Ferenc Xaver Berke de Nagybarkóc ( sl, Franc Berke;

Prekmurje Slovene Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, East Slovene, or Wendish ( sl, prekmurščina, prekmursko narečje, hu, vend nyelv, muravidéki nyelv, Prekmurje dialect: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmör ...

: ''Ferenc Xaver Berke''; c. 1764 – 10 February 1841) was a

Hungarian Slovene Hungarian Slovenes (Slovenian language, Slovene: ''Madžarski Slovenci'', hu, Magyarországi szlovének) are an indigenous peoples, autochthonous ethnic and linguistic Slovenes, Slovene minority living in Hungary. The largest groups are the Ráb ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

pastor and writer.

Life

Born in Sembiborci (

Sebeborci Sebeborci (; hu, Szentbibor, Prekmurje Slovene: ''Seböborci'') is a village in the Municipality of Moravske Toplice in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ...

), he was the son of János Berke (1734–1820) and Judita Novák (daughter of the nobleman Ferenc Novák). His parents belonged to the petty nobility (gentry). One of his ancestors, Ambrosius Berke, received confirmation of his earlier nobility and privileges in 1609, after older documents had been lost in the war with the Ottomans. Berke attended elementary school in Nemescsó, and by 1778 was at the Lutheran lyceum in

Pozsony Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

. He then studied for three years at the University of

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

in Germany. He married twice, first to the noblewoman Elisabeth Posgay, widow of János Ringhoffer, and after her death to Anna Zsuzsanna Bachich, widow of the nobleman Péter Horváth, the Lutheran pastor in Meszlen. Bachich's father was István Bachich, the senior (superintendent) of the Lutheran congregation in Sopron. Neither of the two marriages produced children. Berke's younger brother József Berke (1772–1833) was the pastor in Križevci, Croatia from 1805 to 1833. After 1790, Berke was the pastor in Križevci until October 14, 1805, when he became the pastor in

Puconci Puconci (; in older sources also ''Pucinci'', hu, Battyánd, Prekmurje Slovene: ''Püconci'') is a town in the Prekmurje region in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Puconci. Prior to 1920 it was known as Battyánd. C ...

and later the senior (superintendent) of the Lutheran congregation. Berke and

Mátyás Godina Mátyás Godina ( sl, Matjaž Godina, Prekmurje Slovene: ''Mátjaš Godina'' ( 1768 – January 1, 1835) was a Slovene Lutheran pastor, writer, and teacher in Hungary. Born in Lemerje, Godina's family was of minor nobility. He went to school in ...

published a second edition of the Prekmurje-dialect ''

Nouvi Zákon ''Nouvi Zákon'' (New Testament) is the best-known work of the Hungarian Slovene writer István Küzmics. ''Nouvi Zákon'' is a translation of the New Testament into the Prekmurje Slovene dialect. This text and Miklós Küzmics's ''Szvéti Evangy ...

'' (

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

) ny

István Küzmics István Küzmics (also known in Slovene as Štefan or Števan Küzmič, c.1723 – December 22, 1779) was the most important Lutheran writer of the Slovenes in Hungary Hungarian Slovenes ( Slovene: ''Madžarski Slovenci'', hu, Magyarországi ...

. In 1829, sanction to the György Czipott's prayer-book ''Dühovni áldov.''

Literature

*Vili Kerčmar: ''Evangeličanska cerkev na Slovenskem'',

Murska Sobota Murska Sobota (, Slovenian abbreviation: ''MS'' ; german: Olsnitz;''Radkersburg und Luttenberg'' (map, 1:75,000). 1894. Vienna: K.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut. hu, Muraszombat) is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the centre of the ...

1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Berke, Ferenc Slovenian writers and poets in Hungary Slovenian Lutheran clergy Slovenian writers 1841 deaths Year of birth unknown 18th-century Hungarian male writers 19th-century Hungarian male writers People from the Municipality of Moravske Toplice People from the Municipality of Puconci Year of birth uncertain

Life

See also

Literature