Activity of two peasant prophetesses in the 20th century in Sub-Carpathia

Abstract

In the late 1930s several “peasant ecclesiola” formed around two Calvinist peasant prophetesses in Sub-Carpathia, a region that came under fi rst Czechoslovak, then successively Hungarian, Ukrainian and Soviet rule as a consequence of the Trianon peace dictate. One group functioned between 1937–1977 under the leadership of Mariska Borku (Tiszaagtelek, 1910–1978). Over a period of 40 years Mariska Borku wrote the “Words”, under the inspiration of Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Her manuscript called the Lettszovetseg (Third Testament) was regarded by the prophetess and her followers as sacred and seen as a continuation of the Bible. They disseminated it in handwritten copies and used it in religious services held in homes and for private devotions.The other prophetess, Borbala Szanyi Miko (Nagydobrony, 1897–1950) organised a smaller, closed prayer group around herself, composed mainly of relatives. She too wrote down the “Words” she received in visions, in her Orokkevalo Evangelium (Eternal Gospel).