Zoltán Béky, The First Hungarian American Bishop

His Journey from Sárospatak and Trenton to Washington, DC

Authors

  • James P. Niessen Rutgers University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ahea.2026.623

Keywords:

Zoltán Béky, Károly Vincze, Reformed Church, Sárospatak, Trenton, New Jersey, World Council of Churches

Abstract

Zoltán Béky (1903–1978) was an important leader in the Hungarian American community for fifty years: pastor and church leader, community activist, author, newspaper editor, elected officer in several U.S.-wide Hungarian American organizations, and world traveler. A distinguished graduate of a Reformed seminary in heavily Protestant northeast Hungary, he emigrated to the United States as a young man but returned to Hungary several times. He was a dedicated servant of his congregation and church and excelled in interconfessional activities, increasingly engaging with national and international organizations. Christian ecumenism provides the central theme in this survey of his remarkable life. 

Author Biography

James P. Niessen, Rutgers University

James P. Niessen is World History Librarian at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. His publications have ranged across many aspects of the history of religion and politics in modern Romania and Hungary, with a focus in recent years on Hungarian refugees and the Hungarian revolution of 1956. His “The Hungarian Heritage Center of New Brunswick: Documenting a Piece of Hungarian America in New Jersey” appeared in Slavic & East European Information Resources vol. 26. nos. 1–2 (2025), pp. 50–69. He is a past president of the American Hungarian Educators Association. niessen@rutgers.edu

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Archives

American Hungarian Foundation, Archives. Bethlen Collection, Zoltán Béky Papers. New Brunswick, New Jersey. The assistance of director Melissa Pepin and archivist Ágnes Szanyi is gratefully acknowledged. Many contemporary Hungarian American periodicals are freely available at https://www.ahfoundation.org/digital-archive/

Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia. National Council of Churches of Christ. The assistance of archivist Jennifer Barr is gratefully acknowledged.

Princeton Theological Seminary. Wright Library, Special Collections. Princeton, New Jersey. The assistance of archivist Lydia Andeskie is gratefully acknowledged. Reformed Church in America and New Brunswick Theological Seminary. New Brunswick, New Jersey. The assistance of archivist Elizabeth Palitto and librarian Patrick Milas is gratefully acknowledged.

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Published

2026-08-21

Issue

Vol. 19 (2026)

Section

General Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 James P. Niessen

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