Nearly every year since 1994, the Francis Balázs Scholars Program has brought a Unitarian Transylvanian minister to study at Starr King.

The program was named for a young Unitarian Transylvanian minister who graduated from the school in the 1920s. He became minister in Meszko, the "Alabaster Village," where he wrote, mentored seminary students, ministered to the residents, brought health programs and economic development to the impoverished local valley, and, with his American wife Christine, restored the historic Unitarian church.

Today, Balázs Scholars’ participation in Starr King classes, chapel services and informal conversations enriches the life of the school. Through preaching and lectures, these scholars share their wisdom, deep faith and commitment throughout the Unitarian Universalist movement in the United States.

At Starr King they study theology, ethics, counseling, preaching, practical ministry and non-profit organizational skills to enhance their parish ministry in Transylvania, as well as in their work in the community and the larger church. Donations from individuals, congregations and the Partner Church Council, honoraria and special collections from churches where the scholars speak, and fund-raising activities provide the support that sustains the program.

Balazs Scholars

Róbert Bálint (2009-2010) is the fifteenth Transylvanian Unitarian minister to study at Starr King School in recent years. He is the minister in Mészkő, the Alabaster Village where Francis Balázs served. He also serves the small Unitarian congregation of Csegez. In addition to his theological studies, he has completed a degree in sociology at Kolozsvár Babes Bolyai University. He has been involved in the Unitarian youth movement, and worked with local social and charity organizations. With others, he has started the Balázs Ferenc Historical Preservation Project, designed to preserve and promote Francis Balázs's spiritual and material heritage. His wife, Réka is a forestry supervisor. They have two children.

Endre Nagy (2008-2009) is minister at the Gyergyószentmiklós fellowship in the Szélyudvarhely District of Transylvania. One of his passions is church music, and he is looking for ways to implement new forms of music in worship and church life. His wife Éva is a theater director, now teaching theater arts.

Béla Botond (Bélu) Jakabházi (2007-2008) is the minister in the small village of Nyomát, 80 miles from Kolozsvár. For two years he was deputy minister in Marosvásárhely, then for one year a teacher of religious education. He is especially interested in the psychology of religion and in counseling. He is also interested in religious leadership, Buddhism and meditation practice. His grandfather has been in the ministry for 70 years. At 90+, his grandfather is the oldest practicing Unitarian minister in Transylvania. 

Erika Orbán (2006-2007) is a chaplain at the hospital in Sepsiszentgyörgy. She has been a minister of religious education and a hospital chaplain, as well as serving several small parishes outside of Kolozsvár as parish minister. She served full time as youth minister at the Unitarian high school in Kolozsvár in 2005-2006.  Her fields of interest include pastoral care and building social networks in religious communities.

Zsolt Solymosi (2005-2006) is a religious educator, youth minister and dormitory counselor at the János Zsigmond Unitarian College, the 450-year old Unitarian high school in Kolozsvár. He also serves a small parish 70 miles from Kolozsvár, and does media work for Unitarian headquarters. He used the skills he learned at the GTU to set up Transylvania Unitarian Radio, which his web page calls “the freedom of thought on the web.” He broadcasts in Hungarian, Romanian and, at times, in English.

Csaba Tódor (2004-2005) is the minister of the Unitarian congregation in Homorodszentpál. His wife Éva, is a school teacher and musician, and they have two children. Csaba also studied at Manchester College, England. He hopes to obtain a PhD. He is especially interested in systematic theology and psychology. Csaba has served as mentor to a Starr King student who spent a six months field placement in his village.

Mária Pap (2003-2004), along with Kinga-Réka (Zsigmond) Székely (1999-2000), was one of the first two women in 40 years to graduate from the Kolozsvár seminary, where all Transylvanian Unitarian ministers receive their theological education. After her return to Transylvania, Maria became the first female district dean. "It is a great moment not just for me, but for the women in the church," she said. Maria serves two congregations, one in the village of Szentivánlaborfalva , and the other in the city of Kézdivásárhely . She and husband László have a daughter, Abigél.  Maria has started a French-speaking ministry on the web and has been to Africa to visit French start-up congregations.

Lajos Lőrinczi (2002-2003) serves as Dean of the Székelykeresztúr district's 24 churches, and ministers to the villages of Csehétfalva and Tordátfalva, where many elderly people live. Csehétfalva was the home of Francis Balázs' parents. Lajos’ wife, Tünde, with assistance from Lajos, translates theological texts into English. They offer a tour of Unitarian villages during the summer that consists of a week to ten day travelng by horse cart and staying at village houses.

Zsuzsa Bartha (2001-2002) is minister (currently on maternity leave) to the various small congregations of the Diaspora, which have no full-time minister and meet in buildings belonging to other Protestant churches. She and her husband, Kari live in Nagykároly in an area that has relatively few Unitarians. Kari practices as a veterinarian. They have three young sons. Zsuzsa is actively involved with a project to build a new playground for the children of Nagykároly, getting financial support from the US, the city government and raising money from the parents. She says that her time in the US taught her valuable lessons about community organizing.

Botond (Boti) Koppandi (2000-2001) served for a number of years in the village of Torockószentgyörgy, which is a favorite tourist area for visiting Hungarians and Americans. He now teaches homiletics at the Protestant Theological Seminary in Kolozsvar. He and his wife, Eva, have two children.

Kinga-Réka (Zsigmond) Székely (1999-2000) serves as minister in the village of Homoródszentpéter. Now the mother of four young children, she's also the youngest member and only woman on the Consistory (board of trustees) of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church. She is the president of the National League for Unitarian Ministers. Her husband Csaba works in computers.

László Kiss (1998-1999) died of a heart attack after being seriously verbally abused by a Romanian official at a city meeting because he was Hungarian and Unitarian. He served as minister of the large Unitarian Church in Torda, and taught religious education classes to Unitarian public school students. His wife Matilda does administrative work for the church in the city of Marosvásárhely where she now lives with their two children.

Csaba Mezei (1997-1998) serves as minister in the Second Unitarian Church of Kolozsvár. He has translated American religious education materials into Hungarian. He has built up his church to over 600 members. One innovation that he has put into practice is based on his learning from Starr King. He now has lay people serving as "pastoral associates" who visit the people in the Church and report back to Csaba on those needing his personal attention.  He's married to Melinda and they have a daughter.

Sándor Kovács (1995-96) teaches church history and history of religion at the Kolozsvár seminary. He received his PhD in early Unitarian history from the prestigious Szeged University in Hungary. He is translating, editing and publishing books. His wife Magdolna manages a Hungarian-language radio station. They have a son, Peter.

Sándor Léta (1994-95) serves as assistant minister to the Unitarian Bishop of Hungary at the Bela Bartok Unitarian Church in Budapest, a 450-member congregation of mostly former Transylvanian Unitarians. He also co-edits a newsletter for Unitarians in Hungary and has translated two theological books into English. He and his wife Erika have three daughters.

These scholars are the new religious leaders of Romania and Hungary. Using skills they enhanced at Starr King, in addition to serving as ministers of local churches, they also serve as translators for guest lecturers and meetings, participate in international conferences, work with youth, promote sustainable economic development in villages and help vitalize the Transylvanian Unitarian Church and Partner Church relationships. These Balázs Scholars bring insight and hope to their ministries and to their homeland. They're also raising and guiding a wonderful new generation of Unitarians.

For information about how you can help support the Balázs Scholars Program at Starr King School, contact Starr King School at 510/845-6232 or Arliss Ungar at arliss@ungar.us.

Will our future ministers have wisdom enough to help their congregations grow and understand better the world they live in? The Balázs Scholarship brings every year to Starr King a Transylvanian Unitarian minister to help him or her acquire tools and knowledge that can make a difference in the life of his or her congregation. These are visions for the future. A future that talks about Unitarian villages surviving the capitalist and technocratic mentality, which has started to invade our country. A future that talks about leaders who would be able to help their communities not just on theological issues, but in addressing the different concerns of individuals and groups in their struggle for faith and ethnicity. A future where both Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist congregations will gain in understanding and acceptance, helping and sharing with each other in a process of growth. This is a vision of the future built today by the work and commitment of those who keep the Balázs program alive.
-- Maria Pap

I see Starr King as the perfect workshop for people who consider faith, education, compassion and serving the community primary in their lives. We shared knowledge there, our experiences and our dreams at the school. I see a satisfied smile on Francis Balázs’ face. He walked around continents to find his brothers and sisters in faith. He found this school, an oasis where the past is honored, the present is nurturing and joyful, and the future of liberal faith is secured.
-- Kinga-Reka Szekely

Everything I achieved here in Kolozsvar is due to Starr King School and its professors, students and board members. Thank you very much for giving us Transylvanians such a great chance.
-- Sandor Kovacs

The Balázs scholars are ministers in leading churches, and are in key positions in Transylvania and Hungary. They have insights on how to apply the theory they have learned, and to share their Starr King experiences with the larger world. Continued contact with people in the United States and experience in economic development will bring people together. These Balázs scholars will foster more open-minded people, less mistrust. We will not only survive, we will grow.
--Zsuzsa Bartha