The STUDIA UNIVERSITATIS BABEŞ-BOLYAI issue article summary

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The question, what is the religious poetry, needs several answers. The modern defini­tion of religious poetry includes the resonance of Christian faith, the reflection about existential relationship between God and believer. The main question is, can this reflection be authentic in any case? The poet should be a good example of Christian believer, or his/her personal way of life is uninteresting for the message of his/her poetry?

Ady Endre (1877–1919) was no doubt one of greatest Hungarian poets of the 20th century, but the reception of his religious poetry was at the beginning very stormy. Nowadays most critics agree that a poetical message can be valuable even if the personal life of the poet is not congruent with an impeccable Christian life. Because of his peculiar life, Ady’s poems include many imaginary pilgrimages.

The analyzing of poems is structured in the following subtitles:

1. Origin – bridge – return

2. The Calvinism of Ady

3. His time – the analyzing of problematical beginning of 20th century is a relevant key to his message

4. Paradigm-change in the interpretation of religion

5. The religious poet : a. The wrestling’s at the port of Jabbok, b. The striving/desire of prodigal son, c. The vociferous pursuit of God, d. Believing with unbelief , e. Where are You Adam – expectations – meetings.

Ady was in love with Western Europe, he made several peregrinations, but he returned always to his native land. What offered him this Eastern European country? His first inheritance was the love of freedom and a consequent Calvinistic world-view. But he also got a difficult task from home, because he received very early the first signs of war, of collapse. His time was fraught with danger, and he, like a prophet, wanted to draw the attention of his contemporaries. The greatest religious poems are arising from suffering of world-war, and from the personal despair of ‘prodigal son’. His most important theological message is that the historical, doctrinal faith is not enough. The true faith needs the existential touch of God, and the really initiator of this act is God, itself.

Keywords: Ady Endre, religious poetry, poetical background, poetical message, historical and true faith.