Debates on Precedence of the Religious Orders at the Hungarian Diet*

Absztrakt

The Catholic clergy played an important role in the Hungarian Diet also in the first half of the eighteenth century. The spokesmen for religious disputes were mainly the delegates of the chapters, whereas the religious orders were more involved in the struggle for position among the clergy. The most prominent of these were conflicts over the establishment of a hierarchy. In the decades following the liberation from the Ottoman rule, Catholic religious communities began to repatriate, bringing about the second heyday of monasticism in Hungary. However, the emergence of new monastic groups was often accompanied by conflicts, not only in the dioceses but also in the national political arena. The superiors claimed seats in both forums of parliament, and the designation of their seats led to the outbreak of disputes, which were settled only after years of power struggles. By the middle of the century, a practice had finally emerged that regulated the position of each superior in the assembly, symbolically marking out their place in the society of the Estates.