Our university's past has roots in the 18th century and still affects our lives, present and future work. The mediator between the past and the present is Bishop Károly Eszterházy, who, as one of the most educated patrons of his time, built the Domus Universitatis, the University House. - rector Ilona Tari Dr. Pajtókné began her greeting at the ceremony taking place in the courtyard of the Lyceum on Wednesday afternoon.
In the last decades of the 18th century, the Viennese court, and in the second half of the 20th century, nationalization stood in the way of the realization of the Catholic university. The anti-religious socialist system excluded the church from public and higher education. After the system change, however, the institution took on the name of the university's founding bishop, and the religious education program also appeared as a result of cooperation with the Faculty of Religion. In 2014, the Esterhazyanum Scientific Research Group was established to process the intellectual and cultural heritage of the founding bishop. In 2016, the institution received university status.
"The founding bishop is still telling us today, we just have to accept the material and spiritual influences around us with open eyes and open hearts. We must recognize that the idea of spreading modern education is conveyed and symbolized by the Domus Universitatis even today, just as it was a quarter of a millennium ago. Currently, with 5 faculties and 10 training areas, our nationally and internationally recognized university, operating as the intellectual center of the region, is prepared to return under the wings of the founding Archdiocese of Eger and continue its mission as Károly Eszterházy Catholic University." said the rector.
The process that Bishop Eszterházy started 250 years ago with the construction of the Lyceum has finally been realized today, after many failures, attempts and commendable restarts. - said Dr. Csaba Ternyák, Archbishop of Eger, Chancellor of the University, in his greeting. He drew the attention of those present to the fact that the statue of the former bishop placed in the square in front of the university carries a serious message. The statue's gaze is directed at the Archbishop's Palace, with its right hand pointing at the Lyceum building, which the head pastor interprets as a kind of recommendation: "Take care of the university!"
"While my 12 bishop predecessors did not have the opportunity to make the university plan a reality, today I am here in the yard of the University with joy and a grateful heart, because I see not only a challenge, but also an opportunity to better serve our church and our people.
"We accept and respect the natural laws and endowments that fundamentally determine human life, and if we accept them, we will also have the humility to recognize and accept the Divine laws, based on which we worship God, love our fellow humans, and thus live a more human-worthy life .”
"Every Catholic institution strives to have a chapel, which is an honored place to meet God. Bishop Eszterházy took care of this as well, as he also built a great library and hall of honor in the Lyceum. If we think that the library is the brain of the institution, then the chapel is the heart. One is the symbol of reason, the other of faith. At a church university, it is not necessary to prove that both are needed. We agree with Albert Einstein that "science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" .
Source: Archdiocese of Egri
Pictures: Róbert Nemes
