Áron Márton
Encyclopedia
Áron Márton was the bishop
of the Roman Catholic Church
in Transylvania
during World War II
and the communist dictatorship
in Romania
.
Hungarian peasant family in the Transylvania
n locality of Csíkszentdomokos (present-day Sândominic
, Harghita County
). After graduating from secondary school in 1915, he was drafted
into the Austro-Hungarian Army
. He was involved in battles of World War I
in different military theatres, and was injured several times. After the war he worked as farmer, then was employed as metal worker at a factory in Braşov
.
In 1920, Márton began his theology
studies in Alba Iulia
. Following this, he became a chaplain
, and later theology professor in various Transylvanian localities. He was also court chaplain and archivist at the Alba-Iulia Bishopric after 1930, and priest of the University of Cluj
. He was appointed the Bishop of Alba Iulia by Pope Pius XI
in 1938.
. In a speech he gave in St. Michael's Church, during a visit to Kolozsvár (Romanian
: Cluj-Napoca
) in May 1944, he condemned the prepared deportation of Romanian and Hungarian Jews (see Holocaust in Hungary).
A couple of days later, he wrote letters to the Hungarian Government, to the Police and other authorities, requesting the prohibition of the deportation. As a response, Márton was expelled from the city. For his activities during this period, he was posthumously awarded the title "Righteous Among the Nations
" by the Yad Vashem
institute in Israel
(in 1999).
, Pope Pius XII
wanted Márton to become the next Cardinal
in Hungary
, but, as the Hungarian Communist Party
strongly opposed him, József Mindszenty was chosen for the position.
Áron Márton stayed in his homeland Transylvania and continued to be a strong advocate for religious freedom and human rights. This made him a prominent enemy of the Romanian Communist Party
and of the dictatorial regime it established in late 1947. The Bishop was arrested in June 1948 and was sentenced to life imprisonment; five years later, with the change of the political climate in Romania, the circumstances of his captivity became more bearable. He was moved into a villa in the outskirts of Bucharest
, he was also given back his prayer book, but was not allowed to contact the outside world. He was ultimately released in 1955.
Márton subsequently decided to revisit his bishopric, being received by an enthusiastic crowd. This proved embarrassing for the authorities, and he was subsequently confined to house arrest
. Áron Márton was not allowed to leave the bishopric building for the following 11 years, and only emerged in 1967. He was finally released as a result of negotiations conducted by the Austria
n Cardinal König
in Bucharest. Over the following years, as he was still cautious of possible harassment from the authorities, Márton was accompanied by groups of Székely volunteers on his pastoral trips.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
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...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the communist dictatorship
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
Early life
Áron Márton was born into a SzékelySzékely
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...
Hungarian peasant family in the 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...
n locality of Csíkszentdomokos (present-day Sândominic
Sândominic
Sândominic is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. It is composed of a single village, Sândominic.-Demographics:...
, Harghita County
Harghita County
Harghita is a county in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea-Ciuc.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 326,222 and a population density of 52/km².*Hungarians- 85%...
). After graduating from secondary school in 1915, he was drafted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
into the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
. He was involved in battles of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in different military theatres, and was injured several times. After the war he worked as farmer, then was employed as metal worker at a factory in Braşov
Brasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
.
In 1920, Márton began his theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
studies in Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...
. Following this, he became a chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
, and later theology professor in various Transylvanian localities. He was also court chaplain and archivist at the Alba-Iulia Bishopric after 1930, and priest of the University of Cluj
Babes-Bolyai University
The Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca is an university in Romania. With almost 50,000 students, the university offers 105 specialisations, of which there are 105 in Romanian, 67 in Hungarian, 17 in German, and 5 in English...
. He was appointed the Bishop of Alba Iulia by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
in 1938.
Speaking up for the Jews
Márton was one of the first intellectuals to openly oppose the preparations for World War II, which he was already doing in 1938. He stayed in southern Transylvania, which remained part of Romania after the Second Vienna AwardSecond Vienna Award
The Second Vienna Award was the second of two Vienna Awards arbitrated by the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Rendered on August 30, 1940, it re-assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.-Prelude and historical background :After the World War I, the multi-ethnic...
. In a speech he gave in St. Michael's Church, during a visit to Kolozsvár (Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
) in May 1944, he condemned the prepared deportation of Romanian and Hungarian Jews (see Holocaust in Hungary).
A couple of days later, he wrote letters to the Hungarian Government, to the Police and other authorities, requesting the prohibition of the deportation. As a response, Márton was expelled from the city. For his activities during this period, he was posthumously awarded the title "Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
" by the Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
institute in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(in 1999).
Under the communist dictatorship
In 1945, after the death of Archbishop Jusztinián SerédiJusztinián György Serédi
Jusztinián György Serédi OSB was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Esztergom and Primate of Hungary....
, Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
wanted Márton to become the next Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 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...
, but, as the Hungarian Communist Party
Hungarian Communist Party
The Communist Party of Hungary , renamed Hungarian Communist Party in 1945, was founded on November 24, 1918, and was in power in Hungary briefly from March to August 1919 under Béla Kun and the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The communist government was overthrown by the Romanian Army and driven...
strongly opposed him, József Mindszenty was chosen for the position.
Áron Márton stayed in his homeland Transylvania and continued to be a strong advocate for religious freedom and human rights. This made him a prominent enemy of the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
and of the dictatorial regime it established in late 1947. The Bishop was arrested in June 1948 and was sentenced to life imprisonment; five years later, with the change of the political climate in Romania, the circumstances of his captivity became more bearable. He was moved into a villa in the outskirts of Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, he was also given back his prayer book, but was not allowed to contact the outside world. He was ultimately released in 1955.
Márton subsequently decided to revisit his bishopric, being received by an enthusiastic crowd. This proved embarrassing for the authorities, and he was subsequently confined to house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. Áron Márton was not allowed to leave the bishopric building for the following 11 years, and only emerged in 1967. He was finally released as a result of negotiations conducted by the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Cardinal König
Franz König
Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958...
in Bucharest. Over the following years, as he was still cautious of possible harassment from the authorities, Márton was accompanied by groups of Székely volunteers on his pastoral trips.