the traditionalists' success in forwarding their view of the events as a struggle for religious freedom – and respectively, the Congress' supporters failure to present them as a purely administrative issue – turned the Hungarian liberals in their favor. In early 1870, the Orthodox lodged a petition to Parliament, signed by the boards of 150 Jewish communities and accompanied with Rabbinical statements from across Europe, declaring the Congress' decisions were opposed to religious tradition. The petitioners were supported, among others, by Rabbi Hirsch and the Rothschild family in Frankfurt and by Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler in Britain. The issue of religious freedom was in the middle of public attention in Hungary at the time, as the liberals were attempting to limit the powers of the Catholic Church, which was only nominally equal to other Christian denominations. When the matter was debated in Parliament on 16 February 1870, the traditionalist cause was supported by Mór Jókai and Ferenc Deák. After the Neolog MP Mór Wahrmann described the appellants as "those who do not wish to leave the crumbling ghetto walls... Afraid their selfish interests will be endangered if matters would be put in order", Jókai reprimanded him, stating they were impeccably patriotic, as could be seen from their wish to send their children to schools with non–Jews. Speaker of the House Kálmán Ghyczy, too, asked if "it was necessary to convene the Congress and thus cause a split among our Israelite fellow citizens? Is it acceptable that in religious matters, the majority would force its will on a minority?" The issue was brought before a committee, which concluded it was indeed a religious matter and the state could not apply coercion to resolve it. The Parliament accepted its decision on 18 March 1870 – Shushan Purim of that year, a date perceived by the Orthodox as proof for miraculous intervention. Eötvös instructed his staff to continue forming the organization, but to refrain from obligating anyone to participate in the process. The Guardians of the Faith then requested him to allow them to form a national organ of their own, and his positive reply was given on 18 June. After a rapid elections process, 130 Orthodox delegates from across the country convened in Pesth on 9 August 1870, in the Tigris Hotel. The debates were quick, and ended on the 24th. A provisional administrative body, "The Autonomous Executive Committee of the