Az örmények „labanc” püspöke
The Armenians’ “Labanc” Bishop

The Armenians in Transylvania and Ferenc Rákóczi’s War of Liberation

Summary/Abstract: In recent scholarship, very little is known of the history of the Armenians in Transylvania during the period of Ferenc Rákóczi’s War of Liberation (1703−1711). For this reason, my brief article is primarily dedicated to the vicissitudes of the Armenians from both historical and church-historical point of view in the early 18th century. Moreover, this study aims at focusing upon the positive and negative effects on the Armenians in Transylvania caused by Francis Rákóczi’s War of Liberation. At the same time, the studies have shown that Armenian Catholic (Uniate) Bishop Oxendio Virziresco (1654−1715), as the spiritual and political leader of the Armenian community, and firmly loyal to Apostolic Holy See in Rome and the Catholic Viennese Court, became an important key figure of Catholicism at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Due to disadvantageous church-political conditions in Transylvania, caused by the politically strong protestant élite at the end of the 17th century, András Illyés (1639−1712), the true appointed and elected Roman Catholic (Latin rite) Bishop of Transylvania, could not enter the territory of his diocese and take his position there as bishop. So, Oxendio Virziresco remained the highest ranked Catholic prelate in Transylvania in this period. Finally, this study has analysed the consequences of Ferenc Rákóczi’s War of Liberation on the whole Armenian community in Transylvania, resting upon the undiscovered documents kept at the archives in Budapest, Esztergom, Csíksomlyó (Șumuleu Ciuc), Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia), Rome, the Vatican City, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw and Yerewan.

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