher
took the necessary steps to save from ruin the last Sabbatarian congregation in Bözödújfalu (Bezidu Nou in Romanian) and set up schools. In a few generations, most Sabbatarians were absorbed into the Jewish community. In the 1910 census, 120 people out of the 679 inhabitants of Bözödújfalu confessed to be Jewish.
During the Holocaust, first, the Sabbatarians were given exemption from the Hungarian anti-Jewish laws in 1941. But in April 1944, during the ghettoization, they were also herded to the ghettos. The local priest of Bözödújfalu hurried to the SS commandant and proved to him that the Sabbatarians are originally not from the Jewish "race". But there were numerous intermarriages between the Sabbatarians and Jews in the preceding decades. So the priest was able to take out some people
from the ghettos, while others were soon sent to Auschwitz. The surviving Sabbatarians emigrated to Israel after the war.
wrote about the sect leader, Simon Pechi, in his A rajongók, "The Devoted"(1858).
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Siebenbürgische Sabbatianer; in Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Szombatosok, zombatosok, sabbatariusok, zsidózók, Şomrei Sabat) were a religious group in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
between the Sixteenth and Nineteenth centuries who held Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
and judaizing beliefs.
History
The Magyar Sabbatarians arose among Transylvanian UnitariansUnitarian Church of Transylvania
The Unitarian Church of Transylvania is a church of the Unitarian denomination, based in the city of Cluj in the Principality of Transylvania, present day in Romania...
, led by the Matthias Vehe
Matthias Vehe
Matthias Vehe known as Glirius was a German Protestant religious radical, who converted to a form of Judaism and anti-trinitarianism, rejecting the New Testament as revelation....
's followers András Eőssy and Simon Péchi who founded the Sabbatarians 1588, after Ferenc Dávid
Ferenc Dávid
Ferenc Dávid was a Transylvanian Nontrinitarian and Unitarian preacher, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania.-Life:Born in Kolozsvár to a Hungarian family, he studied in Wittenberg and Frankfurt...
died in prison.
Initially they believed Jesus to be the messiah, but a human rather than divine messiah. Gradually they passed to read only the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and to celebrate Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
's feasts, follow dietary laws, and a strict observance of seventh-day Sabbath, but not circumcision.
Most of their followers were of Székely
Székely
The Székelys or Székely , sometimes also referred to as Szeklers , are a subgroup of the Hungarian people living mostly in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, Romania...
ethnicity and had experienced periods of tolerance and persecution. In May 23, 1621, Simon Péchi, the Chancellor of Transylvania was dismissed and arrested for political reasons at the order of Prince Gábor Bethlen. On September 29 of the following year, the Transylvanian Diet made a law against the Judaizers. Thirteen years later, on May 13, 1635, the Diet set the explicit deadline of Christmas Day 1635 for the Sabbatarians to convert to one of the four accepted Christian religions of the Principality. When the great persecution began in 1635 they numbered 20,000 members.
Starting May 23, 1638, Sabbatarian believers were tortured and their writings confiscated in Kolozsvár and Marosvásárhely.
On July 7, the trials started in Dés. All property of the convicted was confiscated, and they were sentenced to prison and, by the decree of Prince György Rákóczi I, to hard labor as well. A Sabbatarian goldsmith from Kolozsvár, János Torockai, was condemned to be stoned to death. On July 14, Simon Péchi was sentenced to prison and died next year.
The believers had to practice their Jewish religion in secret for the next 230 years, while pretending to be Catholic or Unitarian, so their numbers were in the hundreds only when their conversion to Judaism was allowed from 1868-1874.
At the insistence of Dr. Beck, the Bucharest rabbi, József Bánóczi and Prof. Wilhelm Bacher
Wilhelm Bacher
Wilhelm Bacher was a Jewish Hungarian scholar, rabbi, Orientalist and linguist, born in Liptó-Szent-Miklós, Hungary to the Hebrew writer Simon Bacher. Wilhelm was himself an incredibly prolific writer, authoring or co-authoring approximately 750 works in an unfortunately short life...
took the necessary steps to save from ruin the last Sabbatarian congregation in Bözödújfalu (Bezidu Nou in Romanian) and set up schools. In a few generations, most Sabbatarians were absorbed into the Jewish community. In the 1910 census, 120 people out of the 679 inhabitants of Bözödújfalu confessed to be Jewish.
During the Holocaust, first, the Sabbatarians were given exemption from the Hungarian anti-Jewish laws in 1941. But in April 1944, during the ghettoization, they were also herded to the ghettos. The local priest of Bözödújfalu hurried to the SS commandant and proved to him that the Sabbatarians are originally not from the Jewish "race". But there were numerous intermarriages between the Sabbatarians and Jews in the preceding decades. So the priest was able to take out some people
from the ghettos, while others were soon sent to Auschwitz. The surviving Sabbatarians emigrated to Israel after the war.
Cultural references
The Magyar writer Zsigmond KeményZsigmond Kemény
Baron Zsigmond Kemény was a Hungarian author.-Life and work:Kemény was born in Alvinc, Transylvania to a distinguished noble family, but family feuds left him with little personal wealth. His early schooling in Nagyenyed gave him knowledge of English law, French law and German law, politics and...
wrote about the sect leader, Simon Pechi, in his A rajongók, "The Devoted"(1858).