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(2017) The immediacy of mystical experience in the European tradition, Dordrecht, Springer.
A lonely Lutheran mystic during communism
the spiritual heritage of Bishop Lajos Ordass (1901–1978)
Tibor Fabiny
pp. 247-254
In the round sanctuary of the Lutheran Church of Willmar, Minnesota there is an oak frieze encircling the sanctuary containing in gold-leaf letters 78 names of "the cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12: 1) from Bible and from the history of the Church. The list begins with the name of Enoch and ends with that of Ordass, the only person who was still alive when the carving was made in the 1960s. Lajos Ordass (1901–1978) was the Bishop of the Hungarian Lutheran Church from 1945 until his death in 1978, i.e. for 33 years. However, he could exercise his office for altogether less than 5 years; between 1945 and 1948 and between 1956 and 1958. The Communists, with the help of collaborators in his own Church, forced him twice to live in total isolation, first for 6 years (1950–1956) following his release from prison; and secondly for 20 years (1958–1978) following his second and final removal from office in 1958.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-45069-8_20
Full citation:
Fabiny, T. (2017)., A lonely Lutheran mystic during communism: the spiritual heritage of Bishop Lajos Ordass (1901–1978), in E. Sepsi & A. Daróczi (eds.), The immediacy of mystical experience in the European tradition, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 247-254.
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