Saints and Martyrs

Our first stop today (4 July) was the church at Torda, where the great debate happened that made Francis David so famous for proclaiming the principle of religious freedom and tolerance. The church is practically in the middle of the road in town, and was in some disrepair. This is the view of the main sanctuary space.

Then it was on to Alba Iulia, or Gyulafehervar, for lunch at a medieval-themed restaurant in the middle of the restored fortified town wall. You can see a few of us walking toward the entrance in the picture below. This town is also the home of the thousand-year-old St. Michael’s cathedral, where the great King John Sigismund is buried along with his mother Queen Isabella, and the Hungarian hero King Janos Hunyadi (and his sons), who defeated the Turks in the 15^th century. We also visited the Orthodox cathedral next door, which was built in 1920 to commemorate the coronation of Romanian King Ferdinand and Queen Maria, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

There was an archaeological dig in progress in front of the cathedral as well (complete with exposed skeletons), which concerned either a medieval cemetery or Roman ruins, depending on whom you asked.

Deva was our next stop on gray, cold, and rainy afternoon. We put off visiting the citadel where Francis David was imprisoned and died until the next day. After dinner, we put Zoltan on the theological hot seat and conducted the Diet of Deva.