HUNGARY
553
HUNGARY
able opportunity to the Lutheran Reformation.
The new religion gained arlherents especially in the
cities where the bishops had been obliged to give the
management of ecclesiastical affairs to others; the
control had thereby passed into the hands of the city
authorities, who in the course of time claimed for
themselves the right of patronage. Luther's German
writings soon found a ready reception among the
inhaljitants of the cities, and before long Lutheran
preachers appeared; these came largely from Silesia,
which had active intercourse with Hungary, antl soon
settled even in Buda and in the neighbourhood of
the king. Exceedingly severe laws were passed by
the Hungarian Diets of 1523 and 1525 against Luthe-
rans; in 1523 the penalty of death and loss of property
was enacted, and in 1525 the Diet condemned Luthe-
rans to death at the stake. Owing to these laws
Lutheranism did not gain much headway in Hungary
extended into the other parts of this division of the
country. In western Hungary, on the farther side of
the Danube, larger or smaller centres of Lutheranism
sprang up under the protection of the nobility and
distinguished families. These beginnings of the new
doctrine grew rapidly under such encouragement.
Catholicism in Hungary was not in a position to oppose
this movement at the outset; a properly trained
clergy were lacking, on account of the difficulties in
the way of education caused by the political confusion.
In the first decades there was no open rupture be-
tween the Catholic and Lutheran Churches, out-
wardly everything was Catholic, confession remained
unchanged, and at the most Communion under both
species was introduced, so that there was little appar-
ent distinction between the two religions.
The Turkish occupation of Buda, in 1541, was a great blow to the Church in Hungary. A large part of
liOY.^L Castle, Buda
before 1526. However, in the confusion which fol-
lowed the death of Louis II, the new religion steadily
gained ground.
(2) From the Battle nf MnMes to the Trenly of SzotmAr {1530-1711). — Upon the death of Louis 11, Hungary was once more a prey to disputes over the succession. Ferdinand of Austria claimed the crown on the ground of a compact between the Kmperor Maximilian and Wladislaw II, while the national party elected John Zapolya as king. To these two opposing element.s should he added the Ottoman power, which after the conquest of Buda (1541) ruled a large part of the land. The main result of the triple political division of Himgary was the almost complete disappearance of public order and of the systematic conduct of affairs; another was the evident decline of Catholicism and the rapid advance of the Reformation. The growth of the new religion was evident soon after the battle of Mohdcs. It was encouraged by the existing politi- cal conditions of Hungary: the dispute over the suc- cession, with the accompanying civil war; the lack of a properly educated Catholic clergy; the transfer of a large amount of church land to the laity; and the claims made by both aspirants to the throne upon the episcopal domains. The foreign armies and their leaders, sent by Ferrlinand I to Hungary, also aided in the spread of the new doctrine, which first appeared in the mountain towns of upper Hungary and then
the country was now under Turkish sovereignty;
Mohammedanism gained a footing in these districts,
and the bishops and chapters had to withdraw. The
churches gained by the Turks were changed into
mosques, and Mohammedan preachers settled in the
country. The faith of Islam, however, did not take
real hold on the p<)i)\ilation; conversions were rela-
tively few. On the other hand, the Turkish occupa-
tion promoted Protestantism both directly and in-
directly. During this period Protestantism entered
Transylvania and soon gained ascendancy there.
The Hungarian Diets of 1542, 1544, and 1548 passed
far-reaching enactments for the protection of the
Catholic Faith, such as banishment of the foreign
preachers, the return of the sequestrated church lands,
etc., but, owing to the confused state of public affairs,
these laws were not carried out. Besicles Lutheran-
ism, Calvinism also took root in Hungary at this time,
and from 1547 were added the teachings of the Ana-
baptists, who won adlierents in the western counties
of upper Hungary anti in Transylvania. In 1556 the
districts on the farther side of the Theiss accepted
the Reformed religion. The revival of the Catholic
Church began under Nicholas Olahus, .Archbishop of
Gran (1553-6S), who for this purpose held a national
synod in 1561. He founded a seminary for boys at
Nagy-Szombat (Tyrnau), and put the Jesuits in
charge of it. His example was followed by other
