Periods of the Hungarian Bible

For its daily reader, the Bible is like air: the maintainer of life, the essential aid for "survival" day by day - and (unfortunately), like air, something so accustomed and natural that its real value would only be discovered if we were abruptly deprived of it. Owing to our often-mentioned frailty, we can get used to, and , if we do not take care, tired of everything (good and bad alike).
This essay is meant to help you remember some facts well known from religious instruction at school, which, by the help of God's Spirit, make the Bible an unparalleled treasure for us. Let us, therefore, recall together the history of the Hungarian Bible, with a survey of the epochs of its transmission. The first period began in 1590 with the Vizsoly Bible of Gáspár Károli, senior pastor at Gönc. We must know however, that some books of the Bible had been translated even before him. This first period lasted for around 300 years, and Károli's work was often revised and published by such men of profound faith and excellent scholarship as Albert Szenczi Molnár and Miklós Misztótfalusi Kis, to mention just the most outstanding ones. This period was characterized by the exemplary commitment of certain individuals to the cause of the Bible, a sacred obsession which increased the energy of Károli and his co-workers, and made of Misztótfalusi a world famous printer endeavoring to make the text of the Scripture better and more easily legible. These first three hundred years of the complete Hungarian Bible teach us to appreciate the work of single men. And if we often feel today that we unable to do this work alone, we should pray God's Spirit for the disposition and endurance of a Károli and a Miszttótfalusi Kis. But it can be rightly asked: why was the cause of the Bible devoid of an instructional background at that time? The accidental, or rather providential, emergence of supporters at home and abroad provided some security for the enterprises of individuals.
The second period started about the middle of the 19th century, when the European mission of the British and Foreign Bible Society (founded in 1804) undertook the publishing, distribution and even revision of the Hungarian Bible. The revised text of the Károli Bible, which is still read today by a great many believers, was made and published by a Commission of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1906. Even in this period there were some valuable undertakings of certain individuals,for example, the translation made by Sándor Czeglédy Sen., but the British and Foreign Bible Society supplied the institutional background. The third period began in 1948 with the forced departure of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The radical changes in the political situation made the functioning of a British missionary society impossible in Hungary. Thus the right and obligation of the edition and distribution of the Hungarian Bible had to be overtaken by the greatest Protestant church in the country, the Reformed Church in Hungary. The task was performed in an ecumenical spirit. In 1949, at the initiative of the Reformed Church, the Hungarian Bible Council was founded with the participation of six Protestant churches and the Hungarian Orthodox Church. The Hungarian Bible Council also dealt with the question of a new revision of the Károli-text, but finally it decided to make an entirely new translation of the Hebrew and Greek originals and to continue publishing the unchanged edition of the Károli Bible too. The new Hungarian Bible translation was published, after a work of 20 years, by the Christmas of 1975, then, as the result of a work of some eight years, the revision of this new translation could also be printed. This was published in 1990 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Vizsoly Bible, and it was presented to the public at an ecumenical festivity in Debrecen on 31st October 1990.
We tend to speak about this third period with perhaps excessive modesty. But if we do not look at human achievements, we have ample reason to give thanks to God who made us of men for the mediation of His Word. As it is shown by the above short summary, the Protestant churches of Hungary, as the churches of God's Word, have provided an institutional background for the publication and distribution of the Hungarian Bible under very difficult circumstances. It is, however, a historical fact, bearing witness to the omnipotence of God, that these last 40 years and more - which are mainly remembered for their omissions and damages- have brought about a unique achievement in the history of the Hungarian Bible: the churches of the Reformation and the Hungarian Orthodox Church undertook and performed the translation, publication and distribution of the Bible in Hungarian, with the fraternal help of the United Bible Societies. (We all know that the edition of the Bible had compulsory limitations and that a great many Bibles were imported from abroad, but within the possibilities given, we never abandoned the right of publishing the Bible). A further task of research will be to describe and assess the work of the Hungarian Bible Council and to write a history of new Hungarian Bible translating.
October 26, 1992 will probably mark the beginning of a fourth period, if we admit that the institutional background is also suited to some sort of subdivision. In 1991, the Hungarian Bible Council established the Hungarian Bible Foundation, which became, in 1992, the basis of the Hungarian Bible Society with eleven member churches already and with internationally approved statutes. In this way, an institutional framework is given for the long-term service of the Hungarian Bible in an ecumenical spirit. The property we have to manage is not insignificant: we have 20 types of edition of the Károli Bible and the new Hungarian Bible to be distributed among a larger and larger circle of readers. In the '90's we started a regular twice-a-year fundraising campaign to support the work of the Hungarian Bible Society among the Christian communities within and outside the borders of Hungary.
Sacred obsession of individuals and an institutional background: the history of the Hungarian Bible documents the importance of these two factors. I wish both would be present at once and with the same force, perhaps right now, in the fourth period of the history of the Hungarian Bible.

Rev. Kálmán Tarr
Deputy General Secretary (General Secretary of the HBS between 1976-2003)