Tomb of the Reformed pastor Ferenc Lengyel (Balogvölgy)

Ferenc Lengyel (1836-1892) came from the reputable Lengyel family of Rimaszombat. In 1877 he moved to Uzapanyi from Sajókeszi. His wife, Julianna György, died in January 1892, and he in May. They left two orphaned little girls here. Gyula Szűk took his place as pastor. ; ; His grave has fallen over. The inscription on the gravestone is illegible. His family relationship with the notary Ábrahám Lengyel (1839-1907) needs research. ; ; The news of his death was reported by the Reformed pastor of Nemesradnót, Lajos Pósa, in the Sárospatak Reformed Papers: ; ; On May 1st, at half past nine in the morning, just as the bells were ringing calling for prayer, the soul longing for heaven left its broken dusty tent there, — as if it had flown to its heavenly home on the wings of familiar sounds. When the renewed nature first put on its beautiful May robe: then the gloomy frost of death greeted it, — as if the tree of its life had broken in two under the weight of the sharp contrast that had arisen between its painful struggle and the image of laughing nature on that spring morning. ; Such a man has fallen from our ranks in our fellow pastor of Uzapanyit, Ferencz Lengyel, who had very little of earthly joy and happiness, and a great deal of suffering and struggle — especially at the end of his life — was his lot. He lived 56 years, but in the last year alone he suffered more than ten others in a long life. His weak, sickly constitution was, so to speak, a constant nest of tormenting pains, which is why it was rare to see the brightness of good humor on his forehead, rarely to hear a joke fly from his lips, and rarely even to hear a bitter complaint or dissatisfied grumbling erupt from his troubled breast. He endured in peace, suffered with gentle self-surrender. ; The pricking thorns given to his body also blocked the source of the joys of social life from him, and he, modestly retiring to his small abode, performed the work entrusted to him quietly, noiselessly, but with devoted zeal and loyalty. As a pastor — despite his physical weaknesses — he tried to fulfill the lofty duty that the leadership and care of a congregation — in many respects in a state of turmoil — had placed on his shoulders. As a man, he was kind-hearted, gentle-minded, and incomparably modest. Those who were guests in his house from time to time could experience that the heart that was not used to and could not boast about its love: could feel warmly, the soul that did not desire to fly high: could ardent for the good and noble. As a husband and father of a family, he was tender, loving his own to the point of adoration. His family life was the little world where his soul brightened up, despite the pains raging in his body, like a ray of sunshine released from the clouds, but the blue sky of this little world also darkened a quarter of a month and a half ago, never to be cleared up again. ; ; The already weak man had been stricken with a minor cold a year before, which made him completely unable to perform his pastoral duties, and he could only leave his sickbed occasionally. He had a careful, faithful nurse: his good wife. However, divine wisdom saw fit to rebuke his gentle servant even more severely! That self-sacrificing woman, that faithful wife, was escorted to the cemetery on January 15 of this year. A lung abscess developed from influenza took her life! ; The loss of that good woman finally crushed him in body and soul. From then on, his life was nothing but a death throes. A dark cloud covered his soul, which prevented him from seeing events clearly, so much so that even his wife's death often seemed incredible to him. Thus the sick soul struggled, struggled, seeking relief, seeking a ray of light in the darkness, until on the morning of the first of May, the window of his dwelling lit up, — the benefactor, the savior, death came! ; ; His funeral took place on the afternoon of the 3rd of this month. There stood around his coffin his remaining relatives, in addition to his relatives, a large number of clergy and teachers, officials, a large army of good friends, the small and the great of the Uzapanyit-Tamási church. Over the coffin, the pastor Dénes Kupaí of Vály gave a eulogy and prayer, speaking and praying so beautifully, so truly from the heart and in voices that even Kupaí can be heard very rarely, he recited one of his most excellent works of this kind! And at the grave the writer of these lines said goodbye to his long-suffering colleague. ; He was born in the blessed year of 1836, in the seat of our county, Rimaszombat, into a reputable local Lengyel family, which family has given many worthy people to our public life. Having completed his schooling partly in his hometown and partly at the college in Sárospatak, during his years as a chaplain he was employed as a home tutor by several noble families. In 1870, Sajó-Keszi separated him from the clergy, then in 1877 he sought and won the trust of the Uzapanyit-Tamási church, where he worked until his death. He founded a family in S.-Keszi, his wife, György Juliánna, was also a scion of a Rimaszombat family. Three children, a boy and two girls, were born from their marriage, of whom — the boy having died early — the two girls are alive, one a beautiful maiden already in adolescence, the other still a child of 8-9 years. May the good God take care of his little orphans! ; There he now rests after his long earthly struggles on the lap of the gentle good shepherd's grave. May his peace be undisturbed, his sleep sweet! Lajos Pósa.