Páth Géza Award

The Senate of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Budapest has established the Páth Géza Award in honor of the former dean of the college. The purpose of the award is to recognize students who have achieved outstanding academic results, actively serve in the student community, are exemplary in their practice field, and live an authentic Christian life.

Dr. Géza Páth (1923-2012)

Baptist pastor, theology professor and church musician

After completing his secondary school studies, he received his pastoral diploma from the Baptist Theological Seminary in 1945. He received a teaching degree in Greek-Latin Art History at the Pázmány Péter University of Humanities in 1950, and a doctoral degree in 1959. Parallel to his university studies, he also studied music in the fields of violin, organ, and composition. He put his knowledge of theology, linguistics, and music to effective use in his ministry within our denomination and at our Seminary. In 1951, he was ordained as an assistant pastor of Rákospalota Baptist Church, and from 1953, he continued his pastoral ministry in Nap utca Baptist Church, Budapest. In 1949, he began his teaching activities at the Baptist Theological Seminary, and from 1958 to 1961, he held the position of director of our institute as well. It was during his service as director that the curriculum and theological education were changed. From that time on, admission to theology was made conditional on a school-leaving certificate and great emphasis was placed on the instruction of Hebrew and Greek. He also suffered backlash from the state authorities of the time. He was called upon to choose between a civil or a pastoral position (the system of power at the time considered education to be a civil position). Dr. Géza Páth chose the pastoral ministry and resigned from the theological teaching post in the spring of 1961. Soon afterwards, however, his pastor’s certificate was revoked on the “grounds” that he was too involved with young people. He never got his pastor’s certificate back. He became dean of the institution in 1990. After the 1993 Higher Education Act granted the Baptist Theological Seminary college status, he was appointed director general of the institution from 1994 to 1996. Between 1949 and 1953 he was a choirmaster of the rákospalota choir, and in the 1960s he was an organist of the Nap Utca congregation. He was on the lyrics committee of the “Hit hangjai” congregational hymnal (1960), the editorial committee of the “Evagnéliumi vegyeskarok” (1968), and he took part in the textual and musical editing of the choir piece collection “Énekeljünk az Úrnak!” (1985), while making great use of his church music education. In 2002, the Hungarian Baptist Union awarded him the Spurgeon Award in recognition of his many contributions.

Brother Dr. Géza Páth’s devoted life and fruitful ministry is a shining example for all of us. The Senate of the Baptist Theological Seminary, at its meeting on 31 August 2022, unanimously decided to establish the Páth Géza Award and to pass its regulations.