VIKTOR KANÁSZ–GYÖRGY SÁGI (ed.): Centuries of Archdiocese Colocensis (CST I/6), Budapest 2024. 267 p.
The present volume contains the studies based on the presentations given at the IX Fraknói Summer Academy, held in Kalocsa from August 3 to 5, 2023. Its focus is on a key topic related to the Vatican research of the Fraknói Research Group, namely the history of dioceses. A unique aspect of the book is that the editorial work was independently carried out by two young members of the Research Group, who also arranged the writings into cycles and created the chapter titles.
The section "The Path to the Archbishop's Throne" features three papers. First, András Forgó examines to what extent the rise of Imre Csáky and Imre Esterházy was a unique phenomenon and how much it reflected the career patterns of the time. We also receive an answer as to why, although Csáky was a cardinal, Esterházy became the Primate of Hungary. Tamás Tóth, in the framework of his 18th-century process-project, presents and analyzes the processes of Miklós Csáky in Várad, Kalocsa, and Esztergom. These valuable prosopographical sources complement and refine the biography of this high-ranking church figure. György Sági guides the reader through the difficulties surrounding the filling of the archbishop’s seat that became vacant after the death of Count Gyula Zichy in 1942, and outlines the resignation of Gyula Glattfelder, Bishop of Csanád, before he could even take the archbishop’s chair.
The chapter "Conflict and Persecution" begins with a piece by Tamás Fedeles, offering a glimpse into the power struggles of the early Jagiellonian era through the conflicts between Péter Váradi, Archbishop of Kalocsa-Bács (†1501), and Lőrinc Újlaki, Duke of Bosnia (†1524). Through the royal punitive expedition against them in 1494/95 and the temporary confiscation of their estates, King Vladislaus II consolidated his power as an example. The establishment of royal control over the archdiocese and its estates, which were vital for defense against the Ottomans, was a significant development for the security of the country. The second study contrasts the internal political world of the Renaissance with the atmosphere of 20th-century state socialism. After the Váradi era, the Grősz era comes into focus. Andor Lakatos presents the story of the persecution of Károly Gombos and his associates. The August 1951 trial of Gombos and his colleagues, leading officials of the archbishop's court, was a side branch of the Grősz trial. The subchapter highlights the fabricated charges, including the case of the sale of the "Kalocsa Codex" and other incunabula, and follows the fate of the five convicted priests.
In the third chapter, Béla Mihalik recalls the infamous events of the 1919 Red Terror in Kalocsa, based on the recollections of Elemér Csávossy, a Jesuit (†1972), and other religious sources. Csávossy wrote his memoirs four decades later in 1962 at Pannonhalma, primarily reflecting on events closely related to him, such as his May 1, 1919, speech and the subsequent retaliations after the suppression of the Dunamellék uprising against the proletarian dictatorship. Norbert Csibi analyzes the speeches of Archbishop Gyula Zichy. He presents Zichy's Lenten sermons from the 1920s and 1930s, examining how the archbishop responded to the crises and tensions of his time, and how he engaged with significant domestic and international issues.
The final chapter follows the periodization of the previous section, evoking both the Middle Ages and the 20th century. Fanni Hende examines one of the breviaries from the Kalocsa Cathedral Library, originally a two-volume psalter copied in the 14th century. In the latter half of the 15th century, this two-volume codex was split and recompiled into a single-volume manuscript by joining the sections containing the feasts of the saints. The study presents the traces and process of the re-editing, along with the underlying liturgical changes. The other author of the chapter, Adél Lakatos, reconstructs Archbishop György Császka's (†1904) rich art collection based on written and visual sources. This collection, previously unknown to art historians, was auctioned in 1905, and much of it was scattered. Only a small portion remains in Kalocsa.