Churches

Szek has a number of churches. The three largest churches are the Protestant, Adventist and Catholic churches. The Calvinists are around 75 per cent, 20 per cent are the Seventh-day Adventists and Roman Catholics. In addition, there are still some who are Pentecostal, true Christians, Greek Catholics and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Reformed Church

The most spectacular relic in the village is the Reformed Church. The church was built in 1241 after the Mongol invasion began, of course, originally it was a Catholic church.   The architectural style of the church follows the model of the Cistercian style. The Reformed Church is built in Gothic style, it has three ships, and in 1470 it was named the Holy Ghost by King Matthias. The church walls are decorated with original frescoes, it is supposed the Italian masters would have worked on decorating the church. It is also possible that Hungarian masters would have worked on it following the Italian model. The frescoes are still a part of the display. The church was expanded in 1432, 1770 and equipped with ceiling cassette which later burned down, but is still visible in a cassette which is located in the southern ship of the church. The church was destroyed several times but it was renovated and expanded in 1946, according to Kos Karoly’s plans. The partially collapsed stone wall surrounding the church indicates that the church could have easily served as a fortification. Some of the dishes and the table cloths from the church remained from the years 1717-39, after the Tatar invasion. The current cups date from the 15th . and 16th century. The larger cup was donated in1697, by Count Mihály Teleki Ver Judith, at present the men receive the sacrament of wine from this cup. The smaller cup was donated in 1645 by the citizens of Szek and nowadays the women receive the sacrament from it. In this church in the 17th and 18th century served the Great Tiszabecs Gáspár Calvinist bishop, George Zacharias Zágoni. The memorials are located in the church on the southern side. In 1555 the church was the site of a Protestant synod which was attended by David Francis as well.

 

Roman Catholic church

Since the Reformation the majority of the inhabitans of Szek converted to the new religion, and the catholics did not have a church until 1759. In 1714, the Franciscan monks from Cluj founded a monastery in Szek. The Franciscans also operated a school, and it had a very high standard. The last monk of the order was Father Fabian, who died in 1988. Since then, monks do not live in Szek.

 

Orthodox wooden church

In the VIII. Century a Romanian community has been settled here by Count Mikes, and in 1707 the community was built a wooden church. The church was restored several times already, and counts as an unparalleled beauty. Valuable and beautiful ceiling frescos and icons make it even more valuable.