Crossing Borders–Impact of Reformation in Transylvania since the 1520s: Diversity of Faith and Religious Freedom in the Ottoman Zone of Influence ed. by Ulrich A. Wien (review)

Reviewed by: Crossing Borders–Impact of Reformation in Transylvania since the 1520s: Diversity of Faith and Religious Freedom in the Ottoman Zone of Influence ed. by Ulrich A. Wien Paul Strauss Crossing Borders–Impact of Reformation in Transylvania since the 1520s: Diversity of Faith and Religious Freedom in the Ottoman Zone of Influence. Edited by Ulrich A. Wien. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck yet, as Wien demonstrates, the region developed a Lutheran church that both reflected and differed from Lutheran trends elsewhere due to its unique context, making it worthy of study. The opening essays provide an overall view of Transylvania and how its political context and ethnic heterogeneity influenced the initial reception of Reformation ideas. The second essay gives a framework for interpreting religious developments through Wien's argument that Transylvania did not fully become a "pioneer region of religious freedom" until the diet of 1595, because the diet guaranteed equal rights for the four clear confessional groups that had emerged out of the diverse religious impulses of the sixteenth century. This diversity is stressed in several chapters that discuss the arrival and implementation of Wittenberg theology among the Transylvanian Saxons. Early sixteenth-century Transylvanian pastors were generally well-educated and familiar with northern European Christian humanism. Humanism influenced their reception of the Reformation and lent reforms an Erasmian and later Melanchthonian tinge. This is best demonstrated in the chapter on Johannes Honterus, a pedagogue, printer, and reformer in Kronstadt (Rom. Bras, ov). Honterus worked for reforms with a humanist emphasis on education but distanced himself from Wittenberg's doctrine of justification. This distance also appears in the chapter on the 1543 hymnal of Andreas Moldner, which displayed varying reform ideas including Anabaptist thought. The remaining chapters discuss theological disputes and attempts at confessional formation. In the mid-sixteenth century, political authorities still officially desired religious unity and several colloquia between Protestant groups were held. In the eighth chapter, Wien argues that the inconclusive results of the colloquia resulted in a push for religious freedom that could have led to an Anti-trinitarian End Page 91 territorial church, but this push collapsed after the death of Prince John II Sigismund. Notably, a translation of Ferenc Dávid's Hungarian Anti-trinitarian confession of faith is included. As detailed in chapter nine, political pressure from the new prince forced the Saxons to develop a confessional statement, and superintendent Lukas Unglerus produced the Formula Pii Consensus in 1572. Despite its stated adherence to the Augsburg Confession of 1530, it masked a broader heterodoxy operating in the parishes, such as in their eucharistic beliefs. Nevertheless, the sermons of Damasus Dürr, examined specifically in two chapters, demonstrate that the Transylvanian Saxons increasingly adopted and emphasized Wittenberg theology. The last few chapters review the mature confessional formation of the Lutheran church in Transylvania in the seventeenth century through synodical church records. These records show how church leaders navigated competing local and imperial political pressures to achieve greater uniformity and to present a united front in the face of changing political contexts. While Transylvania has been noted as a heterodox region, Wien skillfully demonstrates that Transylvanian Lutheranism long featured diverse strands shaped and challenged by this context. The heterogeneity of the region is marked by the multiple names in German, Hungarian, and Romanian, which Wien usefully, although sometimes inconsistently, provides. For example, "Stephen" and "István" are given (121) to label the same person, and some chapters use a German place name while others use a Romanian. The nature of the volume as a collection also results in some content overlap across the chapters. While the lack of an overall narrative structure may make the book frustrating for generalists, the specificity of the articles makes this a welcome and informative...