The Ambiguous Beginnings of the Modern Mission Movements in the Reformed Church of Transylvania Between 1895 and 1918

This study looks at the ways how the Reformed Church encountered the new modern mission movement in Transylvania with the arrival of Dr. Béla Kenessey and Dr. István Kecskeméthy to the newly established Reformed Theological Seminary at Cluj in 1895. By the time being, some theologians expressed grav...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Horváth Levente
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2021-03-01
Series:Perichoresis: The Theological Journal of Emanuel University
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2021-0001
Description
Summary:This study looks at the ways how the Reformed Church encountered the new modern mission movement in Transylvania with the arrival of Dr. Béla Kenessey and Dr. István Kecskeméthy to the newly established Reformed Theological Seminary at Cluj in 1895. By the time being, some theologians expressed grave concerns about the dangers of theological liberalism to the Confessions. The paper argues that these young professors, touched by the mission movement and revival also sought to encompass those who had an evangelistic fervor to reach unbelievers and to serve those people in their personal and social needs. As a result, Christian Covenant was established in 1896, with official recognition in 1903 as the Christian Endeavor. It is hoped to unfold the major shifts regarding the attitudes to mission in the Reformed Church of Hungary and throw lights on ambiguous beginnings of mission movements.
ISSN:2284-7308