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Our Hungarian-Wendish Roots |
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| | | They are a Slavic speaking people from that beautiful,
green, chicken-shaped country in the Alps - Slovenia!
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They come from the Slovenia’s Eastern most province, Prekmurje (pronounced : prek- MORE-yuh) which in former times was called the Wendish March. Prekmurje, as some like to point out, is the “Crest on the Chicken’s Head” bordered to the Northeast by Hungary, and separated from the rest of Slovenia by the Mur River to the Southwest. The Wendish, or Prekmurians, have their own history, culture, traditions, and language - a distinct dialect of Slovenian. This is because for a thousand years from 900 until 1918 Prekmurje was a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Within Hungary the Wends kept their own Slavic ethnicity and language, but because of differing cultural, economic, and political factors in that country, Prekmurje grew and developed unique from the rest of Slovenia.
| | In Hungary the region was called Vendvidék, or the “Wendish March” for the ethnicity of its inhabitants. When in the early 20th century it was given over to Slovenia, it received the name Prekmurje, which means in the “Across the River Mur” in the Slovenian language . Today there are still Hungarians in Prekmurje, and there and still Slovenes in neighboring Vas County in Hungary. Both regions practice a policy of bilingualism and biculturalism. Through the years, Slovenia also maintained strong economic and cultural ties to Western Europe, particularly its neighbors Italy and Austria. Then, in 1991, Slovenia separated peacefully from Yugoslavia. Since that time, tourism, economic and artistic life have flourished, and in 2004, Slovenia joined the European Union.
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Today in Prekmurje, people speak the Wendish, or Prekmurian dialect in their day to day lives. It is a beautiful language that is different from standard Slovene in a number of ways, with its own unique quirks and charms. In the past Wendish employed a written standard based on Hungarian, rather than Slovene, orthography which was used in literature, in the press, and especially in religion. Several members of St. John’s still treasure their Wendish prayer books, Small Catechisms, hymnals and Bibles. While people from all walks of life in Prekmurje use Wendish at home and in their daily interactions, today they will most often read and write in standard Slovene. For this reason, the Bible verses, etc. you see around our site are in standard Slovene, but look for photos of and text from older books on the site to see examples of the unique Wendish Prekmurian dialect! |
Slovenia's Flag, with its seal depicting Mt. Triglav, the highest peak in the Julian Alps. | | Most Slovenes, like Italians, Austrians, and Croats are Roman Catholics. But because of the greater degree of religious freedom historically in the Kingdom of Hungary, the Reformation took root in Prekmurje. Today about 25% of the population in Prekmurje are Lutheran. |
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Slovenia & Hungary in Europe |
At the time St. John’s was being organized, Prekmurje was still part of the multi-lingual, multi-cultural nation of Austria-Hungary. Many of the founding members had immigrated while their region was part of Hungary, and considered themselves Slavic speaking Hungarian-Americans, rather than Yugoslav-Americans. Our church’s name still honors that history and heritage.Secondly, our church formed close ties, and built partnerships with other Hungarian Lutheran and Reformed churches in the area, such as Ascension Lutheran Church in New Brunswick. To this day the name of our church is listed on the marble plaque there honoring donors to the fund raised for the building of their church 90 years ago.
| | And finally, members of the St. John’s community came (and still come) from both Wendish and Hungarian ethnic backgrounds. The Slavic speaking Wends were in the majority, and the Hungarians, with their unrelated language, were in the minority here. For many years our services were in the Hungarian language though. This was because while all of the Wends could also speak Hungarian, the national language, not all of the Hungarians could speak Wendish, a regional language. Even when we had Wendish pastors, services were held in Hungarian to accommodate for this factor. Meanwhile both our Wendish and Hungarian heritages have always been celebrated at St. John’s. Today our services are in English, and we invite people of all nationalities and languages to worship with us! |
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How did the Hungarian Wendish become Lutheran? |
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The beginnings of the Lutheran church in Slovenia and Hungary go back to the 16th century when the Slovene representatives of the Reformation movement laid the foundation for modern Slovene and published the first printed Bibles, catechisms, and grammars in the Slovene language. At one time, in the early 17th century, more than 90% of the population of the Kindgom of Hungary was Protestant - the Hungarian speakers being mostly of the Calvinist persuasion, with the Slovaks to the north and Wends to the west Lutheran in a big way. After the Catholic Counter-Reformation, though there were some ups and downs, Hungary in contrast to most of its neighbors, worked for progressive increases in religious freedom for all of its inhabitants. Today thriving Lutheran churches in Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia stand as a testament to this enlightened heritage. |
The Coat of Arms of Hungary | | And they came to Perth Amboy, N.J.? |
| Yes they did! Read more about our church's unique story, coming soon. :) |
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Our church conrner stone. |
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Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God (1 John 4:7)Szeretteim, szeressük egymást: mert a szeretet az Istentől van; és mindaz, a ki szeret, az Istentől született, és ismeri az Istent. Ljubi, ljubimo se med seboj, ker je ljubezen od Boga in ker je vsak, ki ljubi, iz Boga rojen in Boga pozna.
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