Hungarian Catholic Intellectuals in Contemporary Romania: Reforming Apostles

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Set against the backdrop of the rise of right-wing Christian nationalism in Eastern Europe, this book declares that Catholic theologians ought to be understood and studied as intellectuals: socially and historically situated creators of national cultural traditions. While the Romanian government funds thriving schools for the country’s Hungarian minority, NGOs founded by Transylvanian Hungarians continue to organize volunteers to supplement this formal pedagogy. These volunteers understand themselves to be reviving a national tradition of “serving the people” by educating the region’s rural Hungarian populace. While this book is about the challenges Catholic educators face in teaching villagers, it is just as much about their new effort to call groups of volunteers from across the border in Hungary to teach alongside them. In these encounters, Transylvanian Hungarian educators remake their intellectual tradition, especially ideas about the basis of pedagogical authority, the ethical character of the nation, and the social location of selfhood. When contemporary Catholic intellectuals urge teachers to manifest their national self-consciousness, they carry with them the assumption that selfhood emerges where humans collaborate with God. While Transylvanian Hungarian intellectuals are enmeshed in constant competition, by focusing on contemporary theologians New Magyar Apostles unmasks the struggle over the nature of divine presence that animates this revival of a Christian national tradition of intellectual service. A Note About Orthography, Names, and Place Names Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1: Introduction: An Intellectual Tradition of Our Own Expanding the Transylvanian Hungarian Intellectual Tradition Reforming Apostles Virtues, Volunteers, Creativity Plan of This Book Fieldwork and Method References Chapter 2: Vocation Transylvanian School A Revision of Our Own Imagining Institutions: Dormitories and Choirs Post-Materialistic Tourists Conclusion References Chapter 3: Love Seeker Servants Ethical Enlightenment Regressive Pleasures Staying on the Path of Love An Orphan Between Love and Tradition Conclusion References Chapter 4: Composure Civilized Szeklers State Patronage and Socialist Civilization The Szekler Revival European-Level Christian Hungarian Arts Szekler Catharsis Conclusion References Chapter 5: Courtliness Persistence in a Vocation King Stephen, Ethical Servant Emil’s Testimony and a Teacher’s Persistence Between Courtly Servant and Caring Host Conclusion References Chapter 6: Penitence From Just Judge to Loving Servant Love or Obedience Penitence Without Schism Penitence and Patronage A Poetics of the Mass Ambient Penitence Conclusion References Chapter 7: Conclusion: A Challenge to Anthropologists of Christianity to Write for Christian Publications References Chapter 8: Epilogue: Witnessing the Rosary’s Voice Csíksomlyó, Romania, September 5, 2010 Miercurea Ciuc, Romania, November 1, 2010 Boston, MA, USA, June 23, 2017 Miercurea Ciuc, Romania, July 12, 2016 References References Index