Paper short abstract:

Using the example of religious fraternities in early modern Moravia, the paper reflects on the role of clergy as their representatives of the fraternity in confrontation with the activities resulting from the primary role of the priest concerned.

Paper long abstract:

One of the constitutive functions of religious confraternities from their very beginning, and even more so in the early modern period, was funeral service. Rather than the necessary functions of provision and burial itself, this is about everything else, the extra. This includes the registration of the deceased members of the fraternities as a necessary condition for commemoration, but also the presentation of the fraternity itself, as well as the actual form of the funeral with the participation of the fraternity or even fraternities, including the eventual deposition. Using the example of religious fraternities in Moravia between ca. 1490 and 1850, the paper reflects on the role of clergy as representatives of fraternities, implementers of spiritual functions resulting from participation in the running of the fraternity (i.e. functions that are particularly paid) in confrontation with the activities resulting from the primary role of the priest concerned (member of the religious community, parish priest, assistant priest).

Paper short abstract:

The paper focus on the question of how clerics in the estates of the Prince of Liechtenstein provided for the spiritual needs of the Prince’s subjects, not only in everyday and routine situations, but also in moments of life crisis (e.g. by providing the sick and dying with the sacraments).

Paper long abstract:

The reform of the Catholic clergy initiated by the Council of Trent emphasized the importance of the practical exercise of the care of souls (cura animarum). The ideal priest should, following the example of Christ - the good shepherd, take responsible care of his "sheep" - the parishioners. Through willingly provided pastoral care, he was supposed to help them not only on the way to eternal salvation, but also in specific life situations - both the everyday and the extraordinary, in which people experienced the uncertainty of their existence. The paper will focus on the question of how the parish clergy actually performed pastoral care, based on the analysis of reports on clerics working in the 1760s in the Moravian and Silesian estates of the Prince of Liechtenstein. These reports prepared by the Prince’s officials mostly contain only a very brief and general assessment of the performance of pastoral care by the given priest; some of them also explicitly mention specific pastoral duties (preaching, catechesis, administering the sacraments). Despite their brevity, the studied records provide an interesting insight into religious services offered by the lower clergy from the perspective of the owner of the estate, who was also the patron of local parishes. They prove that the patron, together with his officials, closely supervised how the clerics provided for the spiritual needs of his subjects, not only in everyday and routine situations, but also in moments of life crisis (e.g. by providing the sick and dying with the sacraments).

Paper short abstract:

One aftermath of the Hungarian revolution in 1848/49 was the foundation of Courts with fast (and cruel) judgements. This case study shows the reaction of the parish priest of Csongrád regarding the death sentences, even if it was highly dangerous on his own life too.

Paper long abstract:

One of the major duties of priesthood in the past was the spiritual protection of the community, mainly against dangers with presumably transcendental origins (e.g. weather-extremities) or more-or-less „wordly” difficulties (e.g. flood, starvation, wars). The scope of this responsibility is wide, the boundaries are fluid: usually actual incidents modify the range of sufficient methods. It also means that the stories, which are connected to this function, could be quite different from priest to priest, depending on actual happenings, political changes or societal situations.

In my paper I intend to analyze the critical attitude of a Roman Catholic parish priest against an actual state law, which was deeply doubtful regarding fundamental human rights, and incompatible with the norms and values of the community in question.

The consequences of the lost Hungarian revolution in 1848/1849 – which tried to overthrow the Habsburg regime–, were painful and humiliating on several ways. One aftermath was the strict persecution of lancemen, which led to the foundation of Courts with unprecedently fast, superficial and surprisingly cruel judgements. In Csongrád, on the 19th of March, 1853, nine people were sentenced to death because they spent their time in a the same tavern with a wanted lanceman. Their death shocked the community of the town: the executed men were mainly family men with reputable circumstances, without previous infringements. The reaction of parish priest Lajos Virter clearly expressed the common opinion and represented his own judgement regarding the inhuman secular laws.

Paper short abstract:

Drawn on historical sources of plague and cholera epidemics (18-19 c.) in Hungary, the paper highlights ecclesiastic medicine in general crisis management. Historical data are contrasted with the findings of recent ethnographic research on clerical responses to the challenges of COVID-19.

Paper long abstract:

My preliminary investigations on the 18th century medical realities of the Pécs Episcopal See (Hungary) proved that epidemics, and especially plague, stood out among contemporary illness categories in many respects. As the thorough examination of contemporary official plague regulations issued by the Habsburg imperial administration revealed, the Roman Catholic Church not only cooperated with the state authorities in carrying out preventive and defensive measures but offered a large scale of spiritual remedies against the plague. The methods of sacred medicine were ranging from miracle working images, saints’ relics, amulets and various sacramentalia, through prayers and benedictions, to miracle cures and processions all aiming to cure both body and soul.

Drawn on the rich repository of historical sources on the 18th century plague and the 19th century cholera epidemics sweeping through the territory of the Pécs Bishopric, among which the protocols of miraculous healings at local Marian shrines and the archival material of several Franciscan friaries are highlighted, the paper introduces the approaches of the members of the Roman Catholic clergy in both collective and individual crisis management. Furthermore, the paper contrasts historical data with the findings of recent ethnographic research on the clerical responses to the challenges of COVID-19.

Paper long abstract:

In the Spanish monarchy, from the 16th century, we come across more and more inquisition trials in which witnesses testify about rites, magic circles, and summoned demons for the purpose of treasure hunting. Although in the 17th century, increasing number of fraudulent adventurers posing as priests appear in the sources, even during the time of the peasant revolt in the Principality of Catalonia, in the 1640s, we encounter the "classic" scenario of treasure hunting: a healing priest tries to capture some kind of demon under the pressure of the community and push him to find the buried treasure. In my paper, I would like to present an inquisition trial, in which several manuscript texts used for the treasure hunt can be found. With the help of contemporary Spanish and Sicilian examples and sources, I present the books used by the lower clergy of that period for magical treasure hunting, their spread, and also the historical context of the Catalan case, the uncertain atmosphere generated by the peasant revolt.

Paper short abstract:

The paper focuses on the religious forms of healing in the 18th century. The authors examine three seemingly separate topics: cases of posthumous magic (vampirism), apparitions of the souls of the dead (revenants) and miraculous healings through images and other sacred objects.

Paper long abstract:

The paper focuses on the religious forms of healing (of the soul and body) in the period before the middle of the 18th century, when there was a change of sensitivity towards this phenomenon. Using examples from the Czech lands, the authors examine three seemingly separate topics: cases of posthumous magic (vampirism), apparitions of the souls of the dead (revenants) and miraculous healings through images and other sacred objects. These topics are linked by the question of so-called spiritual medicine and its relevance in the 18th-century society. In all cases, interaction between church representatives - parish clergy, members of religious orders, officials of episcopal consistories - and, gradually, secular authorities played a crucial role. The authors show, among other things, the pivotal role of the lower clergy, who provided spiritual and material comfort in the local context, actively intervened in the investigations, or questioned witnesses. They often supported practices that were gradually perceived as problematic by both church and secular authorities. This paper presents the results of three research projects, namely on posthumous magic on the Moravian-Silesian border, revenants in the Czech lands in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the role of images in Central European culture in the 18th century.

Paper short abstract:

In my planned presentation, I would like to show how the authorities tried to restrict the activities of these places and the clergy serving there, by giving examples from Hungary during the communist takeover after the Second World War and during the period of socialism.

Paper long abstract:

For centuries, shrines and pilgrimages have been the main venues for dealing with individual or collective crises and for healing the body. Visits to these places, and involvement in the events that take place there, also play an important role in the event of/after historical and social crises. In my planned presentation, I would like to show how the authorities tried to restrict the activities of these places and the clergy serving there, by giving examples from Hungary during the communist takeover after the Second World War and during the period of socialism. I would like to place special emphasis on the analysis of the propaganda against shrines, pilgrimages and holy wells located there, and the main motives behind it. I will also look at the reactions of the faithful and their priests. The sources of my research are archival documents, Historia Domus of the settlements, press publications and historical monograph of shrines.

Paper short abstract:

Absolution prayers and the anointing of the sick are weekly held in the monastery of Nicula. The rituals are frequently misinterpreted even by the Orthodox participants. Oil and flour are brought to be blessed. Not only people, but clothes of sick relatives are anointed.

Paper long abstract:

The monastery of Nicula is known for its weeping icon with miraculous healing power and is visited by tens of thousands of pilgrims every August at the feast of Assumption. It used to be Greek Catholic for 250 years (1699-1948) until the Romanian Greek Catholic Church was banned by the communist regime. The re-established Romanian Greek Catholic Church reclaimed the monastery without success after 1989. The population of the region is mixed, Orthodox and Greek Catholic Romanians (a minority today), Calvinist Hungarians and Orthodox Roma live together. The shrine has been visited for hundreds of years by people of different ethnic and religious affiliations.

The absolution prayers and the anointing of the sick are celebrated consecutively every Friday night at the monastery and are attended by hundreds of believers from the region. Members of the clergy (monastics and parish priests alike) agree that these rituals for the healing of the body and the soul became communal (mass-) rituals as a result of a need coming from below, following the massive changes caused by the collapse of the socialist regime. People are attending the rituals with different aims (based on the requests written on "pomelnice", small pieces of paper), and many of them misunderstand its meaning. Confession is mostly omitted and people bring oil, flour and clothes of their sick relatives to get them blessed or even anointed. The paper is based on long-term anthropological fieldwork in the region.

Paper short abstract:

The paper examines prayers of the so called ‘coercive’ formation to understand the constant re-activation of the clerical and lay practice, as well as the role that elemental human needs play in religious practice and also the manifestations of attitudes of the clergy in order to serve these needs.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines prayers of the so called ‘coercive’ formation using the methodology of religious anthropology and historical anthropology. These forms of prayer, beyond formulating a ‘request’ towards the transcendent forces, also include physical and/or pseudo-magical elements ‘demanding’ the manifestations of automatism. This exploration focusses on manifestations of Roman-Catholic practice. Historic examples were collected in part from 18th century records and library archives (with a primary focus on benedictions and exorcisms), while 19th century examples come from archival sources (on the example of the St. Miska movement in Bácska) while contemporary equivalents are a result of local collections in Pest County through data derived from fieldwork carried out in the form of participant observation.

By considering all the aforementioned sources we may come to understand the constant re-activation of the official and semi-official forms of the clerical and lay practice of prayers of this kind, as well as the role that elemental human needs play in defining religious practice and also the manifestations of the attitudes of the clergy in order to serve these needs.