István Czekus, Kuntapolcai

* 1818. December 22. Gömörpanyit – † 1890. February 6., Rozsnyó / Lutheran pastor, bishop of the Tisza Lutheran Church District from 1871 until his death. ; ; Son of Márton Czékus, a farmer. His parents lived in poor financial circumstances and could not help their son, so he was almost completely dependent on himself in his childhood. He completed high school in Rozsnyó, philosophy in Levoča, and theology at the Lutheran Institute in Bratislava to prepare for a career as a pastor, and was secretary of the self-education circle there. He passed the theological exam in 1843, then taught in the capital for two years. In 1845 he went to the University of Tübingen. After completing his studies, he went to Pest and was a chaplain under Székács. On October 1, 1847, the then-established Evangelical Church of Vác elected him as its pastor, and from there he left for Kecskemét on March 10, 1850. In 1855, he went to Sajógömör, where he had savings and granaries set up for the benefit of the church and school. In 1858, he moved to Dobsina, and in 1859 to Rozsnyó. In 1860, he established a church and women's guardianship institution to help poor churches, the latter being the first such institution in our country. In 1861, he collected donations for the internal renovation of the Rozsnyó church, and in 1863, he initiated and completed the final construction of the high school. In 1866, he established two charitable burial societies in Rozsnyó, without any distinction of denomination. On January 1, 1866, the Tisza District Pastor, Teacher and Teacher Widow and Orphan Institution was opened, the capital of which grew to sixty thousand forints in five years, while he was the treasurer. During the difficult days of the patent, due to the agitations of the Pan-Slav priests, the movement was strongest in his diocese of Gömör, which he vigorously quelled. ; From 1860 to 1866, he worked as the district chief notary and as one of the founders of the Lutheran national guardianship institution, and from 1863 as the district and from 1874 as the president of the universal guardianship institution. On May 15, 1860, he was elected archdeacon of Gömör, and on March 26, 1871, with the death of Máday, he was elected chief pastor of the Tisza church district. ; ; Works ; - The Orphanage of Benares. Translated from German by Rozsnyó, 1866. ; - Pictures from the Pagan World. Translated from German by Pest, 1869. ; - The Persecution of Christians on the Island of Madagascar. Translated from Zaremba by U. ott, 1869. ; - The Working of God on the Islands of the South Sea. Translated from German by U. ott, 1869. ; - Confirmation Teaching for the Children of the Evangelical Church. Rozsnyó, 1870. (Two editions.) ; - Holy Sermon on the Occasion of the Consecration of the Flag of the 51st Hungarian Infantry Battalion in Gömör, 1876. Sept. 10. in the Town of Jolsva. U. ott, 1877. ; - The Story of the Conversion of an African Robber Chief. Translated from German by Bpest, 1878. ; - Holy sermon, which was delivered in the church of Rožňov on 30 October 1881 in memory of the centenary of the decree of tolerance issued by Emperor Joseph II on 25 October 1781. Rožňov, 1881.