Roman Catholic Church, 15th Century

Roman Catholic Church, 15th Century The construction of the church began at the end of the 15th century. The edifice has imposing dimensions: 50m long and 18m wide. The altar measures 20m in length. The church was witness to important events during the Middle Ages. It was in this church that, during the Diets of Turda in 1557 and 1568 (among the first in Europe) that freedom of religion and existence was declared for the territory of Transylvania.
The Edict of Turda recognized the multi-confessional characteristic of the region. It officially recognized Roman Catholicism, Reformed Calvinism, Lutheranism and Unitarianism. The Orthodox Church which represents the majority of Romanians in Transylvania was not recognized, merely tolerated. The significance of this decision was the fact that the right to defend religion became almost identical to that of ethnicity and culture. Churches became national, ethnic supporters of the consolidation of the national culture, yet any attack against a particular religion was considered an attack against its ethnic allegiance.

 

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