Rudolf Czipott
Rudolf Czipott, a Lutheran pastor and writer, was born on 14th January, 1825, in Hodoš. His father, György Czipott, was also a Lutheran pastor, as well as teacher in Hodoš, while his mother, Sarolta Hutter, was of German descent and the daughter of the German Lutheran pastor András Hutter. Rudolf Czipott, the firstborn child, had two younger brothers. He completed primary school in Hodoš. After the death of their father, the family had to leave the vicarage that served as their home, so they moved to Sopron.
He continued his studies in his new place of residence. He followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a student at the Sopron Lyceum, and then enrolled in the Imperial and Royal Faculty of Protestant Theology in Vienna. At that time, he also worked as a private tutor and was very popular with numerous Viennese families. He returned to Sopron in March 1848. He did not participate in the March Revolution, but instead in October, at the invitation of his former theological teacher, Sopron pastor József Király, he became a chaplain in Kővágóőrs. He was ordained in October of the same year. Between 1853 and 1858, he received a pastoral position in Vése where he met his first wife. The family, with several children, moved to Puconci, where Czipott was appointed pastor. After the death of his wife, the widower, father of seven children, remarried and became the father of six additional children. Among his children, one of his sons, Zoltán, is widely known, as he was the first director of the Murska Sobota hospital, which opened in 1893.
Czipott's efforts were exemplary: among other things, he established schools in several villages in the parish in 1868, thus nurturing the Prekmurje dialect; he participated in the formation of Lutheran congregations, established a women's Lutheran association, and at his suggestion, the rural church inspectorate of the region began to operate. He also drew attention to the significance of a book of visitations from 1627, which contains valuable historical sources about the former Lutheran congregations in Prekmurje.
Rudolf Czipott died on 20th May, 1901. His body was laid to rest in the cemetery in Puconci – next to his first wife, his mother and his son Sándor.
Bibliography, image source:
https://www.obrazislovenskihpokrajin.si/oseba/cipot-rudolf/
