This volume provides a substantial contribution to a topic that has received relatively little scholarly attention: the history of Reformed Protestantism in southeastern Europe—and specifically in Hungary and Transylvania—from the time of John Calvin up to (and beyond) the early twentieth century. The well-written and useful prefatory section by co-editors Márta Fata and Anton Schindling outlines the parameters for—and provides short summaries of—the volume's twenty-three articles. Following an introductory article by Heinz Schilling, twenty of the remaining twenty-two articles are organized around five central themes. The first theme is the extent of Calvin's influence in Hungary and Transylvania—as discussed in articles by Jan-Andrea Bernhard (up to the year 1551) and Tamás Jahász (from the late sixteenth to the twentieth centuries).

Articles by András Szabó, Eva Kowalská, Sándor Előd Ősz, and Fata focus on the second theme: the interplay between ethnicity and religious confession from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. The third theme—the transmission of Calvinist ideas from Western and Central Europe to Hungary and Transylvania—is discussed in articles by Noémi Viskolcz, Réka Bozzay, János Győri, Gábor Sipos, and Elenóra Erzsébet Géra. The relationship between Reformed Protestantism and political developments in southeastern Europe—the fourth theme—is the general subject-matter of articles by András Péter Szabo, István Szijártó, Péter Zakar, László Tőkéczki, and Juliane Brandt.

The fifth theme focuses on the relationship between Reformed Protestantism and other Christian confessions in Hungary and Transylvania. In this vein, articles by Ulrich Wien, István Bitskey, and Botond Kertész discuss relations between Reformed Protestants and Lutherans. And Hans-Christian Maner's article examines discussions of Reformed Protestantism in Transylvania by Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox historians in Rumania during the long nineteenth century. The final two articles in the volume (by Zoltán Balog and by Fata together with Máté Millisits) discuss—in historical perspective—the actuality of Hungarian Reformed Protestantism and the continuing influence of Calvin in Hungary today.

It is difficult in a short review to do justice to the articles—with their attention to detail—that are included in this volume. Three of these articles can be briefly discussed here. Tomas Juhász's article focuses on the spread of Reformed Protestantism in Hungary and Transylvania. Juhász briefly discusses the relatively rapid spread of Reformed Protestantism there during the mid-sixteenth century and then traces its further evolution from the late sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Hungarians and Transylvanians who returned home after studying at universities in Central and Western Europe had significant impact on this evolution. His main thesis—supported by the prior findings of three church historians—is that it was primarily the Second Helvetic (Swiss-German) Confession of 1562, together with the Heidelberg Catechism, that served as the theological basis for Reformed Protestantism in Hungary and Transylvania during these centuries. Juhász also discusses how this confession and this catechism—which were transmitted by and taught at Reformed Protestant schools and academies in Hungary and Transylvania—served as expressions of religious freedom, unity, and spirituality.

The importance of the Debrecen Academy (collegium) for the cultural and political history of Hungary from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries is the focus of the article by János Győri. Győri briefly discusses the spread and substantial influence of Protestant schools in Hungary and Transylvania beginning in the sixteenth century. He then briefly comments on how local conditions in Debrecen—including its openness to outside influences and its agricultural base—helped contribute to the prosperity and success of its academy over the centuries. The Debrecen Academy served as the “mother school” for hundreds of Hungarian lower and middle level schools well into the nineteenth century. Győri discusses its importance 1) for Reformed Protestantism in Hungary, 2) as a bulwark for Hungarian independence vis-à-vis the Habsburg Monarchy, 3) as a caretaker for the Hungarian language, 4) for its role in educating socially disadvantaged students, and 5) for its wide-ranging contributions to Hungarian academic culture.

The concluding article of this volume—by Fata and Millisits—is devoted to the cultural and religious importance of Calvin in Hungary beginning with the early nineteenth century. This importance arose in direct connection with the rise of Hungarian nationalism during the course of that same century. The Calvin Jubilees in the years 1864 and 1909 (and plans for the 2014 Jubilee) are discussed in detail. An appendix presents an excerpt from a drama—The Star and the Stake (1975) by the Hungarian writer András Sütő (1927–2006)—portraying a clash between John Calvin and Michael Servetus that is set in Paris during the year 1533. Among the illustrations accompanying this article are Hungarian pictorial representations of Calvin in copper etchings, statues, a portrait bust, a coin, a postcard, and a stamp.

Interspersed through the text of this volume are fifty-five excellent, well-annotated illustrations and five informative maps; three useful indices follow the text. It might have been good if the title of this work had reflected the fact that its focus extends up to the present day (and not only up to year 1918); but this is only a minor point. The articles in this well-conceived, well-organized, and well-edited collection will be of interest to church historians, to historians of southeastern Europe, and to those readers interested in the history of Reformed Protestantism.