This register from the Unitarian church of the village of Bezidul Nou is included in the catalogue due to its connection to the Szekely Sabbatarian population of the village. The Sabbatarians began as a Judaizing movement in the 16th and 17th century. Following persecution by authorities, most adherents returned to one of the approved Christian religions. A handful, however, of the Sabbatarians continued to practice in secret over the centuries until Jewish emancipation in 1867, after which they converted in mass to Judaism. The Sabbatarian community was centered in the village of Bezidul Nou. For this reason, the register books of the Reform, Catholic, and Unitarian churches in Bezidul Nou may prove of interest to researchers. This Unitarian book in particular has been verified as containing references to Sabbatarians, especially during World War II. In spring and summer of 1944, there is a page of "baptisms" of older individuals, born in the 1860s-1880s. It is noted that they were "Mosaic Sabbatarians" or "Israelites." It is not clear who assisted these individuals to convert, the time of conversion is simultaneous with the period of ghettoization and deportation. In addition, in the death register there are multiple individuals regarding whom it is noted that they converted from Judaism (only in the 1940s).
Other civil records from Bezidul Nou, including Nr. 83 (Catholic) and Dublete, nr. 126 (Jewish)
Format:
Register
Extent:
106 sheets
Language:
Hungarian
Provenance:
These registers were maintained by the respective Jewish community and/or local municipality and collected in the 1950s by the National Archives. There are no details provided for the individual registers; presumably the rural registers were collected and stored by the Jewish community of Târgu Mureș sometime around the turn of the century and then these were subsequently transferred in mass to the National Archives. This would explain why they are catalogued under Târgu Mureș rather than the name of the respective village or town.
Call Number:
Colecția registrelor confesionale de stare civilă ; fond nr. 1 ; nr. 84
Bibliographic Citation:
Colecția registrelor confesionale de stare civilă, jud. Mureș ; fond nr. 1 ; inventar nr. 1 ; nr. 84 ; Arhivele Naționale ale României, Direcția Județeana Mureș
Repository:
Arhivele Naționale ale României, Direcţia Judeţeană Mureș, Târgu-Mureş, Str. Crizantemelor, Nr. 8, cod 540073, jud. Mureş