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In Hungarian kingdom and Habsburg monarchy

After the fall of Great Moravia in 906 the whole Slavon metropolis gradually disappeared. It took from two to three centuries till the territory with Slav inhabitants integrated into the newly formed Hungary, in which it preserved for almost one thousand years. The part of the territory, where in the 9th century the Pribina principality was situated, remained the historical core of the Slovak country. Teofilaktos (933 – 956), the Byzantine patriarch, sent Bulgarian monks to Hungary to maintain the liturgy language as well as the whole Eastern Rite. The first bishop of Hungary – Hieroteos, was one of those who came as a response.
The territory of the present-day Slovakia, as integrated into the Hungarian kingdom, was gradually falling into the sphere of prevailing influence of the Western Church. In the 10th to 12th century the territory of present-day Slovakia was covered with a net of Benedictine, Cistercian and Premonstratesian monasteries that were centers of cultural and economic development.
During the reign of the first Hungarian king Stephen I (1000 – 1038) a whole-Hungarian state organization was formed, in many areas referring to the former Great Moravian one. It characterizes best its reign that thanks to his christianization efforts and credits, Stephen I was canonized in the end of the 11th century. The state as a whole was built as a European Christian state with Latin as its both official and liturgical language. It represented the eastern border of a Latin-Catholic civilization sphere. The Hungarian church province had two archdioceses; the majority of Slovak territory was under the authority of the archdiocese with the seat in Esztergom, eastern Slovakia fell under the Eger diocese. In the beginning of the 12th century the Nitra diocese was restored. There is a historically supported existence of Jewish religious communities in the territory of Slovakia in the beginning of the 11th century. The number of them rose especially after the expelling of Jews from Bohemia and Moravia in the second half of the 11th century.
Hussite movement in Bohemia met with its responds also in Slovakia, especially because of the persisting conflict between the Hussites and king Zigmund. They found him the archenemy and the cause why Jan Hus was burned at stake. In 1428 – 1432 the Hussite armies made several rides to Slovakia and captured a number of fortified castles and towns. Hussite ideas met with a certain respond especially among townsmen, poor squires and the town poverty. Hussite preachers performed here as well, though, the Hussite movement did not get a vast public support. The main reason for that was that Hussite armies tried to economically ruin the kingdom of their archenemy as much as possible. They demolished several villages and some towns; that is why the people had justifiable fear of the Hussites.
In the times of the battles between Habsburgs and the aristocracy, accompanied by the pressure of the strong Osman Empire and the battle of reformation against antireformation, Slovakia became a core of the Habsburg Hungary. Pressburg became its capital as the town where the meeting of concilium and coronation of Hungarian kings took place.
The enlightened absolutism exercised by the Habsburgs in the 18th century brought the interference of kings into the internal business of church. In 1723, emperor Carl VI forbade religious institutions to gather estates. Maria Theresia established state inspection over the administration of church and monastery property. The profit of church foundations was transferred for the benefit of army and public education system. Joseph II even issued decrees, which referred to liturgical issues. He closed down contemplative monasteries the property of whose he used when creating new parishes through land religious funds. During the reign of emperor Joseph II, clergy became a subject to secular courts. “Tolerance patent” from 1781 became valid.
In 1848, a constitution, which guaranteed freedom of religion and conscience, became valid in Austrian monarchy. A process of church emancipation started in the society. The 1855 concordat made Catholic Church achieve vast autonomy in several areas of its action. In 1870, the concordat was terminated by the Austrian state because of approval of dogma on infallibility of Pope at the First Vatican Council. In 1874, the government passed a law on the reform of the outside relationships of Catholic Church, which repeatedly consolidated the relations between the Holy See and the monarchy. A parity relationship between Catholic Church and state was generally accepted. The same stance was taken by state towards non-Catholics as well.
Hungarian legal law differentiated among churches recipated by law, recognized by law and not recognized by law. The basic difference in the position they held was based on a principle that prerogative and state help and support was in full scale provided only to recipated churches, while the recognized churches were practically treated as private law associations. Not recognized churches were not even treated as private law entities and were imposed to regulations of public gathering. The March revolution in 1848 legitimatized complete equality of all recipated churches, when the XX/1848 regulation made state to meet the costs and necessities of churches and schools of recipated churches. The rudimental legal regulation framing the attitude of state towards religion was the XLIII/1895 regulation. By its issuing the church-political development in Hungarian legislature reached its climax before 1918. The character of the reform was basically identical to Austrian regulations. The former regulations about all recognized churches and religious associations remained valid.

D 3 October 2012    AMichaela Moravcikova

CNRS Unistra Dres Gsrl

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