The History of the Methodist Congregation of Nyíregyháza From the Beginning to the Czechoslovak–Hungarian Population Exchange

At the end of the 19^th century, a significant religious revival movement unfolded in the Nyíregyháza Evangelical Church, which led to the formation of free church communities under the influence of Slovak itinerant preachers from Upper Hungary and Bácska. The most significant grouping, after the imprisonment of its leader, József Rohacsek in 1920, came under the protection of the Methodist Church. Although Slovak language use was strengthened for a time thanks to the connection with the Slovak-speaking revival movement, the process of Magyarization naturally accelerated after 1920. Pastor József Márkus was determined to preserve the Slovak language, in Nyíregyháza the public use of Slovak was almost exclusively restricted to the Methodist congregation. Despite this, the population exchange found a heavily Magyarized community, whose resettlement was met with incomprehension and astonishment by both the Methodist Church and the town’s public opinion.