Pap László (1908–1983) = László Pap (1908–1983)

Kiss, Réka (2024) Pap László (1908–1983) = László Pap (1908–1983). HAGYOMÁNY IDENTITÁS TÖRTÉNELEM, 1 (2). pp. 7-30. ISSN 3004-2992

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Abstract

The study presents the life of László Pap (1908–1983), a professor of theology and one of the most important figures in the history of the Hungarian Reformed Church in the mid-20th century. Special attention is given to Pap’s Western contacts, which were developed through his ecumenical work in the 1930s and which were of great importance during the German occupation of Hungary (1944), when Pap became an active participant in refugee aid, Jewish rescue and resistance. From the late 1940s onwards, the new church leaders, who were aligned with the intentions of the Communist party-state, gradually excluded Pap from international ecumenical activities and public church forums, while at the same time allowing him to retreat within the walls of the Budapest Reformed Theological Academy, of which he had been dean since 1947. After the 1953 system adjustment of Imre Nagy, Pap as a still highly respected and internationally credible professor was reinstated in the church leadership as bishop’s deputy of the Danubian Reformed Church District. The paper concludes with an examination of Pap’s activities during the 1956 revolution and his subsequent removal from higher ecclesiastical office and forced internal exile.

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