Simon Péchi

Simon Péchi (* 1575 ; † 1642 ) was a Transylvanian diplomat and chancellor as well as a leading representative of the Sabbatars in the 17th century.

life and work

Simon Péchi came from the Hungarian Fünfkirchen (Hungarian Pécs ), which at that time had already been a regional center of Hungarian Unitarianism . His father was probably a furrier and farmer . The young Péchi studied at the College of Transylvanian Unitarians in Cluj-Napoca and then became a teacher in Hammersdorf (Hungarian: Szenterzsébet ), where he met the magnate and leading Sabbatarian Andreas Eössi , for whom he eventually worked as a manager and private tutor for his children. After the death of Eössi's children, Eössi introduced Péchi to the court of Prince Stephan Báthory , from where Péchi embarked on a study trip lasting several years to Wallachia, Turkey, Africa and Western Europe. He lived in Constantinople , Carthage , Rome and Naples and visited the Spanish and Portuguese royal courts. During this time, he gained a high level of education and learned several languages, including Hebrew. In Turkey, North Africa and Italy in particular , he came into contact with Jewish and especially Sephardic culture, which was to have a lasting impact on him.

In 1599 Péchi returned to Transylvania, where he was formally adopted by Eössi. After his death, Péchi inherited the numerous goods and possessions of his adoptive father. In 1601 Péchi became secretary to Prince Sigismund Báthory . At the time of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs under Stephan Bocskai , he acted as its secretary and commissioner for diplomatic affairs. After his death he remained secretary to Sigismund I. Rákóczi . In 1613 he became Councilor and Chancellor of Transylvania under Prince Gabriel Bethlen . However, he soon broke with Bethlen. From June 1621 to November 1624 Péchi was in custody and was only released following interventions by his relatives. Placed under house arrest, Péchi devoted himself primarily to theological work and translated numerous Jewish writings into Hungarian. The Sabbatarian prayer book he had compiled with translations of Jewish prayer books, which was widely distributed and became the standard work of Transylvanian sabbatism, was of particular importance. Under Péchi's influence, the Transylvanian sabbatism increasingly broke away from its Christian-Unitarian roots and came closer to Judaism. With the election of the new Prince Georg I. Rákóczi , Péchi returned to the diplomatic service, but at the same time was still active as a promoter of sabbatarianism, which continued to spread under his leadership despite a lack of state recognition. This development was only stopped around 1638, when Georg I. Rákóczi began to openly persecute the Sabbatarians. Péchi, too, eventually had to give in and formally became a member of the Reformed Church , where he was re-baptized in February 1639 . Nevertheless, the Sabbatars were able to remain underground, even though they had to be formally members of the recognized church communities (Reformed, Catholics, Unitarians). Péchi finally died around 1642.

Péchi was married to Judith Korniss, with whom he had six children. However, his wife died early, so that some of the children grew up as half-orphans.

literature

• Ladislaus Martin Pákozdy: The Transylvanian Sabbatism , Stuttgart 1973, ISBN 3-17-001314-9 .