Hungary’s Dioceses and Bishops (1804–1918). Institutional History and Biographical Lexicon I–IV, eds. Zsófia Szirtes, Péter Tusor, Rupert Klieber, Budapest 2025 (xxvi+832 pp. + [90] pp. annotated black-and-white and color image supplement).
The results of the research, realized within the framework of broad international cooperation, are presented in an impressive volume published in its first version by the Berlin-based Duncker & Humblot publishing house: Die Bischöfe der Donuaumonarchie 1804 bis 1918. Ein amtsbiographisches Lexikon, edited by Rupert Klieber, Volume I: The Roman Catholic Church Provinces of Gran, Kalocsa, and Erlau in the Kingdom of Hungary, with the collaboration of Péter Tusor, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2020 (xviii + 661 pages). This present Hungarian version is an improved and partially revised (2.0) edition of the German lexicon. In cases where discrepancies not indicated in the Errata & Corrigenda in the previous German edition (and in the Budapest edition) exist, the data and publications in this Hungarian volume are authoritative. (For details on the work's developments, see the Preface and here.)
Like its German-language predecessor, this publication is an indispensable biographical collection for research, placing 19th-century Hungarian history within the context of European historical processes, while contributing to the international recognition of Hungarian historians. The biographies of the bishops are presented in a unified structure and approach in this volume. The biographies are more a series of studies than a collection of data; thus, the encyclopedia is more of a demanding monograph in church history.
The responses of the leaders of local churches to the 19th-century challenges are brilliantly outlined in this volume. The episcopal office, during this period, can also be considered a political factor: the rulers and institutions of the Habsburg Empire offered their support in exchange for the loyalty of religious communities. Many bishops also held state positions while the prelates directed the functioning of local churches, making their roles and personalities of outstanding significance.
The volume contains 126 episcopal biographies and 169 terms of office. The biographies include numerous cultural, social, economic, and national historical perspectives.