Abstract

This chapter traces the complex, variegated development of Lutheranism in Hungary between the synod of Ardud in 1545 and the diet of Sopron in 1681. The former date marks the beginning of the confessional differentiation of the Reformation in Hungary. The second date marks the restoration of a legal, albeit very restricted, existence of Protestant churches in Habsburg Hungary. The chapter focuses on royal Hungary where the majority of the population became Lutheran and, to lesser extent, on Transylvania, where Lutheranism became almost exclusively the religion of the Siebenburgen Saxons. It notes the complex interaction of social, economic and political interests, personal ambition, family connections and status, ethnic identity, and religious persuasion that shaped the development of Lutheranism in the kingdom. The chapter sketches changes in the legal status of Lutheranism, the development of its ecclesiastical institutions, and the major theological disputes that defined Lutheran identity and preserved its integrity. Keywords:confessional diversification; ecclesiastical institutions; ethnic diversity; kingdom of Hungary; Lutheran Reformation; religious persuasion

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