The -Keepers of Transylvania

By D. Thomas Lancaster

Buried lay the old teachings of Christ…but to us, the least of all, the most insignificant on the earth, to us the poor and despised ones, You have revealed it. (Old Sabbatarian Hymnal)

messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA •  f the village clergy suspected that a person secretly belonged to the sect of the Sabbath-keepers, they would force him to work on the Sabbath. One ISabbath day, in the Transylvanian district of Bözöd, a Catholic priest came upon a maid he suspected of Sabbath-keeping. He seized her and forced her to make hay for him on the Sabbath. Although the skies were clear and the weather was warm, a few hours after she began working in the field a cloud overs- shadowed the villages, and a violent thund- derstorm ensued. Fierce wind and rain blew away the hay. Lightning struck and killed a man. The villagers came to the priest while the storm continued to rage and cried out, “Let the Sabbatarian go home while we are all still safe!” After that, no one ever again dared to force the Sabbath-keepers to work Documents and books from the Hungarian Unitarian Church Archives in on the Sabbath in that village. Romania providing records relating to the history of the Sabbatarians Origin of the Sabbatarians Transylvania, the homeland of Dracula, used to their own views,” and that they are not Practice of the People to be the homeland of an amazing sect of to be coerced.1 Transylvania’s free religious Transylvanian Sabbatarian literature is writt- Torah-keeping Christianity. The modern climate, coupled with the Reformation-era ten in Hungarian, and Eössi’s writings are no Messianic Jewish movement and believing enthusiasm for returning to the “New Test- exception. Eössi proved to be prolific. He Torah-keepers stand to learn a great deal tament Church,” inevitably led some Christ- produced theological treatises, hymn books, from these Transylvanians. Our beliefs mirr- tians back to the default mode of our faith. didactic poetry, liturgical prayers and hala-c ror theirs exactly in many ways, and they can The Sabbatarians emerged as a biblical form chic (legal) manuals for the emerging Trans- be seen as forerunners of our faith and pract- of Christianity––that is, they kept the comm- sylvanian Torah movement. In addition he tice. In certain matters of theology, however, mandments of Torah and the testimony of introduced Hungarian versions of traditional matters such as Christology and relationship Yeshua. Jewish prayers, interspersed with prayers to greater Judaism we differ strongly, and we The story of the Transylvanian Sabbatari- particular to the Sabbatarians. The Old Sab-b should take warning from their history. ians begins with András Eössi, a wealthy batarian Hymnal reads, The protestant Reformation arrived in Székely landowner. (The Székely are a Hung- Transylvania early in the sixteenth century. garian-speaking ethnic group.) Eössi was a We cannot boast Abraham as our father, By 1568, Transylvanian were Unitarian who, despite his vast wealth, suff- nor claim to be his descendants. We are but divided between Catholic, Lutheran, Calv- fered a difficult life. He lost his wife and three the offshoot of Japheth’s house and foolish vinist (Reformed) and Unitarian churches. sons, and he himself endured a debilitating heathen children. Only in Thee, Father, will The latter denomination was primarily dis-t disease that left him largely incapacitated. we rejoice…The one who has brought us tinguished from the others by its rejection of Alone in his castle in the village of Saint Eliza- heathens to Thee and made us children of Trinitarian theology. Transylvanian Unitaria- abeth, Eössi committed himself to studying Abraham.3 anism is the predecessor to the liberal Unit- the Bible. In the course of his studies, he came tarian church of the modern era. At its incept- to many of the same convictions that chara- Because Eössi’s Sabbath-keepers were tion, however, Unitarian Christians were very acterize the movement and identified with Judaism, the government conservative and fundamentalist in their Torah-observant, Messianic Judaism today. would not allow them to publish literature. approach to Scripture. They often retained Fueled by the joy of discovery, he began to When Eössi would write an article or a book, a very high Christology despite their anti- propagate the observance of the Sabbath, his followers would set to work copying it by Trinitarian stance. From those conservative the festivals, the dietary laws and the ongoi- hand, one copy at a time. Eössi led the Sabb- ranks of early Unitarians the Transylvanian ing validity of the Torah among Christians. In batarians for twelve years, and during those Sabbatarian movement emerged. his writings, he frequently expressed that his twelve years his beliefs spread along the footh- Reformation-era Transylvania fostered teachings were comprehendible to anyone hills of the Transylvanian Alps. a spirit of religious tolerance. A state law in with plain sense: “It requires not much argui- Eössi’s followers kept the Jewish calend- 1577 announced that everyone was free to ing, quibbling, bickering; farmer’s sense is dar. Their hymn books have special hymns “hold and practice matters of faith either old sufficient to understand it easily and surely,” and prayers for each of the festivals. On the or new” according to their own conscience. he wrote.2 By 1588 he had disseminated his evening of the Passover they kept a Seder A 1568 law reads that “ministers should all teachings and amassed followers throughout and ate unleavened bread (they called it preach the gospel in all places according the Székely people. the “bread of the Christ”) as an annual comm-

 • messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA (minchah) and a prayer at the close of the They kept the Jewish calendar. Their hymn books Sabbath after sunset (havdalah).8 They observed each service with the appropri-a have special hymns and prayers for each of the ate prayers, translated into Hungarian, a teaching, scripture reading and the singing festivals. On the evening of the Passover they kept of psalms and hymns particular to their faith in Messiah. a Seder and ate unleavened bread. Early Persecution munion ritual in memory of the Master. grace. They believed that the New Covenant The Sabbatarians did not pass through hist- They kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread began with Yeshua, but was not yet fulfilled, tory unnoticed. The four accepted religions in commemoration of the first coming of and would not be fulfilled until Messiah of Transylvania fought bitterly with each Yeshua and in anticipation of His future returned. They proclaimed that the Jewish other, but they agreed on their common second coming. At Rosh Hashanah they cele- people were the elect of God and had not hatred for the Sabbatarians. By 1595, only a ebrated the New Year, and at Yom Kippur been replaced by Christians. few years after the sect’s inception, the gov-e they fasted.4 At Sukkot they helped the poor They restored the authentic practice of ernment issued laws attempting to stop the prepare for winter. They rejected , the Christianity, in that they returned to the spread of the movement. Severe persecution January New Year, Christmas and - same mode of faith that the original believ-e followed. Five years later, the courts passed sabbath as days invented by Rome. They ers observed as binding. They pointed out a law that allowed Sabbatarian estates and kept strict kosher,5 not only abstaining from that the religion of Yeshua and His original properties to be confiscated. A furious pers- unclean animals but also from any meat followers was Judaism. The Old Sabbatarian secution broke out. Their writings, sacred that was not slaughtered and bled by rabb- Hymnal states that Yeshua books and prayer books were confiscated binic standards. Community leaders were and burned in piles.9 Despite the persecut- responsible for kosher butchering of the …was a Jew by descent and faith; He tion, the sect flourished among the poor animals, leading the Sabbath services and preached the Jewish law and instructed Székely people. It swept through villages and teaching the Torah. humans to depend on Moses and the prophee rural farm communities. As it grew, schola- The Sabbatarians rejected pictures and ets. His apostles were likewise Jews, and held ars, aristocracy and noblemen were drawn statues of Christ as idolatrous. They even and taught the Jewish faith.6 into the faith. By 1600, the Sabbatarians were shunned putting up crosses as dangerously among the largest religions in Transylvania. close to idolatry. They believed that the one They taught that Yeshua condemned the In 1618, a decree was passed with the most Christians called “Christ” was actually hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but in His interp- approval of Prince Bethlen that gave the Sabb- the Messiah of the Jews, who would one day pretation of the Torah He agreed with them. bath-keepers until Christmas to come to literally return, resurrect the dead, gather in Like adherents of the modern Jewish Roots their senses and rejoin one of the recognized the scattered people of Israel and reign and movement, the Sabbatarians were fond of churches, or face the consequences. Soon rule on David’s throne from Jerusalem for quoting Matthew 5:17–19 and 23:2–3. They thereafter, their books were again cast into one thousand years of peace. These beliefs differed from Judaism only in their belief in bonfires; their properties were seized; and about Messiah were completely foreign to Yeshua as Messiah and their reluctance as those who had not officially entered a reco- the Christianity of their day. Gentiles to practice circumcision, a peculiari- ognized church were thrown into dungeons, [Their own Christology, however, was serio- ity that they must have derived from Paul’s scourged and often killed. Despite the pers- ously weakened by the Unitarian church epistles. Some did voluntarily undergo circ- secutions, they persisted. Many fled to the from which they originally hearkened; this cumcision, but it was never practiced as a mountains. Others left Transylvania altog- weakness, centuries later, proved to be a fatal community rule. gether, to seek refuge in Jewish communities. flaw and contributed to their extinction.] The observance of the Sabbath was at the Most maintained their faith secretly, even center of their faith. The Sabbatarians prep- within the ranks of the established churches. Distinction from Christianity pared for each Sabbath with “merry singing, In the face of fierce persecution from the They had still other beliefs that separated with prayer and cleaning.” They received larger Christian community, the Sabbatari- them from the rest of Christianity. The Sab-b each Sabbath as a wedding day. Women wore ians found solace in the Kingdom to come. batarians regarded themselves as Gentiles, white dresses. One observer of their comm- One hymn from The Old Sabbatarian Hymne “adopted” as sons of Abraham through faith munity wrote, nal expresses their hope under duress: in Messiah and obedience to the Torah. They believed that the New Testament must be On night when they glimpse the Then our liberty comes, for our peace, read in continuity with Torah, not as a first star shining from the direction of Jerusale We believe it firmly, thehour, replacement of Torah. They taught that the lem, they cease work, light the Sabbath candle When you retaliate and exact Torah must be studied day and night, so that in every window, and begin their .7 with high price one knows how to fulfill it. They recognized Every wrong and each wound. that no one could keep the Torah perfectly. They observed a Friday evening serv- And as replacement the holy city, Hence, according to their writings, they vice (ma’ariv), a morning ser-v which is enough, asked for forgiveness and mercy—that is, vice (shacha’rit), an afternoon prayer time We shall be allowed to rebuild;

messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA •  Then we shall never have to tremble again Before the executioner and hangman.

(Old Sabbatarian Hymnal)10 Simon Péchi After András Eössi died, the leadership of the movement passed to his heir Simon Péchi. Eössi had originally hired the brilliant young Simon Péchi to tutor his three sons. After the death of his sons, Eössi adopted Péchi as an heir. He sent Péchi abroad to study. Péchi became adept in twelve languages, includi- ing Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. He returned to Transylvania as an accomplished statesman and diplomat. After inheriting the wealth of Eössi, Péchi served as Secretary of State in the Government of Prince Bethlen. All this while he was a secret Sabbatarian studying Judaism. In 1621 Péchi fell out of More material from the archives related to the Sabbatarians favor with the prince, who removed him from office. Worse yet, the prince had him arrested and imprisoned in a dungeon, fettered in chains. While imprisoned, Péchi turned his If conversion had been his goal, he him-s was, “Do you know those who do not eat attention to matters of faith and committed self could have undergone the ceremony. pork, crabs, eels, scaleless turbots and gudg- himself to the study of the Scriptures. Instead, through his liturgical formulations, geons?”13 Anyone proven to have abstained Three and a half years, later Péchi emerged he encouraged the Sabbatarians to continue from work on Sabbath and festivals, to from prison committed to the advancement to regard themselves as Gentiles. Whenever have eaten matzah at Passover, to have of the illegal Sabbatarian faith. He acquired the conventional Jewish liturgy spoke in ethn- abstained from unclean meats, from infant a library of Judaica and began translating it nic or exclusive terms, Pechi altered the lang- baptism, from holy communion, or to have into Hungarian. He established a network guage to a form more appropriate for Gen-t avoided church were “each and every one of secret copyists, who carefully hand tran-s tiles. All of the hymns and liturgies concluded condemned to the loss of their life and scribed his translations, prayer books and with thanks to God for having brought them property.” The death penalty was usually books one at a time. Péchi produced more into truth and the practice of Torah by grafti- reduced to prison sentence, but not always. than 5,000 pages of theological writings. He ing them, the wild branches, into the ancient, The court sentenced more than one thous- translated Talmudic literature while produci- holy tree of His people.11 sand men to prison.14 “There was hardly ing copious commentaries on the Scriptures. chaining enough to forge chains for them,” In addition, he authored scores of new songs, Transylvanian Inquisition a contemporary chronicler wrote.15 hymns and liturgies for the Sabbatarians. By the third decade of the seventeenth cen-t Among the condemned, those who were Under Péchi’s leadership, the underground tury, there may have been between 15,000 alleged to speak blasphemy against “” movement flourished. Péchi, however, and 20,000 Sabbatarians, secretly or openly, were treated the most severely. For those seemed intent on minimizing the role of living out their convictions in Transylvania.12 imprisoned, the only way they could ever Yeshua within the Sabbatarian literature he If these numbers are correct, Sabbatarianism, be released was to consent to convert to produced. Building on the already deficient though illegal, was the fourth-largest religion one of the established churches. Even the Unitarian Christology, Péchi introduced a in the country. The Christian clergy appealed renowned Simon Péchi eventually acquie- general drift away from Yeshua-centeredness to the new prince to do something about the esced. After imprisonment and confiscation and toward mainstream Judaism. Péchi’s problem, so in 1635, Prince György Rákóczi of property, he and his family entered the own convictions about Messiah are somew- reinforced the old laws requiring Sabbatari- Reformed church. what uncertain. He continued to use the ians to renounce their faith and enter one of Rákóczi was a Calvinist himself. He sent New Testament and interpret observances in the four accepted state religions. out a commission to all the outlying villages light of Yeshua. Whether intentionally or not, Three years later, Rákóczi instigated a where Sabbatarianism was rooted, to press though, he laid the groundwork for a comp- sort of inquisition in which suspected Sabb- the locals to convert to the Reformed Church. plete and final theological abandonment of batarians were arrested and tried in court. The Sabbatarians disappeared, seemingly Yeshua by diminishing His role in faith, pract- By means of informants, testimony, cross- forever. In 1645, the Reformed Church bishop tice, liturgy and interpretation. examination and coerced confession, the Stephan Katona declared, “There is not one Despite his “Judaization” of the Sabbatari- court sought to identify practicing Sabb- of the Sabbatarians now in the whole country ian movement, Péchi did not consider con-v bath-keepers. In the court trials, the first left, unless they still keep themselves conc- version to Judaism an option for the Székely. question the authorities posed to witnesses cealed in secret somewhere.”16

 • messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA on Friday nights and remain bedridden all By the third decade of the seventeenth century, day Saturday. Miraculously, they suddenly recovered on Saturday night. there may have been between 15,000 and 20,000 It sometimes happened that a woman became Sabbatarian without her husband’s Sabbatarians, secretly or openly living out their consent. The story is told of a woman named convictions in Transylvania. Judith, the wife of a local governor. Every time she gave birth to a child, her husband sought to have the baby baptized, but Judith Concealed in Secret Whenever they were invited to dinner by a would not hear of it. Each time, her husband In actual fact, they were concealed in secret Christian family, they feared being betrayed had to steal the baby and have it baptized within the Reformed, Lutheran, Unitarian by their refusal to eat swine. They would behind her back. Judith insisted on bringing and even Catholic churches. Over the next usually give some excuse or another for why the children up as Sabbatarians, and when century, the government and clergy made they were not able to attend, or find thems- she found her daughter eating crab legs once, repeated attempts to flush them out. In one selves protesting that they were allergic to she had the girl flogged! The flogging appare- aggressive program to end the sect, the Catho- pig and rabbit. ently worked. Her daughter grew up to be an olic clergy stationed monks in the homes In order to remain inconspicuous, Sabb- ardent Sabbatarian. of everyone they suspected of practicing batarians attended church. When they did Sabbatarianism. Occasionally the persecut- so, they endeavored to avoid participating in Curses of the Sabbatarians tions were fierce, involving house to house objectionable practices. Crucifixes, rosaries One time a family suspected of being Sabb- searches and inquisition-styled trials. Hosts and icons they carried only when forced to bath-keepers was summoned to appear of Sabbatarians emigrated to other countries do so in church. At home they would never before the court of law. The judge asked the where they joined Jewish communities. Wave touch them. When a Sabbatarian died, the family why they did not work their fields on after wave of Transylvanian Sabbatarians fled community performed the funeral service in the Sabbath. They replied that their fields to Turkey. Those who remained often lost secret and only then sent for the local clergym- were repeatedly destroyed by hail when they their property to the state. The Sabbatarian man to perform last rites. worked them on Saturdays, and therefore faith became a religion of poor villagers and they vowed not to work the fields on Saturd- peasants. Every now and then they handed over to days, in order to avert the curse. The judges For the next two centuries, the sect con-t the clergyman an empty coffin or one filled were not convinced. They said to the accused tinued clandestinely. Unable to hold publ- with stones for the funeral, saying that the Sabbatarians, “Come to dinner tonight and lic Sabbath services, the Sabbatarians were coffin had to be nailed because of the intolee we will discuss it further.” The officials forced to meet in their own homes. Their erable smell of the corpse.19 planned to serve pork and unclean foods, in homes became houses of worship and study. order to expose their guests as Torah observ- They often built small chambers into their They refused to marry outside their faith. vant. The wary Sabbatarians suspected the homes where they kept their prayer books Sabbatarians married only Sabbatarians. If trick and sent two non-Sabbatarians to the and hymnals and held family services. “To it ever happened that a Sabbatarian took a meal in their stead. The court officials never each of their houses a hidden chamber was Christian wife, the woman had to first conv- noticed the swap. The non-Sabbatarians ate added, facing east and separated by a curtain. vert to Sabbatarianism and then take a sole- everything set before them, and the real Sabb- This is the prayer sanctuary,”17 one traveler emn oath to keep the religious practice of the batarians escaped conviction. 20 observed. On the festival days they congreg- house secret. When two Sabbatarians marr- Nevertheless, the Sabbatarians did not gated in the woods, caves and the mountains ried, they would allow the Christian church escape notice, and their history is a four- so that they could keep the feast days coll- that they attended outwardly to perform hundred-year chronicle of constant harassm- lectively. Like the home-schoolers of today’s the wedding, but they then sought out their ment and outright persecution by both state Jewish Roots movement, they removed their secret rabbi to officiate over their genuine and church. In the early nineteenth century, children from the church schools and taught vows. a small Sabbatarian community was disc- them at home. Because the men were often arrested, covered in the midst of a Sabbath service. The community leaders had the custom the Sabbatarian women were the enduring They were condemned in court, and their of never shaving their beards. This pract- strength of the movement, and they out- properties were ordered forfeit. Before their tice, however, made them easily identifia- numbered the men. They zealously maint- property could be seized, they went home able to the authorities. To avoid detection, tained the traditions and practices of Torah and on the very next Sunday, they spent the the community rotated the leadership every in the family and handed them on to the child- entire day performing the hardest of farm six weeks dren. They were responsible for keeping the labor, thereby publicly defying the Christian kitchen kosher. In fact, the Sabbatarian prefe- Sabbath. That night, they loaded their most …so that one is not long enough in the erence for goose fat, instead of pork lard, was valuable belongings on wagons and fled to office for the unshaved beard to be recogne often the telltale sign in pantry that revealed Turkey. 21 nized and thus betray to the Christians who the family’s faith. In order to avoid profaning In keeping with the broader context of the clergyman and butcher of the Sabbatarie the Sabbath, Sabbatarian women employed peasant Europe in general and Transylvanian ians was.18 as maids sometimes pretended to get sick Székley society in particular, the Sabbataria-

messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA •  The memorial wall at Bözödujfalú (Bezidu Nou) on the shores of the lake A landscape view of the Bozod district in Hungary near the ‘Sunken Village’ ans were, as a rule, very superstitious. Among he give birth to a calf.” steep mountains, near the Romanian border. their idiosyncrasies, they were careful never One winter evening Miklósi went out The Sabbatarians constituted a fourth of the to throw trash toward the east because that drinking and returned home completely local population. is the direction of Jerusalem. They fasted on inebriated. He passed out in his wife’s bed, For the few remaining Sabbatarians scatt- Wednesdays to break the power of evil spirits. where he fell into an unpleasant dream. He tered through Transylvanian, Bözödujfalú If a cow couldn’t be milked, they suspected dreamed that the curse was being fulfilled became a pilgrimage center during the that someone had sinned. Ghost stories and he was actually going through the painf- annual High Holidays. In addition to the abounded. Moreover, the Sabbatarians were ful travail of giving birth to a calf. He awoke fall festivals, there may have been another renowned for the power of their curses.22 in a cold sweat, horrified to see a new-born factor drawing the Sabbatarians to come In the early nineteenth century, the calf licking his foot. Unbeknownst to Miklósi, to Bözödujfalú. Since Sabbatarians did not dreaded Catholic clergyman, Alexander his cow had given birth during the night. marry outside of their sect, the dwindling Czinczéri, used to force suspected Sabbat- While he slept, his wife had brought the new- numbers made finding a mate very diff- tarians to work on Saturdays. On Sundays, born calf into the house because of the cold ficult. The beauty of the daughters of the he sent henchman to go from house to house temperatures outside. Seeing the new-born Bözödujfalú was legendary. “Beautiful as the and drag the suspected Sabbatarians to mass, calf, the disoriented Miklósi believed that he women of Bözöd,” a Székely proverb said.25 where he forced them to make the sign of the had given birth to a calf. To conceal the matt- The Sabbatarian daughters of Bözödujfalú cross throughout the entire service. When he ter, he carried the calf outside and threw it were available for marriage only to other could prove a person to be a Sabbath-keeper, into an open well. The next morning, as his Sabbatarians, or occasionally to members of he had the person inhumanely punished. wife searched in vain for the new-born calf, neighboring Jewish communities if any eli-g Ordinarily, the Sabbatarians tried to pray Miklósi took her aside and said confident- gible Jewish bachelors were available. Such for their enemies and persecutors as Mess- tially, “Wife, the curse of the Sabbatarians marriages did take place, but no Jewish bride siah instructed, but in the case of Alexander, has overtaken me. I bore a calf in the night ever married a Sabbatarian. The neighboring some Sabbatarians laid a terrible curse on and in order to hide my shame, I threw it in Jews discounted the Sabbatarians as “bats.” him. “May he be unable to die, let worms eat the well.” Just as a bat is neither a bird nor a mouse, but him alive.” It came to pass that as Czinczéri Greatly amused at her husband’s folly, something in between, so too, the Sabbatari- was preaching violently against the “Judaize- Mrs. Miklósi told the tale all around the vill- ians were neither Jew nor Christian. ers” he was overcome by a sudden agonizing lage. The villagers teased Miklósi so merci-l On December 22, 1867, the Hungarian attack. He did not die, but lived on suffering lessly about the matter that he had to give House of Lords proclaimed the emancipat- in agony. After enduring the agony for some up his office and leave public society. They tion of the Jews, officially and legally recog-n time, he called for the Sabbatarian rabbi to say he spent the remainder of his days lonely nizing the Jewish religion. Now under the come to his bedside. He begged his pardon and joyless.24 Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Jewish people and implored him to take back the curse. The of Transylvania were allowed full citizenship rabbi, however, did not want to rescind it and Bözödujfalú in the empire. Against all odds and after 230 would not. Perhaps he could not.23 Throughout the eighteenth century, the Sabb- years of hiding, the Sabbatarians stepped forw- In the Bözöd district, police commissioner batarians continued to hide out in the midst ward from each of the four accepted Christ- Paul Miklósi also fell under the power of the of the Christian community. Their numbers tian religions and asked to be recognized for dreaded Sabbatarian curse. He was a cruel grew progressively smaller. The largest conc- legal purposes as Jewish. As Jews they could persecutor, who used to force suspected Sabb- centration of Sabbatarians to survive into the enjoy state protection. Most of the Sabbataria- batarians to do public road work on Saturd- nineteenth century, were centered in and ans quickly melded into the emerging Jewish days. After this had gone on for some time, around Bözödujfalú, a nearly inaccessible communities throughout the empire. the Sabbatarians on the road crew said, “May village tucked away in a valley surrounded by Several families in Bözödujfalú, under

 • messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA Ráduly, began an urgent rescue mission. The Sabbatarian communities never recovered after Forging documents, baptismal certificates and other records, he began rescuing Sabbat- World War II. … they faded into greater Judaism and tarians from the Gestapo at Marosvásárhely. He came to be known as the “priest of the disappeared from history. A few aging Sabbatarians Jews.” In the 1930s he had been a boxer, and remained at Bözödujfalú and carried on their traditions. even as a priest, he retained the fighting post- ture. He was known to baptize Jews and Sabb- batarians without their consent, simply so the influence of itinerant Chassidic rabbis, Some did. Those that acquiesced and re-con-v that he could fill out baptismal certificates went through ritual conversion to Judaism.26 verted were forced to burn the Bözödujfalú in good conscience.31 Others in the village followed. Unfortunately, synagogue to the ground.29 In the end, they Local anecdote tells of one occasion when the diminished Unitarian Christology of the were still rounded up for the ghetto along he presented papers to the SS guards at the Sabbatarians, further minimized by the writi- with those who refused to recant. Transylv- camp petitioning for the release of several ings of Simon Péchi and the long years of vanian Sabbatarians and Jews found them-s Jews and Sabbatarians. The SS guard, with Christian animosity, made their transition selves together in the brick factory of Marosv- gun in hand, tried to dismiss the priest. easy. Most of the Sabbatarians of Bözöduj- vásárhely.30 Ráduly grabbed the SS officer’s hand and jfalú did not hesitate to convert to become As the deportations to Aushwitz began, gun and pointed the weapon at his own Jewish proselytes, most probably renouncing the local priest of Bözödujfalú, Father head saying, “Either shoot me or let these Yeshua. They constructed a synagogue that they called the Israelite Congregation of the Proselytes. Five Bözödujfalú families refused to convert, presumably because they would not renounce the Master.27 They elected their own rabbi and remained fastidiously Torah observant alongside the new “Jewish” com-m munity of Bözödujfalú. Even after converting to Judaism, those Sabbatarians who had converted retained customs practiced by earlier generations of their sect that betrayed New Testament influence. For example, the early Sabbatari- ians ardently hoped for the return of Mess- siah. They interpreted the Master’s words in Matthew 24:27, “As the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be,” to mean that Messiah would come in the midst of a thunderstorm. Based upon that belief, they had the unusual custom of opening the doors and windows of their homes during thunderstorms and chanting, “Open up, O Lord, Open up to us Your everlasting doors of mercy! Send us, O send us the promised Mess- siah.” A visitor to the Bözödujfalú reported the Sabbatarians there still practicing the thunderstorm ritual even after their conv- version.28 During the World Wars World War I changed the lives of all Hungari- ians, transforming them into an oppressed minority under Romanian rule. When the Nazis’ Jewish deportation orders came duri- ing World War II, the Sabbatarians were included. They were told that if they would renounce their faith and return to one of the The remains of the at the flooded village of Bözödujfalú (Bezidu Nou) recognized churches they would be spared.

messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA •  Most importantly, the story of the Transylvanian Sabbatarians reminds us that we are not alone on the journey of Torah. There have been others before us and will be others yet after us “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.” men go!”32 Due to his boldness and tenac-i Lessons for Today take this path, though, you can do so know-i ity Father Ráduly was able to save seventy The modern Jewish Roots movement can ing that others like yourself have walked this of the Bözödujfalú Sabbatarians and many learn a great deal from the long, sad story of way before. Jews. Those that were not so fortunate were the Sabbatarians of Transylvania. The Sabbat- Endnotes deported to Auschwitz.33 tarians were able to hold on to their identity, 1 Judit Gellérd, “Spiritual Jews of Szekler Jeru-s despite fierce persecution, for almost four salem: A Four-Centuries History of Transylvan- The Sunken Village centuries. Generations of church persecut- nian Szekler Sabbatarianism,” (Unpublished The Sabbatarian communities never recove- tion were unable to extinguish the flame of paper online at http://w3.enternet.hu/san-d dor64/cffr/papers/sabbat.htm) ered after World War II. For the most part, Sabbatarian faith, but a few generations of 2 Samuel Kohn, The Sabbatarians In Transylev they faded into greater Judaism and disapp- conversion into Judaism managed to snuff vania. (Woden Act, Australia: Christian peared from history. A few aging Sabbatari- them out of existence. Churches of God, 1998), 41. ians remained at Bözödujfalú and carried We should learn from them the danger of 3 Kohn, 158. on their traditions. In the 1980s, the comm- a weak Christology that will make us vulnera- 4 Kohn, 106. munist government of Romania tightened able to conversion, assimilation into greater 5 Separation of meat and dairy by the Sabba-t the repression of minorities, particularly Judaism and extinction. If we are not delib-e tarians is unlikely in their early years, but in religious minorities. Many ethnic and relig- erate in defining our identity squarely in later generations they did so. 6 Kohn, 79. gious minorities were displaced from their Yeshua, we face the same danger. Even if 7 Gellerd quoting Mor Jokai’s novel Egy az Isten farms, put to work in factories and housed we do not disappear into the mainstream of [God is One]. in crowded apartment buildings while their Jewry, perhaps our children will. We need to 8 Kohn, 105. villages were bulldozed. In the year 1988 impart to them the centrality of Yeshua. 9 Kohn, 88. the dictatorship terminated the village of Similarly, the Sabbatarian legacy demons- 10 Kohn, 91. Bözödujfalú. Communist President Ceause- strates the ability to maintain faith-continui- 11 Kohn, 173. See Romans 11. escu wanted Hungarian ethnicity perman- ity even while within denominational Christ- 12 Kohn, 173. nently erased. He hired the local inhabita- tianity. If we were in such a situation, would 13 Kohn, 167. ants to build a dam across the village creek, we have the resolve to stay faithful, or would 14 Gellerd. ostensibly for flood control. In reality, he had the lull of the mainstream slowly erode our 15 Kohn, 187. no intention of ever opening the dam. When commitment? 16 Kohn, 201. the villagers realized that the dam was actua- The story of the Sabbatarians should make 17 Gellerd quoting Mor Jokai Egy az Isten [God ally designed for the destruction of their vill- us wonder about our own convictions. Are is One]. lage, they revolted and sabotaged the proje- our convictions deep enough to identify ours- 18 Kohn, 222. ect. Ceausescu sent in soldiers to finish the selves with the Jewish people even if it means 19 Kohn, 223. job quickly. The synagogue, the churches, facing persecution from the rest of Christia- 20 Kohn, 208. 21 Kohn, 207–208. the houses, the farms and the village streets anity? Theirs were. Are our convictions deep 22 Kohn, 228; Gellerd. all disappeared under an artificial lake that enough to sustain us and our descendents 23 Kohn, 213. served no purpose, other than to erase the for generations despite all adversity? Theirs 24 Kohn, 214. last evidence of the Sabbath-keepers of Trans- were. Maybe their story should make us ask 25 Kohn, 229. sylvania. ourselves, “Do we really want to get involved 26 András Kovács, “The Impact of the Pilgrim Today the ruins of a few churches can be in this Torah thing?” Hasidic Rabbis Upon the Development of the seen protruding from the water. On the shore Think about it carefully. It means changi- Transylvanian Sabbatarians at the End of the of the artificial lake stands a memorial wall, a ing everything. The food you eat, the clothes 19th Century” (Unpublished paper). sort of Bözödujfalú “Wailing Wall,” decorated you wear, the company you keep, the day you 27 Gellerd. with a shuttered window to represent a village worship, the holidays you celebrate, your 28 Gellerd. house. Below the window, religious symbols family, your faith, your fellowship—everyt- 29 Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, “Sabbatarianism.” on the wall represent each of four faiths that thing. There is not an aspect of life Yeshua 30 Gellerd. were once practiced in the village: a Catholic does not make a demand upon and that the 31 Gellerd. cross, a Unitarian chalice, an Orthodox patria- Torah does not in some way touch. And what 32 Mark Nauth, unpublished interview with archal cross, and a Sabbatarian star of David. is more, the journey of Torah has been known Hungarian Unitarians. On a nearby hillside, the fading tombstones to make unscheduled stops at unpleasant 33 Ge‑llerd. in the Sabbatarian cemetery are the last test- places—Auschwitz, Dachau, Buchenvald 34 Béla Pomogáts, “Jews by Choice,” Hungarian tament to their presence.34 and Treblinka, to name a few. If you decide to Quarterly, Vol. XLII, No. 163, Autumn 2001.

 • messiah magazine SUPPLEMENT • THE SABBATARIANS OF TRANSLALVANIA