Apa. The Calvinist Church

Little is known about the medieval church of Apa. The edifice may be one of the seven churches built by Zsuzsanna Báthori, in the 15th century. As the majority of the churches from the region, the one of Apa, was used by the Calvinists starting from the 16th century. The inscription of the church dates the building of the tower in 1640, but – according to several researchers – it might be a gothic construction. The monumentality of the tower is emphasized by the disproportion between the façades and the four small windows situated on the upper part. A late Renaissance stone-tympanum is above the entrance of the church, probably made when the tower was built. The stone door-frame of the entrance was built later, in 1807. The steeple of the tower is an octagonal pyramid flanked by four small turrets. The Tatar invasion of 1717 seriously damaged the church. The steeple was rebuilt from brick in order to prevent fire, after the invasion, in 1750. The present nave preserves few elements from the medieval aspect. It was extended towards east, in 1857, the whole building gained the aspect of a hall church. On all the four sides, on the upper level, semicircular windows were opened, and the nave was covered with a cylindrical vault. On the outside, as well as on the inside, the walls of the nave were decorated with pillars generating the impression of division and diversity of the space. According to the inscription on it, the pulpit was made from the donations of two inhabitants of Bádok, Mezei Sámuel, and his wife, Derzsi Sára in 1759. It was made and decorated with floral carvings by the famous sculptor Dávid Sipos. The crown of the pulpit was made in classic style, in the 19th century. The Table of the Lord was made of stone, in copf style, and, according to the inscription, it was financed by the community, in 1802. The church has two bells: one was made in Eperjes (today Prešov, Slovakia), in 1634, with a German inscription, while the other one was made in Sibiu, in 1922. From the medieval inventory of the church a gothic chalice is still kept. The newspaper Szamos on the 6th of February 1901, tells that the workers found a grave next to the tower of the church, while digging the trench for the lightning rod. The skeleton was buried with the face down and it had a rich inventory: two golden and silver brooches with stones and a ring with a monogram. The objects were donated to the collection of the Calvinist College. (TSz).