John Ribiny

* Kerencs, 1722. January 22. – † Bratislava, 1788. August 8. / Lutheran pastor, church writer, educator of the children of Mátyás Bél ; ; He lost his father at the age of seven, but accompanied the sons of the landowners of his native village, the Gosztonyi, as servants during their studies. In order to master the Hungarian language, he studied in Nemeskér in Sopron County, and then continued his studies in Selmecbánya and Késmárk. In 1740, he moved to Bratislava, where he lived in the house of Mátyás Bél and became the home tutor of his sons. In 1744–1746, he studied theology at the University of Jena, and from 1747 he was the principal and teacher of the Sopron Lyceum. In 1758, he was a pastor for one year in Levoča, and from 1759 in Bratislava. In 1759 he married Anna Örtel, the daughter of a priest from Sopron, and they had two children. Their son János (died 6 January 1820) later became a court councillor and a well-known writer in Vienna, who published witty writings about great men. In addition to religious works, János Ribiny also wrote philosophical, church history and legal studies. Most of these were not published in print and were later lost.