CHAPTER 6

'As with other forms of consecrated ) | :

Wi f nerner r 'more nt mate ure, the ie pd ne | | _ rota ry yOd (cf.

; = ° . fe Lnnst scLiLs ahd moved vy Ul ?

~ . des al ciffe giise — af Tm > eS ee fe and situa its given thet (cf CIC can GFhegreat evangelizers ofthisperiodwerefervent in the | send SiGe tie certestob clark; virgins can form themselves into associations aith in Gesus andhis Ghurch andhoped for everyone to share proclaim in the Church the glory of the world (cf.

CIC, can. 604 § 2) in thespiritual and moral treasure of Ghristianity Bila to come (cf.

CIC. can. 573) 925 Religious life was born in the East during ) | | (i'] l .

' j . a : 2 i , | We oot as ~ Von im . y tj ' x '; ay ) ( ; .

@TORE Ma" atop 7\ ae." x Se a a i | ny ; HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES | | |} | t } | || ww ] ] CHAPTER 6 up the truth and the goodness that God has distributed among men and nations, and to | | | | | | .

| purify them from error and evil "for the glory of God, the confusion of the demon, and ii - | e the happiness of man" (Ad gentes 9). (CCC 856) lI | The great evangelizers of this period were fervent in their faith in Jesus and his Church, and hoped

. i | for everyone, including the different pagan peoples, to share in this spiritual and moral treasure of | | Christianity. These heralds of Christ not only wanted to prepare their people for everlasting life, but | | | é also wanted to spread the benefits of a more civilized society and higher human culture. f | 1 rian ri In exploring the issue of converting the barbarians, this chapter will highlight a number of the men

H Vel i } | | and women who brought the Gospel to these pagan tribes. This section will also examine the an | . unique role monasticism played in creating a Christian culture through their witness and teachings.

| ( SO ' b Lastly, this chapter will explore the crucial work of the papacy in promoting and supporting | 1) | \| God desires the salvation of everyone. In a mysterious ut real bales evangelization.

A | he is present in all. Humanity forms one single family, since all see beings have é \| | Ve | in hi i have a common destin a been created by God in his own image. All ick Y, Th Ch h W k | {| oe since they are called to find fullness of life in God. e urC S or f | | | : e 'i .

— John Paul II, Homily, Parakou, Benin, February 4, 1993 f C ie | Or LONVversion | he invasion and conquest of the Roman Empire opened a new chapter in both the history of | ia | Te Church and Westem civilization. The Church, recognizing hermission to spread the Gospel

) ost of the German tribes were Arians. Though these Arian tribes did not understand the | mi to all people, set about the task of converting both the Germanic invaders and the differenttribes subtleties of theology. they were fanatical promoters of that heresy. Many, in fact, attempted

| | populating the surrounding areas ofthe former Roman frontier. The process was long and arduous — to destroy Catholicism.

| | | | | with many advances and setbacks —a period of evangelization that stretched from the firs The work of conversion and assimilation into a Christian mindset would take many generations

| | Germanic invasions in the fourth century through the eleventh century. when the last European since the barbarians were generally uncivilized, bellicose peoples with little developed culture. peoples, the Slavs, converted.

Over the succeeding centuries, the Germanic tribes mixed with the Romans and adopted some | | | In today's cultural climate it is often heard that Christian missionaries have no business in trying to aspects of the Greco-Roman culture. The great work of conversion and evangelization was the convert those peoples following pagan religions or other religious traditions, a charge that itself fruit of patient and dedicated labor of the monks.

Wl | often "spp an anti-Christian prejudice. According to this logic, Christianity is no better or worse During the fifth century, the bishops were gifted leaders who guided and educated theirpeople not } than any other religion or philosophy. To deny Christians the right to evangelize would stip them only with good preaching, but also through their pastoral example. The bishops exhibited many

| | of their right to express thelr religious beliefs freely, and it would deprive unbelievers of the roles, such as that of father. teacher, preacher, leader, administrator, liturgist, and sometimes even

) i | freedom to embrace the liberating and saving Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. military leader. Because ofthe chaos of the age, the bishops took on leadership positions, and they

The missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept the worked to preserve the safety of the people, whom they often protected through their dialogue

| Gospel (cf. John Paul Il, Redemptoris missio 55). Believers can profit from this dialogue by with the invaders. This dialogue with the Germanic tribes, who formed a minority of the population ae | learning to appreciate better "those elements of truth and grace which are found among and were the occupying military power, also paved the way for their conversion. Due primarily to .

| peoples, and which are, as it were, a secret presence of God" (Adgentes 9). They proclaim the power vacuum created by the fall of the Roman Empire, these bishops gained influence in the | | ) | the Good News to those who do not know it, in order to consolidate, complete, and raise

| political as well as in the spiritual sector.

| | | / | | ) | | on afChalcedon, Franks settle in Gaul Council of Constantinopie Il; Spain: Visigoth sing England Pope St. Gregory sends Benedictine

Death of Muhammad Council of Constantinople III; Germany: St. Boniface's first || ho | 5th Ecumenical Reccard is converted Monk Augustine to convert pagans 6th Ecumenical journey to Frisia to evangelize 1] Germanic tribes .

Council of Ephesus | Wreland St Patrick France; Clovis, king of the ba Spain) Third Counell of England: 10,000S:

Synod of M j | dio Bi an | led compose Franks is bapting* sharrf sia Toledo establishes ; heeybaptized on =o Whitby, Foi oe Celtic siete thncuah vei wanienaves | | | | | Catholicism as religion Christmas Day in traditions Battle of Poitiers 1} | of Spain Canterbury {Tours} :

1) | | | | Pope St. Leo | ' Le eee | —— || | '

| } Byz. Emperor Justinian = Pope St.

Gregory |; 590-60 ope St. a ae O e a | ZS : oo Ln I al TT Le ee ees ee on ee cee | | | | | | ) i} | —<—<—<$<$. ——————___ .

I 214 Chapter six =——— ——— | | Chapter Six 215 :

=) WIE T : ee | | a TTtC(t'CNNOtNi'ititttititidiwdeeeeeeeeeeee HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES | | - =—— a an a —— — —_—_ | TI k before the Church was truly immense. The monks and bishops not only had to build the PART I | oe s} ;, monasteries, and institutions of the Church from scratch, but also had to raise the Mora irs sae level of the tribes so they could be fully disposed to internalize the Gospel.

C i and cultural level ofthe tbes so the ieee onversion of France A tre sighs mentioned the Germanic tribes were exceedingly violent and terribly crue] Ver

. ae their hol families. For example. St. Clotildas daughter was punished by her Alemany; '6 h' Eld t D hter 99 | . ith leu ¢ ssw: o> pn I FS ees

; s husband for trying to attend Mass. One of Clovis' sons murdered a BSD Sw with his bare hands in the urc S es aug SDe YRS WY ate

4a a tint ; y a rage. In Spain, the Visigoth prince St. Hermengild converted ere eg Of his wife ir A be in-law punished her in response, and eventually St. ermengild'

Ingund. Ingund's mother-in-law punished ai S. Hermeneild's OER Recared's a nite ver time the Franks would become the Church's greatest defender. In fact. this special

™ t : ha by a ot. e £ > D i a e = vc el = F F | family betrayed him and had him beheade I ses these peesa AVErsion Ghee between the papacy and the Franks would result in the formation of the Papal

. initiated the conversion of Spain. Through their conve! ge States. The conversion of the Franks was a huge victory in the Church's effort to bring the Why humanity purified and elevated by grace.

| message of the Gospels to the Germanic tribes, as the Franks were the first of the Germanic tribes | There were two forces at work during this Lopes First, {apse pores from those lands fo convert to the Faith. that were most recently evangelized—especially Ireland, England, anc Germany. Secondly

| j Christian queens influenced their pagan husbands to convert to Christianity. The general population CONVERSION OF THE FRANKS | | usually soon followed the conversion of their king. i | = The Franks, unlike most of the other invaders,

— were not Christians (Arian, orthodox, or othera ) | | tie \ wise) when they settled Gaul (modern-day y | "

, b France) in 485. A bishop introduced the beautiful a | :

| nN ; a his conversion. Yet, the death of their first child | e | } | : ot and the near death of their second child | BA > eel | y/ y v4 strengthened Clovis' view that the Christian God Wim A Le= e '

I A I "| : ao Tw / was ineffective. Over the course of 496 and ®& a ANF - | ~ 497, Clovis and his troops battled the barbarian Po. =)| '

|) 1a { RY 'A =| | f Alemanni. With defeat staring him in the face, P Pei Z| J My = Clovis promised the Christian God that if he won Ss i. tee Z | " iw \ Ss | | | he would convert and be baptized. At Tolbiac the = a, ' p | \ f ¥} — if Franks were triumphant, and in 497, Clovis was i iV i ip ifVe | ——— faithful to his promise.

~ a ' Yl yi " ie f No ie?'

\ y | | | Kiovis presented himself to the church in —E RSH Y 2a Pe | | .

; Rheims to be baptized with three thousand of ' ie YEH j —————| | his troops. They were dressed in fur coats, wore LaKR pall j = | ) | 'ong hair, and held their battle-axes in hand.

— a ——S—_=— | ba Clovis disrobed and entered a pond. folloy ed by —__= os ; His clade ca ee eee After his baptism, Clovis united Gaul enone +s ier His Daptism, OVIS | au his soldiers. Bishop Remigius pronounced the P se el words of Baptism. By this act of Baptism. the Franks were the first of the Germanic tribes to y p embrace the Catholic Faith, thereby making France "the Church's eldest daughter." i —_ After his Baptism, Clovis united Gaul by conquering neighboring Germanic tribes. Burgundy, an !

A faster province of France, was annexed. Part of this unity involved a fusion of the Greco-Roman , ZL : o = culture with the German warrior culture. The descendants of Clovis were known as the :

4a ) < Merovingian Dynasty, named after Meroveus, an ancestor of Clovis.

¥ = By the middle of the sixth century, all of Gaul—from the English Channel to the Pyrenees —was St la "blesses one of his pupils, St. Maurus, before the or :

—-_ Christianized, Other than Gaul, only Italy, Ireland, and a small part of England made up the Church's ~ Saletining Day named Placid by walking on the water ae"

In the background is an event fr aititul in the West. The rest of central and northern Europe remained to be evangelized.

Chapter Six ~ — ——— OO :

—— ——— a "= . — ie | | Chapter Six 217 —— Ett = :

L HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES | .

| St. Gregory of a ee : : fee ties to most of the aristocratic houses in Gaul, St. Gregory ; Roman senatorial family with relational tes to most O° Tis aCe gytn eee : ony t agi one of the leading churchmen in the period following the collapse of the Roman Empire

He also wrote the Historia Francorum (History of the Franks) Beginning with creation in the Bible A | é aiso wrote (ie S(Olla PidhlCOruils \ i aye tey ae: a fre My a St.

Gregory told the history ofthe Franks through the year 591. melee lg Period of French em | ; ally impossible without referring to St. Gregory's work.

'4 at if : p af . received Christianity directly from the Apostles St. James the Greater and St. Paul, and from , = . = | that time until the eighth century, Christianity flourished, despite much suffering under Roman if fe _— = ia.

. persecution. By the middle of the fourth century. Spain enjoyed a stable hierarchy of bishops who : i periodically held councils to combat the heresies of that time.

' c > aw { ~ ' c ce a :

With the invasion of the Visigoths, the Church in Spain suffered greatly until 589. Spain collapsed we , | . t ra * hacen ae with the invasion of the Visigoths who conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula. T hough nominally

2p \ | 'Le } Arian, the Visigoths demonstrated great intolerance toward the Church in Spain. In the middle of . a ' iv | ry .

Bl The Council of Toledo in 589 condemned Arianism and established Catholicism as the religion of Spain », the sixth century, however, St. Hermengild. son of the Visigoth king Leovigild, married the ) | « Catholic Merovingian princess, Ingund. Leovigild sent his son to rule in Seville, and there

) = glan p =) E | | Ingund and Leander, the Bishop of Seville, worked together for the conversion of the future | \ & St. Hermengild.

| ink With St. Hermengild's conversion came a very tense and fragile standoff between himself and his ) { | ; "af AY = Arian father, each one hoping that the other would relent peacefully. The situation escalated into | | lq \ ' pre an :

| clvu war in 582, and Leovigild finally captured his son in 584. St. Hermengild spent a year in | ~ iad captivity before being killed in 585. His wife died at around the same time en route to | 'onstantinople. Leovigild died soon after, and his other son. Reccard, ascended the throne. After executing his brother's murderer, Reccard converted to Catholicism in 587. In 589, the Third

Council of Toledo condemned Arianism, and Catholicism thus became the religion of Spain. But o this political and religious unity, achieved after so much hardship, would not last long. Subsequent monarchies gradually weakened, and the former unity began to dissolve —thus opening the door

= (or the Muslim invasion at the beginning of the eighth century. tet are ° ks p sinks ; ji c f 'N/i1, the Muslim invaders began to sweep through Spain. Within three years, they had conquered

| Ao he entire Iberian peninsula—a task which had taken the Roman legions nearly a century to zh a _ r accomplish. lhe Spanish peoples chose either to live under Muslim rule or to retreat to the most

| ¥ r hy a J "Northerly provinces of Spain, mainly in Asturias, protected by the Picos de Europa, a mountain ) "= , : range in northern Spain. Those who chose to live under Muslim rule called themselves Mozarabs. ie y .

* OzaraDic Christians did not fare poorly at first; but, in the early ninth century, persecutions began.

According to tradition, Spain received Christianity dire = — _ _=> OF Struggle and slow re-conquest followed. Not until 1492, when the Reconquista (Spanish for anh om the Apostles St. James the Greater and St. Pau

"""Conqueést") was complete, did Christians again rule all of Spain.

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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH .

THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES ) ; | PART III Within a generation of St. Patrick's work, the island had converted to the Faith. St. Patrick, being

| | uch a strong advocate of monasticism, promoted the foundation of many monasteries in Ireland.

| | ° n of the Celts 2 Patrick's most important written work is his Confessions, which he wrote in Latin in the period | The Conversio around 461 and 462. In it, he humbly describes his spiritual journey of conversion and faith. St.

Peas Patrick lived to an old age, and was fortunate enough to see the fruits of his labor. His feast day is | | | hristianity in Ireland adapted itself to the Celtic culture. given its geographic distance from the celebrated on March 17.

Roman provinces. By the fifth century, Christianity had reached the island, though Druidic i>} ; dinary efforts inspired by the faj anism was by far the dominant religion. Through extraor

Y the faith of ° Sranary individuals, Christianity spread quickly throughout the island. Ireland Soon developed 2 IRISH MONKS: PROTECTORS AND PROMOTERS OF | strong monastic tradition that would serve the Church as a source of great missionaries,

WESTERN CIVI LIZATION .

| ~ "y és Irish monasticism was inspired not by the Rule of St. Benedict, but by the austere Eastern ) Sas PATRICK: THE 'APOSTLE OF IRELAND | monastic tradition. It is not certain, but it is believed that the Eastern form of monasticism was

| I came to the Irish peoples to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, brought to Ireland sah Semmes contacts. with the East during the: earllest pale: Of | | | putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions,

Christianity's presence in tretand, | | even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others. (St. Patrick,

Following the Eastern spirit, Irish monks slept on cold flagstones, prayed in icy water, and slept in .

| |} Confessions, Cap. 14-16: PL 53, 808-609) t blankets. Anything that could be done to deny the body comfort was employed as a means to wet b ything A boy named Patricius (d. 493) was born sometime around bring the soul closer to God. It is, therefore, easy to understand why St. Benedict's Italian model,

| : the end of the fourth century. He was a Roman Briton and which took into consideration the health and needs of the body, lasted and became the norm in | | the son of a former Roman city official who had become a , the West.

| | deacon in order to avoid taxation. When he was about < During the sixth and seventh centuries, the Irish monks enjoyed the height of their influence on | | sixteen, Irish pirates kidnapped him off the southwest coast

Christian culture and the work of evangelization. In the early sixth century, the Irish monasteries Pan | of Britain and took him to the northwest of Ireland. There he mS were the most important centers of learning in all of Europe. The scriptoria and libraries in the Irish

|| | lived the life of a slave in that foreign land, working as a 4G monasteries saved a great deal of the Greco-Roman literary tradition, even though Ireland was

| | herdsman. Prayer gave him strength (St. Patrick wrote that >!

/ A nevercolonized by the Romans. Through trade and the influx ofsome Greek monks, the Irish even ie | he prae SpaedesS 'Ss given ae and after six

; gained a certain proficiency in the Greek language, which had virtually disappeared in the West.

Fatrick escaped back to Britain and his f ; ae after his retum, heee ek avieianee:Stee Christianity among the Celtic peoples, which had developed separately from Roman Christianity,

| Ireland to walk among its people again. This supernatural a) also had some unique features. For example, in Ireland there were no diocesan priests, but the | | | experience prompted him to begin his studies for the a iar) a only priests were es oe ranks of the monks. In addition, the abbots exercised most of the | | | | ) priesthood. oe governing power in the church in Ireland.

| | | Sometime in the early 430s, St. Patrick. How:a piiest das 'on By the 800s, the importance of the Irish church on the growing European culture rapidly declined.

) | | the road back to Ireland with several clerics. He had been 17) Due to tensions with the Church in mainland Europe, the Irish monks played less a role in |

] | . commissioned by Pope St. Celestine I to aid the Bishop of fi | evangelizing England and the continent overall. Another cause of decline was a series of attacks by !

) Ireland, Palladius; but somewhere on the road in Gaul the ; the Vikings on Irish monasteries. Around the ninth century, the evangelizing mission was firmly

) received the news of Palladius' death. As 3 erasssheice | being led by the papacy, as Christian roots deepened among the Germanic peoples and would

| St. Patrick was consecrated as the new bishop immediately | spent execs tS O1aViE Poalsehs and sailed to the north of Ireland He was fami

| | had confined his work to the southem régions. Within fifteen im | eee despite resistance from many of the Druid chieftains a ay by Alone with none but Thee, my God, / I journey on my way; / What need I fear when Thou

|| | | ae northern half of the island heard the Word ofGod & are near, / Oh King of night and day? / More safe am I within Thy hand / Than if a host

) | | hee :oeéeee and consecrated religious com.

| did round me stand. (A prayer attributed to St. Columba) | | £ ed.

; | community from his eatpeer this new Christian 4 Columba (521-597) was an important evangelizer of northern Britain and Scotland, as well as the i | | Humility, eloquence. and any nae quarters in Ultster. seca! of a number of important monasteries in the Irish tradition. Of royal lineage from the | )

| tools. He began MERLE enh eo Cles were St. Patrick's onnells and the O'Neills, his name Columba is Latin for "dove." To the Irish he is best finginniae

| south in 439; and in 457 they = ps who arrived in the Columcille, the "Dove of the Churches."

- , | laws and directives for the nevborsion neSe } Po ee aoe had been preparing for the monastic life from an early age, and even before he left

| | ~ NY | Cand he is reputed to have founded monasteries in Durrow and Derry. St. Columba was a fervent Chapter Six —————.———— | ) Chapter Six 223 | |] | a = .

A . hy '| HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES WT | | '

Columba to grant sanctuary to a murderer and =f | | St. Columba for copying parts of St. Finian's Vulgate without | = ST. PATRICK ON THE HILL OF TARA | | | | permission. A small war, at St. Columba's prompting. ee

> |e } rom ancient times until the sixth St. Patrick's boldness in lighting the . | i | | | between Diarmait's forces and the combined forces of the O Nellls

\ VN / epee the Hill of Tara was known Paschal Fire brought him attention and | Tihs . | | and the O'Donnells. During the fighting, St. Columba would be e\ as the seat of the high kings of Ireland, respect from the Irish King and he was WATE H i | seen praying for the O'Neills and O'Donnells, and St. Finjan could and it may have been used in prehistoric given the freedom to preach Christianity

| / be seen praying for Diarmait's men. Diarmait was defeated, but religious ceremonies. In the time of across the country. Thus, the small, nal . scandal followed. There are conflicting accounts of what happened

St. Patrick, Christianity had not yet gained but defiant act of lighting a fire proved Some say St. Columba was briefly excommunicated for Shey.

| complete acceptance in Ireland, and central in the conversion ofthe Irish i | Starting a war, and that the excommunication was lifted on ain Easter was not yet celebrated. Every people. If you were to visit the Hill of Tara

| | hd condition of a lifetime of penance in missionary exile. Other ae | spring, the Druids marked the Beltaine today, you would find a great statue of Waa | accounts mention nothing of excommunication and report that this ii festival by lighting a great bonfire on the St. Patrick, which marks the location of ' penance was given to St. Columba by his confessor. By either

Hill of Tara. Adding to the significance of the Lia Fail, the Coronation Stone of the iW | 5) | account, St. Columba left Ireland and went to Scotland in 563 the bonfire, novetner tires In Sie wicinyy ancient high kings.

— were to be lit during the festival. This rule THT | ail) | On the isle of Iona, St. Columba built a monastery and set about was not to be taken lightly; those who lit it | | | evangelizing the Picts, a Celtic tribe with deep pagan roots.

St. Columba another fire in violation of Beltaine rules THT ie | Successful in this, he continued his work throughout Scotland. A man of constant study and prayer could be punished by death. ey TI | | | St. Columba is said to have written some 300 books, only two of which have survived. The Latin

Because he wanted to celebrate Easter, '

| i} poem "Altus Prosator." a description of the Last Judgment in all its fury, is believed to have been | however, St. Patrick and his followers went i Th | written by him. In 574, St. Columba anointed the new Scottish king, which led to the eventual to the nearby Slane Hill and boldly lit a |] | | conversion of the Scottish population. His feast day is celebrated on June 9. small Paschal Fire. Seeing the fire from i i the Hill of Tara, the King ordered that | 11) ] | ST. COLUMBANUS AND THE IRISH St. Patrick and his followers be taken . ot before him to answer for their crime.

| ON THE CONTINENT Using his deep knowledge of Irish custom | | | | | cx and language, St. Patrick preached to the | i | | eae citing on ourselves the image of a despot, but let Christ paint his image in King abaie Grace St Patrick used | | l| .

| fl ef : eae ae peace I give you, my peace I leave with you. But the knowledge that | the clover, an ancient symbol in Ireland, ht il | out au lattes eagcian if we do not practice it. (St. Columbanus, Instr. 11, 1-2, to explain the Holy Trinity. ia Hk St. Columbanus x lf | eatANerd tai aste most famous among a band of Irish monks who helped to evangelize

| | | Biombieivme Siok cokbri He helped renew the spiritual life and | ST%Pa Thea | bear with his own bare hands Whencee ae kris ne os a huge man, capable of killing a pale NNSS ) .

7 om % travel wherever the boat took him In Re sats for his missionary undertaking, he would just "A ay | 1) founded a monastery in the IeahianvA) : eo ast years, Columbanus worked in Switzerland and { " ee Wee ". i, | years Bobbio became an Tac cng town called Bobbio, near Genoa, in 612. In later i, > & Pes pa

—_— | | day is celebrated on November 23 <r Ol learning. He died there in 615. St. Columbanus' feast S ais » nl a a The Celtic spirituality that St Columbanus helped to s ; ) ".

| ee | | fruits. One such fruit of thispa <'Ped to spread around Europe bore many lasting ; . ait | become one of its ES TRconicinsnh of frequent Sacramental Penance, which has

°< under their care— quickly became incorporated into | | | | In the Roman tradition by the third St. Patrick keeps vigilat his church .

. urd century, a svc the Hill ofT, .

| Under it, the penitent was enrolled publicly with hen o austere public penance had developed.

> | | aaa | f0 a nigorous and lengthy period (the leneth v se penitents, with whom he committed himself ht] i | Prayer, almsgiving, and S€vere fasting. Beside 4 iboesnging On the seriousness of the sin) of | | | | o SSid€s the strict spiritual regimen, there were two other

I | oe ) 224 Chapter Six a———_————— Ss ] ee | |!

| —S up —Se—X——=— a iii | . ty } his system's decline. The pubjj in.

- | | unique aspects of this system that eventually led to this sy s ae Public Penitengy .

H | i / ac 'as understood as a second Baptism, and Baptism can be received only once. In addition r.

Wipe Tih | sealmeaaa to life-long continence. For these reasons, many people delayed Penance eal ae , the indiv peta i : a | = Ss _ :

: until the approach of death given the obvious challenges connected to this sacrament duringthose . i | For the Irish, Penance remained lengthy. severe, and public, but Pe ke were Not officially

| i enrolled with others. nor was reception of the sacrament limited to a sing € time, as with Baptism | Thus the promise of lifelong continence—a difficult task, even for the saints—was no longer 3

Z, i f | necessity. Hence, the nearly exclusively "deathbed" recourse to the Sacrament of Penance fel] into yy 79 1, TL | decline. Eventually, absolution, which had previously been withheld until the completion of the D"i H W W i } r public penance, was granted upon confession of sins, and Penance became a matter Of private

| responsibility. To determine specific penances, the Irish monks made use of Penitential Books a@\ M | | } | || :

| books that listed various sins with the corresponding penance. x fis rf "4

— | We | The Irish had a tremendous influence in bringing about the custom of frequent Penance. Not unt!

- | | 1215, at the Fourth Lateran Council, did the Church officially teach that every individual Christian} \ A - / r : was bound to make at least one private Penance each year if one were conscious of having

| committed mortal sin. og 'Y \ ™ ' aa -_— > | | PART IV Sse prt Perhaps the most salient aspect of Pope St. Gregory the Great's pontificate was his support for the | e conversion of the barbarians, especially of the mission to England.

| The C f England ners | | e Onversion O Nn an as abbot in 585, before becoming pope, St. Gregory saw a group of blond, blue-eyed foreigners in .

. l | the streets of Rome. He asked who they were, and an assistant told St. Gregory that the men were [; is not known exactly how the Celts in England were first evangelized during the era of the slaves, Angles from England. St. Gregory replied, "Non Angli, sed angeli" ("Not Angles, but | f H Roman Empire, but English bishops were already present at the Council of Arles (314) in France angels"). St. Gregory never forgot the Angles, and he selected St. Augustine as his personal

| | Las of Christianity suffered a tremendous setback as invading Angles, Jutes, and Saxons emissary and missionary to England when he became pope.

| | | pushed the burgeoning Christian communities to the farthe eS 'eaches ra anne ae aoe ae this Sinistion "ae Augustine ofPacesaete apa of England. It was Christianity had already made its way to England by this time, but only to certain limited areas. The .

= brother monks were thrown in the late Celts in Britain had already converted due to the efforts of the Irish monks. St. Columba had

| ) Pe i P | | already visited the Picts in Scotland. However, the invading Saxons, Angles, and Jutes nearly . annihilated the Celts in Britain—and with them, the Christian Faith. Even though the Celts had

| ST. A , ann | | UGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY: attempted to convert the new tribes to the Faith, they failed. Outside help was needed, and it came

| THE "APOSTLE OF ENGLAND" from Rome Wi Who, dear brother, is capable of describing the great joy of believers when te 59% Pope St. Gregory sent St. Augustine with a group of forty other monks to travel by land

| | learned what the grace of Almighty God and jouk-obu csapesainan Gekl ; through Italy and France to reach England. In France the band of monks halted, and St. Augustine

| Angles? They abandoned the errors of darkness a REET me leved among the wrote a frantic letter to Pope St. Gregory that the monks were frightened by the frontier and heard

With full awareness they trampled on the idols which +A e ite the light of ee appalling stories of the brutality of the barbarians in England. St. Augustine asked for permission to | . with savage fear. (Pope St. Gregory the Great sy

Pies "¥ 2 bakkie: adore return to Rome, but Pope St. Gregory declined the request, and told the group to continue its i} | MGH Fpistol, 2, 305-306) sionaries of England, Lib. 9; 36: mission. Before departing from France. St. Augustine was made abbot of the missionaries. Upon S edt te ee amving in England, they had discovered that the rumors were most likely e)

| =e Augustine of Canterbury (d. ca. 604-609) is often overshadowed by another saint bearing the ; bie x ost likely exage crated same name, the great St. Augustine of Hippo. St. Augustine of Cante re aera: h etait Learning from historically tested experiences, St. Augustine tried to gain the favor of a king with a | . i history of evangelization, brought the Catholic Faith to the agan pare : es :- ae aad

Christian wife. Ethelbert, the king of Kent had married Bertha, a Frankish princess, and the great- ) date of his birth and details of his early life are ice a i at Mss se ae wie: granddaughter of King Clovis. Bertha had remained Christian after her marriage to Ethelbert, but | | | ae Prior of St. Andrew's monastery in Rome. one AF ea ace #3 cae a a> ra pr she had not attempted to influence her husband in the manner that her ancestors

| . x | tegory the Great, when he was asked by Pope St. Gregory himsafro Sale : : cue I. Clotilda and Ingund had influenced theirs. When St. Augustine and his monks arrived, Ethelbert.

| to England. y seélf to bring the Gospel m though he had heard of Christianity, was still pagan. He received the monks quite openly, but he

| | , Perhaps the most salient aspect of Pope St. Gresory th.

| 'pe not convert immediately. He gave them freedom to preach the Catholic Faith and to win over ) | / for the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons serene y the Great S pontificate was his strong suppor

74Many willing converts as possible. Ethelbert also gave them a dwelling in Canterbury, his capital.

| ) | > €specially in England. During his service to his monastery Nevertheless, Ethelbert for some time remained set in his ways.

| | See | 226 Chapter Six =SS EE ————— ESE a ——__ = ae | | —— | j] | Chapter Six 227 | | | ee ——— -) id nn - : ee ———————————————— — } HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES Vd

; EON ialy united to the papacy. Of all the areas of Wid | than ten thousand Saxons were baptized in Canterbury,Acc ime, the Church in England became especially

| On Christmas Day fepisBihatien was baptized—some say before that Christmas, some say liek that had so far converted, England identified most closely with the Church of Rome. This

| | . conflict onaoe Ae Christianity was rapidly spreading throughout England. St. Augustine Wwas t the stage for English missionary activity in Germany and the Low Countries, as well as forthe

| } | | he a ried sak a palace in Canterbury, which became the most important episcopal see in jevslopment of scholarship in England through the emergence ofmany Benedictine monasteries.

HW Uh England Monasteries quickly spread over the land, and St. Augustine ordered that al] Pagan England became the strongest supporter of Benedictine monasticism. hia | temples be converted into Christian churches. Though the Celts and the Saxons now shared the | rut | . same religion, their mutual antagonism unfortunately persisted.

ST BEDE: THE aFATHER OF ENGLISH HISTORY" iH} Pope St. Gregory named St. Augustine the Primate Bishop of England in 601 and sent him the , . pallium, a sign of authority and papal favor. In its current form the pallium is a circular band of They [St. Willibrord and his companions] arrived there, twelve in number, and turning

. white woolen material with two hanging strips and six black crosses, and is worn around the neck aside to Pepin, duke of the Franks, were graciously received by him; and as he had lately

Wal . on the shoulders. The wool for the pallium comes from wool blessed by the pope on the feast of subdued the Hither Frisland, and expelled King Rathbed, he sent them thither to preach,

Agnes in Rome. Before it is placed on an archbishop on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Pay). the supporting them at the same time with his authority, that none might molest them in their il | pallium rests forone night on the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter's Basilica. preaching, and bestowing many favors on those iB reas al ageaea faith.

. | i i i . that with the assistance of the Divine grace, they in a short time Tt re OU St. Augustine consecrated others to the episcopacy and sent them to other centers in England.

Thus.@ Come (Baas ; , .

| || . including Rochester and London. Upon his death in the first decade of the seventh century, converted many from idolatry to the faith of Christ. (St. Bede, Ecclesiastical History ofthe

| t | | St. Augustine had secured such a strong foundation of Christianity that England would serve asa English People, V.X) | } venue for a Christian renaissance in the early middle ages. His feast day is celebrated on May 27

St. Bede (ca. 673-735) was the most important Anglo-Saxon scholar of his time, and much of his | . | |ie scholarly work became standard subject matter in the Medieval curriculum. St. Bede represents in | | | THE MISSION IN ENGLAND CONTINUES the finest example of the role played by the English monasteries as centers of learning in the | ee seventh and eighth centuries. This is especially remarkable when one considers that in 590, upon fl .

| mp Rdinet Suing oF missionaries and scholars emerged from England because of the vision, the ascension of Pope St. Gregory the Great to the throne of St. Peter, England was a pagan and | Ny faith, and dedicated labor ofPope St. Gregory the Great and St. Augustine of Canterbury. unconverted land | . i} niepen uis an SSOECHS elySua Serna 2 Ee ace ot the six other kingdoms

Little is known of the life of St. Bede other than what he records at the end of his great EcclesHeat) in England. Paganism would not disappear so easily, Even if one king did convert, his successor

| Hi} , lastical History of the English People. He writes: could, and sometimes did, revert to paganism. By 633 there had been a steady regression to old in mI

Pagan ways, except in Kent. At this critical juncture Thus much of the Ecclesiastical History of Britain, and more especially of the English

| \ the Irish supplemented a deeper and more wide. nation, as far as I could learn either from the writings of the ancients, or the tradition of | | i | spread work of evangelization among the English. our ancestors, or of my own knowledge, has, with the help of God, been digested by me,

= Through the missi :

Bede, the servant of God, and priest of the monastery of the blessed apostles, Peter and | | a Er ny OUR OF the Irish over the Paul, which is at Wearmouth and Jarrow: who being born in the territory of that same

| ee next several decades, the Catholic Faith became firmly '

| °, tel ees) established in England by 655, the year th thee monastery, was given, at seven years of age, to be educated by the most reverend Abbot

| \ ra Y an Yet SS ee Benedict, and afterwards by Ceolfrid; and spending all the remaining time of my life in . a native Englishman became Archbishop ofCanterbury,

XN / St. Deusdedit that monastery, I wholly applied myself to the study of Scripture, and amidst the .

/ 7) bs f regular discipli d the daily care of singing in the church, I al took Soutvof-the TR am —— observanceof regular discipline, an e y care of singing e church, I always too .

| ee R 5 ames River, Christianity of a more delight in learning, teaching, and writing. In the nineteenth year of my age, I received

Sethe tradition predominated due to the mission of | deacon's orders; in the thirtieth, those of the priesthood, both of them by the ministry of WJ iw fs ae eee However, the Roman and Celtic tradthe most reverend Bishop John, and by the order of the Abbot Ceolfrid. From which time,

| \\ ADA. y); heSie especially over the question ofwhen to ) till the fifty-ninth year of my age, I have made it my business, for the use of me and mine,

| r| AY ie y, Bhb ees oes tind ve The Synod of Whitby (664), held in to compile out of the works of the venerable Fathers, and to interpret and explain

| ) \\ hs 4 J esr7 edo oO Northumbria in England, sought to according to their meaning these following pieces. (Ecclesiastical History of the English

Sipeoans the two divergent traditions. At the synod, People, VXXIV) || .

VA A ' ery ii t. Wilfrid (634-709), later Bishop of York, led the Follow .

Wf. \ i-| party that was pushing in favor of the Roman tradition. ping the last lines of this excerpt is an extensive ist of works covering a wide variety of topics.

|| [tM \ i.r — With this finally accomplished, the English accepted t. Bede was a dedicated and prolific scholar. St. Bede's guiding principle for all his scholarly works

| \ N\ the Roman tradition's practice of the observance of s €xpressed in the perennial question: How can one clearly communicate a particular body of | , \\ Faster and the Benedictine form of monasticism. The knowledge to students? His works covered topics that included Latin grammar and poetry,

| Vv HV Irish monks €ventually withdrew to a Celtic monasala and the tides, chronology, a biography of St. Cuthbert, commentari€s on many books of . | | a slmatathich ar tery on the island of Iona and to other monasteries in the Bible, and history. His Ecclesiastical History of the English People places the Roman Catholic his pallium Ireland proper.

Church at the foundation of the development of English culture.

A = HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES IN| | | | | ———_—_—_— | 7 a — PART V WA UI | = ion of G d IN W a The Conversion of Germany an cil + y. See e Low Countrie WAL !

\ ig nn. pen he conversion of the lands that have become Germany was a long and arduous task. Some of || | 1 | BL aft Le, elm foe le (ise small Roman cities, such as Cologne, were evangelized during the time of the Roman aaa | Car i By ~ cioaet Empire. Beginning in the seventh century, English missionaries played a pivotal role in carrying on | i | | | | | SS was reli aalssionary activities, especially in northwest and central Germany, north of the Mainz River.

| ae far" re "« Groups of Germanic tribes were still being converted along the Baltic Sea long after the beginning ! y} y,&} } of the second millennium, even as the German church focused much of its energies on converting

Hilf : a at toe es pete: oe 8 Sy vi , re EI Atal he Slavs.

HiT a TE | So ip remem -"

Wl , a "> Y ; + Pee "" leon | ST. WILLIBRORD: THE "APOSTLE OF FRISIA HET TE eWY Seles ee ne 1% i'

<<i : lan orem act | St. Willibrord (658-739) was one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon missionaries to evangelize in the | | . vee —V4 d | age Br pect he Germanic lands. His work is notable for two reasons. First, he was successful in converting the | eS Ja le ipa peoples of western Frisia (the northwest comer of Germany along the North Sea and part of the | = ae al ; "

Netherlands). Secondly, he secured papal approval and support for his mission, demonstrating the ty | | tay tea = . important connection between the expansion of Christianity and the papacy.

| | ae St. Willibrord successfully converted many of the Frisians; but in 714, his entire evangelizing == ) project was compromised when the Carolingian (modern-day French) emperor Pepin died and a St.

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People places the pagan Frisian king reconquered the territory. St. Willibrord and his companions then fled to a We Rater can Teor eepata | secure monastery in Luxemburg. St. Willibrord then continued his work in Denmark, Heligoland

| this masterpiece completed in 731 which is the primary source of (an island in the North Sea), and Thuringia (central Germany). In 693, St. Willibrord made his first

| | | | mstorical eterence for thle period visit to Rome, where he obtained papal support for his mission. During a second trip to Rome in .

| 695, Pope St. Sergius I made him Archbishop of the Frisians. His feast day is celebrated on | Eee = :

| In his commentaries on the Bible, St. Bede preferred clear exposition and found no use for | philosophical Speculation. He based his Spirituality and scholarship on the biblical-patristic traST. BONIFACE: THE "APOSTLE OF GERMANY"

| . i l dition. Through the Scythian monk Dionysius Exiguus (fifth-sixth centuries), St. Bede did the .

| mathematical computations for the B.C./A.D. distinction, and his work utilized the Christian | In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being

I | measurement of time and made it popular throughout Europe. pounded by the waves of life's different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to ) | | | Within a century of his death, St. Bede was given the title "Venerable," and in 1899 Pope Leo XiIll

Nesp her on Gs course: (eat Boritars ae NG Eeeeeleraea aa a8) ) declared him a "Doctor of the Church" The title "Venerable" generally denotes a particular stage

_ | St. Boniface (ca. 675-754) set the stage for a radical reshaping of the heart of Europe. Before his | ies canonization Process, but it can also simply refer (0 a person's holy life, as was the case with arrival on the continent, conversion efforts among the Germans had failed. Not only did

1] | ] LT} | t. Bede. His feast day is celebrated on May 25.

| St. Boniface succeed in converting the Germans, he also laid the foundation of a church based on | | .

Unfortunately, one of St. Bede's feare thar | é monastic model that would continue to flower for the next three centuries. He also revitalized

; * Dede's tears that he recorded at the e is Ecclesiasti is the English People came to pass. After 800 the Church inSpareperce

| we deteriorating practice of the Faith SERSHeLa, | | A ia on a lactor—they destroyed the important monastery at Jarrow at the aaa of the St. Boniface was born with the name Winfrid, most likely somewhere in Wessex. England. Like

Wi | i oA Binal hewees ri addition, the English kings failed to achieve a strong unity among their people St. Bede, he also entered a Benedictine monastery at the age of seven. By temperament he was

| # sanachintie erase some of its greatest evangelizers, like St. Boniface, for the unsteady, timid, and tended to discouragement and despair. However, St. Boniface matured into a .

| Christian ciulare in ihe Dae Peoples of Freisland. Despite such a flourishing of sanctity and millant pupil and eventually became a teacher and the head of the monastic school.

| | | sce the sarc eaaebata Renee England would suffer great spiritual decline | St. Boniface loved his homeland tremendously, but he discerned a call from God to leave England

I} | momentum in deepening and resin naesent Considered backward, thereby losing her | amg €vangelize the German people. Therefore, in 716 he left for Frisia to begin his work of evan- | : | i l ] | ou culture. belzing the Germanic tribes. Since the Frisians had received Catholic teachings of St. Willibrord

| i ] wit) mixed results, St. Boniface hoped to bring the Frisians fully into the Church.

230 Chapter six on ee ee } | | Chapter Six 231 =) HISTORY OF THE CHURCH —_— ——— CC THE C Rieriel Tere ONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES iH = | | ] | St. Boniface's tendency to discouragement seemed to have reappeared when he met form:

| We ft obstacles in Frisia over the next couple years. He researched the lives of the early Chris 'OrMidable tt | < any of the saints were exempt from suffering, and to his dismay he ates ae WANS to see

. i 1 i | asae struggled to be courageous and thus looked upon the most ferocious barbs TREES IN GERMAN MYTHOLOGY | | | Arians as His tempted | ye: St. Boniface felled the Oak of | | selenite, cig glee despair weresogreat that St. Boniface feltcompelled toconsult yj Thor, hewas respected everywhere neaie wasaveryimportant | | pra reac : sy a II (715-32). St. Boniface believed that he had failed in his abe among the German peoples, and his ie oete Nic religion because both | tn Frisia? Pope as e sought the pope's counsel: Should he return to England or Sener new authority allowed him the freedom pals Were. Eres ae .

Pope St. Gregory II was so impressed with Winfrid's sanctit Persevere to begin the work ofthe Church i The tree was the center ofth i | La . y that he gave Wingy n e Germanic ¥ new L tin name, Boniface —from the Latin words Bona F. da the region that hadpreviously seemed aoe, world. When St. Bonifacechopped .

| ear | . ' meaning "doer of good"—which symbolized his f.

«! Facere so difficult to Christianize. Whywas own the treeand survived, heseemed to ] | , . ee By this action Pope St. Gregory II alsoaeMt hsmbes Se apas eeepe eeeatergtOPN I ie < is personal papal legate to German Boniface ree—such a monumental event in ods.

When the saint preached | | Bibcwuite aniineeneecen és* the conversion of the Germans?

"Sb Christ, who was both true God and | .

Boniface turned hi For the G man, and who died for the remissi | ot south of Frisia to H S attenti or the Germans, some of the oldest i ; remission | estasenaPsKee conversion of the Hessians Ona sanctuaries were the natural woods Gerstineaebag toa teapany | . the pope consecrated § if These sacred s ' egan to believe. Despite . the episc t. Bonifa paces were places for treei :

P | | A Piscopacy. Around 732 Pope St. Gregory III (731-74 as worship, and as Sir James George Fraz converting from paganism to Christianity,

| ; € pallium to St. Boniface.

1) sent says in his study in mythology: "How * we Oe een aie | | After he felled the Oak of Thor (Wata), the sa serious that worship was in former times cea to Christ's | | , pagans of Hesse, St. Boniface gained aecred tree of the may be gathered from the ferocious crucifix) pi. te | .

| | that he enjoyed a new-found freedom moral authority penalty appointed bythe old German laws central t emained | | ; monasteries. Cutti to establish a string of for such as dared to peel the b ote he pagan god Thor utting down the tree brough

; P e bark of a German sen | | St. Boniface down with a th the Church when the pagan people saw th :eg converts into papi tree. The culprit's navel was to the sacred a .

#s ith a thunderbolt. Out of : at Thor did n ; cut out and nailed to th ; | dedicat ut of the wood of th Ot strike ; e part of the ) | Red rrto St. Peter.

€ tree St. Boniface made a small chapel Heswhich he had peeled, and hewas to ~ | .

| | | ch of St. Boniface's work w, e driven round and round the t i Peg : as accomplis ree till all | | blossomed after he defeated the M 1p ished during the reign of Charles Martel, wh his guts were wound about the trunk.

Ly) J hi me uslims at Tou . Whose reno The i ; ) S special relationship with th rs in 732. In a letter, St. Bonif: peer OF te BUCS THe Helen | | | missionary work:

€ temporal ruler who proved so :

; . boniface wrote about was to replace the dead barkby a livin | | } | at vital and necessary for his substitute taken from the culprit: it pee

| | | 1} ithout the protection of the pri a life for a life, the lif ; i e prince of .

' ife of a man for the | people of the church nor def.

_ the Franks (Charles Martel], I can nei life of a tree." (Frazer, The Gold | | | re efend the priests neither rule the len Bough, .

Pp— the practice of pagan rites and sacril and clerks, monks and nuns; nor can | 1922, Ch. 9, Section 1,Paragraph 2) q ) | and awe inspired by his name.

Tlegious worship of idols without his mandate The severity of this punishment seems | \ .

1] | uring a third tri ridiculous, but for G P to Rome in 736, § or German pagans, the to Germany, St, i , St. Boniface was made Archbi tree was central to thei ndi located in theaoea8 founded many moreSe are of Mainz. When he returned mankind. According tork Sede ec , ) | a center for conversion ah sch ai Boniface planned that ieee important of which was gods, one from the land ofice and mist 0

| | nya iritual renewal ot PES astery at Fuld ul and one from th | ) ) At this t , and a traini ew a would serve as e land of fire, create i | in eenaa=baie spent much energy buildin as facility for priests and missionaries. aeman and woman from twoaeoe | ablishi — acincti ivers ; ) reform in those landsee in a number ooe at ay structure of the Church tree whtea a supported by a great | | | | Sa and bishops had aber Pranks. The practice of the =%ad he initiated an extensive into theaienedsbhgles heme ) | € successor notoriously corry ad weakened ther dth und :

: to Charles Martel j pt. In cooperati e, and the erworld. Near the roots i t. Bonifa €! in Austrasia , ration with the s fi ots of this tree, ; | Be ce convened a Germ Tasia (the eastern porti ¢ sovereign, Karmann, 4 fountain produced sacred | the Frankish church. an synod in 742 which Pateaeoe kingdom of the Franks), to which all the wisdom ofeenl* a | It was St. Boniface's great dr elective plan for the reform of eee Fate lived near another ria7 :

- | six years old, he set out Rance ae€turn to the mission land of his S associated with the importance 1} | ainz with fifty other monks and youth, Frisia. Though seventy: ae felled | | s e Oak of T | L sailed down the Rhine to Frisia. ee nTtiog | | | ——— Oe } | — ) 232 Chapter Six en——_ | | — a a | | / ; Chapter Six 233 < + | |ia a ca a RIBES | .

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN T | ———————— SS | | ———ooOoOoO — } } | .

\ r aa) ; | oP P e ic "

| | There at Dorkum he and his comrades were martyred by the pagans. His body was retumed to | PART VI | a Fulda for burial.

| | St. Boniface converted German pagans, founded MONAKEMCS, Sri ree the Ecclesiastica) Conversion of Scandinavia | structure of the Church in Germany, and ne ei sein F ct ieee Se Frankish mule

| it : awe. 22 yasteries that he founded in eighth centu '

| The religious fervor of the German aa ips thelr pai sale English counterparts nehaie stil t as England supplied the missionaries for the conversion of German peoples, they in turn i | Popust ir thie perinad eleventh centuries,

*4 Zh rs of learning with their libraries and ae Hem, | J rovided missionaries for the evangelization ofScandinavia and the Slavs—though Anglo-Saxon onasteries became important centers

NV Cri i FOVICER Too :

| | sells ai Seg cma ancene Boniface won for them from th ae p onaries were also active in Scandinavia for some time.

| i They were aided, in part, by the privilegium that St.

Boniface v a € Papacy. With missionaries || {| | : lege (privilegit asteries were exempted from local diocesan control and "

Hl this papal privilege (privilegium) the monas 'she eo ae ni ; a nail | | answered directly to the papacy. In succeeding decades, Aiea Ben took an active ST. ANSGAR: THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH HIE . part in imbuing the Carolingian dynasty with aEeea srs that reached a high Point

| Every disciple of Christ is responsible in his own measure for the spread of the faith, Boniface's feast dayis celebrated on June5.

Every ee | under Charlemagne. St. Boniface's feast day is cele | but Christ the Lord is always calling from among his followers those whom he will. so i} .

— —————————— that they may be with him and be sent by him to preach to the nations. (St. Ansgar, A Ad gentes, IV.23) Hi . oa .

St. Ansgar (801-865) was born in the part of the Carolingian empire that would include modern France. When he was of age, he became a monk and spent time in northwest Germany

| er i before moving on to his missionary work in Denmark and Sweden, where he built the first | : a < F Uti - . ae = I.

"—_ Christian church.

| | | pe - (Se e,i, ® Pope Gregory IVmade St. Ansgar Bishop of Hamburg, and laterhe was named the Archbishop of | i | .

| g b \ dy ee = = - +H Bremen. In 854 he successfully converted Erik, king of Jutland. He worked with Erik to improve Se ~~ = ag <~ the conditions of the slave trade. Unfortunately, upon his death, all of his work crumbled as the Wh x . Te an a ae royag converted Scandinavians returned to paganism. St. Ansgar's feast day is celebrated on February 3,

=—\ : os | and he is amicably known among the Scandinavians as St. Oscar.

. a a DENMARK Hie al ' laf - , A. & ww b ia / St. Ansgar was invited to Denmark by a defeated Danish chieftain, Harold. Harold sought the aid

A of Louis the Pious, the son of Charlemagne, in order to regain his position in Denmark. Louis the .

- * me Pious agreed, on condition that Harold be baptized and start to promote Christianity. Harold A a - A St complied, was baptized, and set off for Denmark with St. Ansgar to recover it by force. Harold was

| <=) <4 fj gh a decisively defeated, and St. Ansgar moved on to other missionary fields.

: s | . << Acentury after St. Ansgar's death, another Danish king, Harold Bluetooth accepted Baptism in 965, ) upon the influence of his wife Gunheld. A short time later the Danish ruler Cnut the Great (1014- .

1035) declared Christianity the established religion in Denmark.

| ||} | ; i | | SWEDEN | | .

| Hy | \ Chnstianity's progress in Sweden was difficult at first, as it had been in Denmark. St. Ansgar's initial cen ctlorts failed, as did later attempts until the English Bishop Siegfried baptized King Olaf III around

* ihe year 1000. In 1078, the pagan temple at Uppsala was destroyed after the Christian chieftain Inge = ia defeated the pagan chieftain Svend. Not until the early twelfth century was the Christianization of ) 'ne Battle of Poitiers. Charles Marte Martel means "the Hammer") aa Sweden cr ata } ) Battle of Tours) in 732. has Saar hara ald = th any ; 1S Dest remembered for w fining the Battle of Poitiers (also known as the Sweden completed.

| Peninsula (Spain and Portugal Marte Fruita saat sh aoe popping the spread of the Arab (Islam) empire further than the Iberian

| ) ; | before conquering most of the Iberian Peninsula an¢ nso ee 2 skilled Arab army, which had swept through southern Asia and North Africa :

Raar ha a? zs le = aks os @ ané much of southern France. {t was this hes * thar darnatt ohare deae "aaa for the | =f OLAF: PATRON SAINT OF NORWAY | ~~ oe HE Conquered his enemy. Most ustorians believe that had he failed at Toure.

J<1 =i Fe woe SUMAIMG Mie - / | } halt of thehe receed he Franks to drive al the Arab 9arrisons out of what isnow France val acftss the Eee a The evangelization of Norway began around the middle of the tenth century. In those years, a | | ; : aalee £nch soil turned the tide of Islamic ac Vance, an Hifiad th. a eg hs ites Lad: aig "2 por dpi jhe Senec of L ay 5 _oo :

Short, and his grandson Charlemagne also tough Si eToremnnain a : pnmed the Frankish kingdom under Charles Martel. His son Pepin the sade of kings favorable to Christianity and hard-working Anglo-Saxon monks brought Christianity

| | | ee Umaga rom ®xpanding over the Pyrenees to the rest of Europe 0 Norway, aa .

234 Chapter Six a —$—$————————— _ = —— = — — :

= ——— | | Chapter Six 235 | :

= =) HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES | The first of those Christian kings, Hakan the Good (936-961), received his education in Englang

PART VII | | e first hrone, At his request, English monks went to Norway to teach theCathal ) We nkcaeae"aga successors to Haakan, however, left the emerging Norwegian ° Way | the population.

; | Woe a i a y Christantty varerable During the brief reign of St. OlafTryggvason (995-999), the "stablishmeny The Conversion of the Slavs WE) Wy | of the Church seemed to have solidified. Unfortunately. Deeg henegit employed 3

| | variety ofgrossly inhumane methods of coercion in establishing Christianity as the official religion entral and Eastern Europe were the scenes of competing missionary tensions and interests.

| HN] of Norway. re (hea missionaries converted the rest of Germany and Poland, while Greek missionaries | | The reign of St. Olaf (9957-1030, king 1016-1028), who was baptized in Rouen, France, marks the evangelized much of Eastern Europe. The conversion of the Bohemians (Czechs), Moravians

| | end of pagan opposition in Norway. In sharp contrast to Tryggvason S barbaric enforcemen, of (Slovaks), Slovenes, Croats, and Poles was directed from Rome; the Serbs, Bulgarians, Ruthenians

Christianity, St. Olaf ruled his people and spread Christianity with a civil but stern hand. He invited (Ukrainians), and Russians received Christianity from Constantinople.

English and German missionaries to come during his reign, de he ceaiek es ee of the olg Together with pagan beliefs, i . pagan temples and erected churches over their ae 0g

: ahs if aE traditional STS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS:

| | political institutions and practices began to disappear. onsequently, the old clans began losing oe o | i power as St. Olafguided Norway away from a conglomeration of independent clans toward a more

THE "APOSTLES OF THE SLAVS WP OEE U a unified kingdom. The growing resentment of the clans exploded in 1028, and St. Olaf was deposed

- , TEE andee ies he attempted to regain his throne in 1030, nobles from various clans aligned Inspire the hearts of your people with your word and your teaching. You calledSete

| i | ! themselves with Canute the Great of Denmark. St. Olaf perished in the battle, and within a yearhe preach the Gospel of your, Christ and to encourage them to lives and works pais = taait was proclaimed a saint. His shrine at Trondheim wasa significant pilgrimage site during the you. (A prayer of St. Cyril, just before his death, Cap. 18: Denkschriften der kaiserl.

| Pil | | | Medieval period. St. Olaf's feast day is celebrated on July 29.

Akademie der Wissenschaften, 19 [Wien 1870], p. 246) 1] MO} | | Two brothers, Sts. Cyril (827-869) and Methodius (826- | IF mii ICELAND 885), were the first missionaries among the Slavs. They f | were from a senatorial Greek family in Thessalonica.

} | i} Missionaries reached Iceland from Norway around 980, Twenty years later the muling tribal council, Ratherthan continuing with their family's secularSeeaes | } | | known as the Althing (the Icelanders lived ina kingless society), accepted Christianity. Christianity

St. Cyril (who originally bore the name Constantine) an } yb all | was not foreign to them when the missionaries arrived since Irish Christian slaves had been

St. Methodius entered the Priesthood. St. Cyril, a man of WD GIEE CUI | brought to the island, and some of the native aristocracy had already converted to Christianity,

The great intellectual ability, joined the philosophy faculty at a0 | oil missionary work proceeded slowly at first until 996, when Stefnir Thorgilsson, a missionary the university in Constantinople. St. Cyril then gave up a yy | atl il commissioned by St. Olaf Tryggvason, arrived on the island. Though they were deeply troubled by promising career in scholarship, and undertook a mission ei A | the high-handed measures that St. Olaf Tryggvason had imposed on the independent farmers in to the Khazars in south Russia. Then, in 863. Emperor nie the Trondelag, many of the Icelanders soon converted,

Michael III commissioned the brothers as missionaries to \ atu I '

; : f Moravia (Slovakia).

, ital n the year 1000, the Althing authorized the Law Speaker, Thorgeir of Ljosvatn, to decide for the | OTT island whether it would become Christian. After an entire night spent in prayer, Thorgeir, who was

The brothers knew the difficult Slavic language quite well—Thessalonica was surrounded by Slavic a pagan, declared himself for Christ. Thus, Iceland maintained its unity by becoming Christian settlements and was itself populated by a fair number of Slavs. Before their departure, St. Cyril

Paganism was suppressed, and over the next fifty years, through much labor and teaching, developed the Glagolithic script for use with the Slavs. (The Cyrillic alphabet, which bears

Christianity spread throughout the island. In 1056, Iceland received its own bishop.

"t. Cyril's name, is a later development of his original Glagolithic alphabet. Both alphabets are rooted in Greek.) Use of the Glagolithic script ceased and gave way to Cyrillic after the 1100s, except in Croatia, where it was used until around 1900.

FINL | | AND AND ST. |ENRY OF UPPSALA During their missionary work, Sts. Cyril and Methodius used the vernacular Slavonic language for | .

The origin of Christianity in Finland is not as clear as in the otherScandinavian countries. It appears seg oe ie lturgy and Gansisted the Bible inte SEONG, rates ae earl Glagolithic

| | | to have arrived later than in other Scandinavian countries —probably in the twelfth centu in: phabet. Though their innovative use of the vernacular proveda vital tool in reaching many peothe

English missionaries led the way.

Y ry. Abal if with Christ's message, German missionaries were offended by Sts. Cyril and Methodius' use of | .

) lavonic i ini i i * Henry of Uppsala, a bishop and Englishman, Was Srmmajor sparieetizen oeERIE By ani : niccee of Latin in the liturgy, and denounced them to the pope as heretics.

| | | | hurch was established under the guidance of Bishop Thomas. probably another Engitshunett i order to clarify the situation, Sts. Cyril and Methodius went to Rome for guidance from Pope mt Finland, unlike Frisia inGermany or Denmark. is a considerable dictated acd the Britishfee

St. Nicholas I (858-867). St. Nicholas died before their arrival. but Pope Adrian II (867-872), | presence of English missionaries in Finland attests to their continuing. deep relistous con jietlans his successor, received them warmly in 868 and granted them permission to use Slavonic in .

Courage, and missionary zeal, St. Henry is the Patron saint of Finland Pree the liturgy. St. Cyril made his final vows as a monk, but died in Rome before being

| | : able to return to Moravia. Pope Adrian II made St. Methodius Bishop of the Moravians, and St. Methodius continued his evangelizing mission. ngelizing | | Li} be Se WIL AT Chapter six — — | Chapter Six 237 ) ) Loo!

= ee —, a—_-|m|m|mttt ; HISTORY OF THE CHURCH | THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES . or ae | ty] | The Glagolithic Alphabet | rrr BY) 9 | THE CHURCH OF SAN CLEMENTE IN ROME '

| a b V g d e £ dz | ; fh / A i :

| | L % | P Ma acaba Pe | ie | | : é k m n | ~ a | | H o } P]b ®) >|'

|i all R) p r u f x (kh) =? aL. st w/a i y i y | en ae 7 i ) = .

<a }* . we ty =. j ) | A] P| € |S]96/46]ot | 6 | =a "1H | —_z_z:z_~«waKz*i*«*\<Zz&:n s+ —SSS a~ A In spite of papal support, St. Methodius was arrested by German missionaries and held in Captivity he } Ny — | ) for three years upon his retum to Moravia. The Germans. who were harsh and forceful with oR A > | the Slavs, scourged and denounced St. Methodius yet again. Pope John VIII eventually secured

| oe ' ee | ) St. Methodius' release. The Holy Father reaffirmed the use of the Slavonic language, though he | | | | later distanced himself from St. Methodius' work, as did later popes because of miscommunication

< a — | HF || and political intrigue. Because later popes refused to recognize the use of Slavonic, many Slavs ) | turned away from Rome to Constantinople. i - oe <2. A=a :

= = — _— ~~" =><- i om «= — = | | By the time St. Methodius died in 885, all of Moravia was converted. In 1980 Pope John Paul II — 3 aa ey = % b) named the brothers "Patrons of Eur ope.' The feast day of Sts, Cyril and Methodius is February 14.

_ | | STS. LUDMILLA AND WENCESLAUS:

Wr St. Cyril died in Rome, he be interred in San Clemente, the Church | || :

PATRON SAINTS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC | was buried in the Basilica of San bearing his name.

| / a eR | | Clemente, and his tomb became a place The present San Clemente was built in | i * eee 10 lus' wor k extended indirectly to Bohemia. In 871, St. Methodius baptized St, Ludmilla of pilgrimage for many Slavic Catholics. the twelfth century upon the remains of Py s¢.

727) and her husband, Duke Borzwoi (who thus became the first Christian duke of Bohemia). in additional to being buried there, a similar basilica erected in the fourth

The holy St. Ludmilla worked to spread the Fark ...- % + pert St. Cyrilmade another great contribution €a to spread the Faith among the Bohemian people.

Borzwoi soon century and is one of only a handful of passed his power on to his sc tietaks weil vias : to San Clemente during his life. Around i ining i | on to his son Wratislaw, who had Wattiédaindvask ateianes rahi ; Medieval Churches remaining in Rome. hail | Fetendal entivench, ; ened a pagan woman named Drahomira who 861 the Emperor Michael II] sent both :

: ae feigned Conversion. Drahomira bore twin sons \Wataeealat ie. menoaha ae aus | ; i Besides some exceptional mosaics ' lived with his erancicc u » SONS, Wenceslaus and Boleslaus. St. Wenceslaus

Sts. Cyril and Methodius to work with ; "se Wi Als grandmother St. Ludmilla, and when his father Passed away, the duchy passed to him the Kh De coe one Tecently Teste, Drahomira, jealous and frightened of her Christian mother-in-law es ber: a ahead hae azars northeast of the Black Sea San Clemente also contains a fresco | | | :

St Ludmilla murdered by two noblemen, Before her | ; fed Se it. A eae pest es del While t orden See i seat cepicting both St. Cyril and his brother

| often used in the conversion ofthiatait = het murder, St. Ludmilla had replicated a mode lle there, they are believed to have St. Methodius. Both Sts. Cyril and : family through the influence of a Christian wiaa wis SNLuPS of Europe: conversion of the ruling

Scat: relics of St. Clement I, the Methodius are buried in San Clemente.

| St. Ludmilla's feast day Seclens evan Woman, and the subsequent conversion of the subjects. urth pope, in the Crimean Sea. St. Cyril St day is celebrated on September 16, brought these remains back to Rome to | it] Drahomira took control of the duchy a ee

* | Ritentiicce Phoned attempted d reversion to paganism. The people of | | | oo em eer attempted revival of paganism, and they manage¢

| | 238 Chapter Six ——— —— ——mNmnNm—-"->=]$e —_—_—__—$—$ SS eee | | Chapter Six 239 | hob iis A = = ae _ _ EEE Lh HISTORY OF THE CHURCH g aeae __THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES

Wp lM | to have her overthrown. St. Wenceslaus, though only about fourteen years old at the time b | ui | duke. The young duke moved quickly to suppress the near feudal anarchy that plaguedeee ee e | Hi | } | | He tured to Germany for protection. and both political and religious support. The linger; hemia

| ) | populace and many of the Bohemians in general resented this relationship with @ p LA | | | | and movements toward internal unification. These tensions and the insidious promptings ari

; pi ww ereve ye es A I | | deposed mother inspired his brother Boleslaus to commit fratricide in 935, killing St. We Of his

| on his way to Mass. Boleslaus later repented and converted to Christianity, and hetransf ACEslays rma & je ay relics of his brother St. Wenceslaus to Prague. Quickly, the Bohemians recognized theathe

[3i hl & 6a ie & A) | St. Wenceslaus, and throughout Bohemia he became an object of veneration and po ae of C i We m/e \ o— hy 5) Ni | | Otto the Great of the Holy Roman Empire compelled Boleslaus to reinstate Chase aT Piety v4 | —!

| | Boleslaus' son, Boleslaus II made Christianity the religion of the Bohemians. The feastae and rN\ 4 we 'ea .

Wenceslaus is celebrated on September 28. ay of St / a | | vi . aN a) Fe WE | ST. ADALBERT OF PRAGUE: res fer , ah ei | i "a (ee ¥ :

; ( ; | | THE "APOSTLE OF THE PRUSSIANS"

— ' ra Poy *. =) al St. Adalbert (939-997), born Vojti Fs { bs , born Vojtiekh, is anoth } - *y y Re 1 \ the conversion of the Slavs. He worked aeeee

% 1 * Alana Sak | mians, the Hungarians, and the Poles, and pie ry i ij By | | 'ma ss Pie opposition fi : aced difficut ww »: ty WG A A} | Pp rom pagans and even from members of / :

| ie Church. He was born of a noble Bohemian family and 3 ae { | | j . a | | \ A | . in Magdeburg under a German archbishop ofti Wace | Zr LAT | = | Pe A | | | Pe i \ a 't Eventually he was named Bishop of Prague. (TheGeaae

| | af q 5 SY Paget ure was given the status of an archdiocese aad i r — | | , \ | A | 'm for missionary activity among the Slavs.)

| | , + Bes e ey ) aa + :

| | at aN a) a es aac fled Prague because of the hostility he = | it | aed As p: Se we! int ngendered on account of his clerical reform Otto I! Enthroned. St. Adalbert becameth f | | — Pipeeeiieeeg, = Pope. (C was during his time Pee

1] | =,4 et Bip rs away from Prague (ca. 996

Poles ci = =) Ryo my St.

Ad: ap . 996) that oles made the officie ) =) AW a Lui} Adalbert became the confessor of the teenage Holy Roman sea the feat Fol pacenee oe smooth and peaceful. A Polish noble, D

| | | | = ¢"4i == Emperor Otto Ill. St. Adalbert made a deep impact on the Dubravka th isere to encourage his subjects to become ci BS neces Wenaia)

| | | ne ae young Otto III thr soe e ka, the daughter of Boles] stian. He had | | ) .

WisLech ough his Christian example and teaching. under her Christian influence es AUS I of Bohemia, and, consistent with the familiar ad =

Pet hope | {ter he fled a second time from Prague, St. Adalbert In 973 Duke M at Mieszko converted. model. it was .

| a Hungary as a mission i ert went to uke Mieszko and St. Dubravk | We Hungarian leader carespeakSsBae: meeeSthe Brave. in the care of Otto II for hisSASpct Teen Gee son, Boleslav Chrobry the | | | A missionary journeys took hi , Stephen.

Subsequent | pope to show that he considered hi € Mileszko sent a locket of his son's hai | —> l m to Poland and to Prussia. The Mieszko placed all is son to be under the speci air to the ) i} ae, rae) ae s of Polz ; pecial protecti :

| a prea who had worked with St eeepreva too him in 997, Boeleslav I (the Brave} | popes. Thus beganDaes service of the Holy See, thusnT Sd ae

Adalbert that it has been said the : g his missiona F rov : relationship betw assal land of the ) | SF mol Lanes Ais been said that he purchased St, Adalbert' ry work, had such high regard for proved essential for the survival of the Polish = He Polish people and the papacy—one th

| | independen a: eH Otto Ill visited St. Adalbert's grave G remains for an equivalent weight ish people in the many difficult centuries ahead a | | | €nce to the Polish church fr : e at Gniezno, he granted ecclesiasticd :

= = ' c Nn from th : os independence. St. Adalbert's feast day ue Germans, The Holy See also recognized this ST. STEPHEN THE GREAT the Germans ay is celebrated on April 23. He j &

Pp . He is revered by the Slavs an Be merciful to all who are sufferi su y Vi :

| POLAN the Lord who said: I desire eeeee keeping always in your heart the example of | | { | Christianity most likely arrived D ae ite but also with the Seay peace ene with everyone, not only ene } < ot ixely atived in Poland

"xercise of royal power, C > 10: te io en to his son, St. Emeri ea ier Curing the Hungarianae century through Moravian refugees who fled

The Hungarians were an aa ap. 1. 2. 10: PL 151, 1236-1257, 1242-1244) seal ses | || a ough th a ap "se ¥as . e ~ f .

| Bi) Mere was no organized Churchee were also intent on converting = 995 at the Battle of Lechpiretners tribe who were decisively defeated by O

| | | | un & . he presence of Christianity among the pagal open to the Gospel. Hungarian Sede they were a sedentary and peasant as le 'ie mas

_ prisoners in Germany drew the interest and saeIee | —s ——_ erman 240 Chapter Six —— pter S See EEE =z | =o —oe | | | | | ; i ~ -y Chapter Six 241 | | * | HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES | ————— —— :

———<<_—— = Hil | [ = lize Hungary.

| ceeded in obtaining permission to evange! ngary. ot. Adalbert of Prague | ] | | caine heading Hungary along the path of conversion. abe | was instrumental in lea sistant of Hungary in 997. and later its first King. In 985 he hag

&. % at | | St. Stephen (975-1054) Se father, Duke Geza, when they had been baptized by St, Adalber of | | become a Christian ie olta, was already a Christian of the Byzantine rite, though she pointedly ae .

Geza's wile, 2arolte, ie | .

J — ) welcomed Latin rite missionaries into Hungary : sree , f y *# = | .

= p an opposition within one year of ascending to ; y = Pa Srephen faced a difficult revolt from pag oo the yy a St.

Stephen ne s<sfully put down the rebellion, and immediately set about building up the Church | | throne. Heeer ae dioceses and monasteries. Like Duke Mieszko, St. Stephen placed

> <a | | Sak he tea t acy. In 1001 he received a royal crown from the pope, which Was Fa, ) | Hungary into the hands of the pap a. ror, Otto Ill. St. Stephen's feast day is celebrated op Ney 3 a» A av!

| also recognized by the Holy Roman Emperor, on " os ~ ) .

£ | > | | | ST. VLADIMIR: THE "APOSTLE OF THE RUSSIANS a iss, ) "fl | AND UKRAINIANS Py ae) '

Olga (ca. 980-969), the wife of th AY eS > \ ip eh Russia's introduction to Christianity begins with ie he ig Sats Rs OF the pagan | >"

») ia Prince Igor of Russia. She had embraced Christianity in Constantinople in 945. However, there iP if were many obstacles for missionaries in Russia, a land dominated by ancient Viking traditions ani

- = ye | practices. Paganism was widespread, and many of the practices poeris pie and human 4, a * y ; ir dead master i hi sacrifice (e.g.. slave girls were brutally murdered so as to join their

Sters: Curing the pagan viadimir and Rogneda by Anton Losenko. As a pagan chieftain, Viadimir took the rayal Norsewoman Rogneda by funeral rites). force to be his wife after he learned she was betrothed to his brother Yaropolk. To eliminate witnesses, he had

| The story of the conversion of Russia is inseparable from the story of St. Vladimir (d. 1015), The her parents and brothers killed. She bore Vladimir several children

| life of the man responsible for the Christianization of Russia itself parallels the country's miraculous | | movement from barbaric paganism to Christianity. St. teniaMs fies fare Oey Ae but emperor finally made a military deal with St. Vladimir (St. Vladimir proposed the terms): the || | | her Christianity had not passed down to her Sapient . She had been unable to convert her son Russian would take Basil's sister Anna in marriage (or else he would march on Constantinople), and i} | :

Sviatoslav (St. Vladimir's father), and Sviatoslav raised his son St. Vladimir to be a pagan chieftain in retum St. Vladimir would provide the hard-pressed emperor with 6,000 Viking warriors to put

| in the tradition of the Viking culture from which SylabOskev was descended. St. Vladimir had two down the rebellions. The Byzantines were shocked that a pagan and virtual barbarian would dare

| brothers, Yaropolk and Oleg, who, upon their father's death. controlled Kiev and Dream to ask for the hand of a Byzantine princess in marriage. Basil had very few other options, and | respectively, and St. Vladimir was the leader of Novgorod. Yaropolk turned on Oleg and defeated therefore agreed, but only on the condition that his sister would be marrying a Christian. As St.

| | | him, seizing control of most of RASSia He then arched on Novgorod and St. Vladimir, whoa Vladimir was familiar with Christianity and had been considering Baptism, this condition proved to | | | | || | Scandinavia. For a short while, Yaropolk controlled all of Russia. St. Vladimir soon returned wit : be no problem. Around 989 St. Vladimir was baptized, and he and a oaralasian

|} | great force and not only retook Novgorod, but also pushed all the way to Kiev, where he defeated ite tondidans ine 3) . aed — hi yt a and killed his brother. St. Vladimir then ruled all Russia (980) and lived a very typical pagan lifei conditions under which St. Vladimir came to be baptized and the situation of his entire life nal | | he had five wives and twelve children, he erected many idols and shrines to pagan gods, and he tg toa point certainly suggest that he merely assented to Basil's request, treating Baptism as was a ruthless ruler. asciea ern than as BS sacrament of Faith. But the radical changes that followed upon | | | x = :

*. Viadimir's Baptism instead suggest the powerful work of Grace moving in a man who trul | He eventually set his sights on the Greco-Roman empire, and as he was planning his campaign, understood Baptism and desired faith. No influential priest aided in his conversion, and his tes

| he began to take a slight interest in Christianity. St. Vladimir never stopped looking for ways t0 + MP SRR RAG rb t ) atfeigthien His rule, 6 miibh29 ne eee C a vce (cban € was yet terrified of her new Viking husband, his lands, and his people. With the same

Mat he even began to survey, compare, ane Coe deliberate and pragmatic will that had been previously aimed at building up a pagan kingdom

| Judaism, and both Latin and Byzantine Christianity to see if any of these foreign religions would St. Viadimi sai as ng :

| | solidly his' rile Se. Vigdnak' sort crs Sean Weise at y eee CE =, Viadimir then focused on living as a serious follower of Christ. He dismissed his five wives for | | srnicearlee are saidéo have fen oifidia naPl at ae ugh the saa oe He tore down the same idols and shrines he himself had erected years before, and he built

| | | i SAIMPANes Are Sal v€ found both Islay udaism rather unedifying, tho churches in their places. He als blished ber of aster sti | | they thought suitable.

During the Byzantine Pivic,.

< ue S aniiie Se 'aces. He also established a number of monasteries and Christian schools.

|| | émissarles "kriew or 403ieheelee Liturgy at Hagia Sophia in ware Zealously wishing to follow the examples in the Gospels, he threw huge banquets for the poor and | | St. Vladimir, who was alae fis his ; aacy Sa earth, They Tepoeeat Es Byzantine

Sc, ent wagonloads of food to the sick who could not get to the banquets. St. Vladimir focused | | Christianity Chuistsniey had Saeed2; es yh iene pate this a ee Bins, on converting his people. The Christian Viking was still a Viking, and he made Baptism

| | | Tee yunaeon ne o hind, though for purely utilitarian purp ee Foe — though many were quite willing to be baptized. By the time of his death in 1015,

| | Ree a vaes Ba II, found himself in need of aid in the late 980s. He faced two intem " Vladimir had firmly established the Christian Faith throughout Russia. His feast day is celebrated

| ang ot Madimir had suddenly appeared, dangerously close to Constantinople. The on July 15.

| | | | eee ee _ Ezz | | | Chapter Six ae ee || Chapter Six 243 | | i ee UU eae .

= =) —_mHISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES | |iy | ———————————————————————— | ; | | | i | || | N R Fh | | | i BULGARIA: A DIFFERENT PATH | | Christianity developed differently and separately in Bulgaria. The Faith reached the Bulgarians

A ae I} when King Boris was baptized in 864/5; he had feared thatae would e the last Pagan lang me - if ry A, | At this time the Bulgarians also ruled what is today ust was at first oriented toward "Hy | } .

Constantinople, but it is clear that he feared political and religious domination from the Byzantine i .

| emperors. For some time Byzantine and German missionaries worked among the People of "

A oe ——— Pi ae Va % tt es ny '

(=e ~ ell ir ad WV -— -— en | rh = . scan a f = = a, - Y | os we / ay od y ay ey ~ =— "a, _.

Ly ill | | The baptism of King Boris of Bulgaria | * = | | | | | , '

| In 866 Boris turned to Rome. He wrote Pope St. Nicholas I a letter containing 106 questions about 's Aa | | | | gr to dots i Bulgaria's Eansi0on from paganism to Christianity. Pope St. Nicholas I answered all ia ; a ~~ | | | of the questions, clearly delineating those Pagan Customs that conflicted with Christianity. Pagan ss IN | | traditions that contradicted doctrinal and moral teaching of the Church i ee > ) | practices that did not end :

_ ng o e nurch would be abolished. Pagan St. Benedict and his monks. Benedict's "Holy Rule" has been the fundamental monastic code in Europe and was a potent factor in the Bulgarian c | neanger or contradict the Catholic Faith would be kept as part of the development of Western civilization | | garian culture. ip with these directives, the pope also sent a bishop to Boris. In the end,

1] | | | a4 wanted a Separate patriarchate, but the pope would not grant him | this, and Bulgaria thus turned to Constantinople. This proved to be a CONCLUSION | ) | * tenuous relationship, and in subsequent centuries, Bulgaria asserted

| | y ) its own religious and political independence from Constantinople.

At the core of her mission in the world, the preaching and spreading of the Gospel is one of the | ) i , cr ee independence was finally recognized by the Patriarchate of Church's chief responsibilities. Through the many challenges that this period of evangelization

| i Onstantinople in the twentieth century. posed, the Church remained focused on expanding the message of Christ to all who would listen.

Not until the Spaniards and the Portuguese arrived in the Americas late in the fifteenth century Pope St. Nicholas | (858-867) woud Christianity again experience such growth among new peoples. At the same time that the ; Ly -» Rite clet ier from sie was the beneficiary of this great work of €vangelization, tensions began to mount between || | ee _ Nicholas answeredall of King Boris 106 whistianity in the West and Christianity in the East. Seemingly irreconcilable differences drove the ) | | | | ' comune ne ee those pagan ai traditions farther apart, despite great efforts to improve the situation. The next chapter will

| | 1} | Pope also sent a bishop toBorin The 00k at these differences and their sources, which would unfortunately lead to the Great Schism.

| H y H I \| FY ee ee ) | 244 Chapter six Se ————————— :

| | | — en | ) Chapter Six 245 || ) | | - = .

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OFTHE BARBARIAN TRIBES l/| | | i 1] .

| y ANNAN!) a) j i : ona Chit St. Bede,Conversion ofEngland, ) n Paul II, Slavorum Apostoli, Episcopal responsibility, to preserve unity of | Feet sage nmeanedithe "Theae 7m pate missionaries rapes of the Slavs), 14, 1-2 faith and love between the Churches of which | least of all the faithful, and utterly despised by ee2 oe aes It seems in no way anachronistic to see aEy were members, namely, between= WE || many. My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son

In this island [England] landed the servant of Sts. Cyril and Methodius as the authentic urch of Constantinople and the Churc A | | Ht .ea of Potitus, a priest, of the village Bannavem our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, precursors of ecumenism, in as much as they of Rome on the one hand, and the Churches

|| Taburnize; he had a country seat nearby, and being, as is reported, nearly forty men. They wished to eliminate effectively or to reduce which arose in the land of the Slavs on the | 1) H| m | there I was taken captive. had, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory, any divisions, real or only apparent. between other, was and always will remain theirgreat i was then about sixteen years of age. Ididnot Drought interpreters of the nation of tie the individual communities belonging to the Sake merit was all the greater if one | unt adi UncarRe HSCAGE Tons fallen uo Captives Franks, and sending to Ethelbert, signified same Church, (but) provides a stumbling block takes into account the fact that their mission

1] hE ive | to Ireland with many thousands of people that they were Sees from Rome, and brought to the world, and inflicts damage on the Keaexercised in the years 863-885, thus | Hh ih | ai SeRIeAK od else Oe Raed ay a joyful message, which most undoubtedly

| most holy cause of proclaiming the gospel to in the critical years when there emerged a Nad ie) eee ! apn ape aes secede Gilet assured to al that took advantage of it | every creature. more serious and fatal discord and bitter

| Wi if ments, and did not obey our priests, who everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom | The fervent solicitude shown by both brothers

Seer etyeen Cie SUN SIee oar PR . oF hat would never end with the livi d ) '

NVR used to remind us of our salvation. And the a: and especially by Methodius by reason of his | Lord brought over us the wrath of his anger true God....

| | | | | and scattered us among many nations, even ...As soon as they entered the dwelling place | | unto the utmost part of the earth, where now assigned them, they began to imitate the .

1)) my littleness is placed among strangers. course of life practiced in the primitive church:

( | | And there the Lord opened the sense of my applying themselves to frequent prayer, Hh | unbelief that I might at last remember my sins watching, and fasting; preaching the word of | | and be converted with all my heart tothe Lord _ life to as many as they could; despising

VOCABULARY my God, who had regard for my abjection, all worldly things, as not belonging to them; | | and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and receiving only their necessary food from | | | watched over me before I knew Him, and those they taught; living in all respects

_ BONIFACE (BONA FACERE) PALLIUM | before I was able to distinguish between good conformably to what they prescribed to Latin for "doer of good" and the name given to A sacred vestment symbolic of the fullness and evil, and guarded me, and comforted me others, and being always disposed to suffer

St. Boniface, the missionary to Germany who of Episcopal authority, worn by popes and :

| as would a father his son. any adversity, and even to die for that | set the stage for a radical reshaping of the heart archbishops. It is circular, one inch in width

| | HenceI cannot be silent, nor, indeed. is it truth which they preached. In short, several _ of Europe. with six small crosses.

. i expedient — about the great benefits and the Rellevee and were baptized, admiring . great grace which the lord has deigned to the simplicity of their innocent life and the CANTERBURY PATRONS OF EUROPE | bestow upon me in the land of my captivity: sweetness of their heavenly doctrine....

The most important episcopal see in Englandin _ Title given by Pope John Paul II in 1980 to . for this we can give to God in return after ...In this they first began to meet, to sing,

_ the sixth century and the site of St. Augustine's Sts, Cyril and Methodius were responsible for | .

| | | having been chastened by Him, to exalt and to pray, to say Mass, to preach and to baptize, DSSNee the conversions of all of Moravia and other | | | __ Praise His wonders before every nation that _tll the king, being converted to the faith

GLAGOLITHIC SCRIPT eeee err oner | | is anywhere under the heaven, allowed them to preach openly and to build Based on the G and translated the Bible into Slavic to reach | | | or repair churches in all places.

| bys ene Steck alpayetal wes developed more people.

| MOZARABES This title refers either to a particular state :

| {| | Spanish people who chose to live underArab nk degpalaceaaSeta ao | | ) | tule after the Muslim invasion of Spain in 711.

| a Ih H T Uf 246 Chapter Six iae — .

| | | 'a Chapter Six 247 | | © a : iit iti nie | } HISTORY OF THE CHURCH THE CONVERSION OF THE BARBARIAN TRIBES | | Ti , i | f y \ f | ait | | Tt y y STUDY QUESTIONS PRACTICAL EXERCISES | | | ie issionari i i ; ieth century, .

. k 18. From where did the missionaries for _ The introduction mentions bias against 4. By the end of the twentie tury | .

1. Discuss the role 2 the bishop in the wor:

S caenanee Respond to someone who said practically every nation discussed in this | Pail | ihte ee the following: "Missionaries cause destruction. chapter has suffered in its practice of 1) 1) | 2. Why is France known as the "Church's 19. Who is the "Apostle of the North"?

| They find native peoples, and then force Christianity after the effects of materialism, ii} | hn dies daughter"? ich saintly king' western conceptions of God on them. communism, and war, For example, in the Ni | ui!

" ve aoe aypai eS_s es Christian missionaries destroy the families and states within the former East Germany, more | | 3. Who is known as the "Apostle of Ireland, rreatBe rs Cn ee culture of natives, who have been living just than seventy percent of the people are not | i} in | anit SOBEE fs his heckeround? eer fine without Christianity." baptized. What do you think might be the Ath bet | 4. How did Irish monasteries protect 21. How was Christianity's acceptance in 2. What are three ways that every Christian ace .the loss sew aiheveeae ia | and promote Western civilization?

Iceland different from the usual mode] | today can evangelize?

By eS etieces resé ig | ial of the king converting first?

| 5S. Why did Celtic Christianity enter into a 3, Discuss Sts. Cyril and Methodius and the | period of decline by the 800s?

22. What does the presence of English trials which they faced. How did their methods | | : churchmen like Bishop Henry of Uppsala exemplify the Church's respect for different

| ; i 6. Who was the "Apostle of Scotland"? in Finland demonstrate about the | cultures?

| | | | 7. What are two ways in which Celtic English church'

Christianity differed from Roman 23. How did the conversion of the Slavs Ween e l Chrisdaniey? cause tension?

FROM THE CATECHISM | | | 8.

When did the Church finally implement 24. Who were the "Apostles of the Slavs"

| | Screen ot Bevel the kin and what were their backgrounds?

830 The word "catholic" means "universal," order that the design of God's will may be ve recognized today? How often are :

| inthe sense of "according to the totality" fulfilled: he made human nature one in the . m |) Catholics required to go to Penance'

25. Why did many Slavslater turn against | or "in keeping with the whole." The Church beginning and has decreed that all his | We | 9.

How is it known that English Christianity 2s hierrech in favor of is catholic in a double sense: children who were scattered should be finally

| | | existed at least before 314? eee ee First, the Church is catholic because Christ is gatherSawn=One.ay pga: "

26. What title did Pope John Paul II give present in her. "Where there is Christ Jesus, universality which adorns the People of Go .

Who was the "Apostle of England"?

Sts. Cyril and Methodius in 1980? there is the Catholic Church" (St. Ignatius is a gift from the Lord himself whereby the ie 11.

What was the most important episcopal of Antioch, Ad Smyrn. 8,2: Apostolic Fathers, Catholic Church ceaselessly and efficaciously | ii see in England?

27. What do the martyr deaths of St. Ludmilla lI/2, 311). In her subsists the fullness of Christ's S¢¢ks for the return of all humanity and alll its | .

| and St. Wenceslaus indicate about the _ _ body united with its head: this implies that goods, under Christ the Head in the unity of | i | 12. What is the significance of the Synod of role of martyrs? she receives from him "the fullness of the his Spirit (LG 13 § 1-2; cf. Jn 11:52).

28. What German city was made an ie of salvation" (UR 3;AG 6; Eph 1: 22-23) 832 "The Church of Christ is really present |al 13. Who is the "Father of English History" and archdiocese specifically for the formation

. fe ne Hiss willed: correct and Sommpiete in all legitimately organized local groups of the | | what important contribution did he make of missionaries for the Slavs? i d Sey Be faith, full sacramental life, and faithful, which, in so far as they are united

| . with regard to the calendar?

| ordained ministry in apostolic succéssion. to their pastors, are also quite appropriately i ; 29. Which Polish ruler made Poland a vassal

_ _ The Church was, in this fundamental sense, called Churches in the New Testament..., What precipitated the decline of the land of the popes, thus beginning a sa ole on the day of Pentecost (cf. AG4) and In them the faithful are gathered together

| | | Church in England from 800-1000? long and important relationship between _ _ _ will always be so until the day of the Parousia. through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ,

Who is the "Apostle of Frisia'?

Poland and the papacy?

831 Secondly, the Church is catholic because and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is | | an ; 30. Much of Russia was inhabited by the | she has been sent out by Christ on a mission celebrated. ...In these communities, though

| | | 16. Who is the "Apostle of Germany" and how descendants of what tribe?

: to the whole of the human race (cf. Mt 28:19), they may often be small and poor, or existing ) | did he shape the heart of Europe?

| All men are called to belong to the new in the diaspora, Christ is present, through | i | People of God. Thi ; whose power and influence the One. Holy,

17. The monastery of which city becarne pl of God.

This People, therefore, while : s :

| most ininoreine in al oraesoe the remaining one and only one, is to be spread eas and Apostolic Church is constituted Wt | | throughout the whole world and to all ages in ea 20); |

248 Chapter Six ———a <<, | ) | ) | —% Chapter Six 249 Se —=— | t !

_ ne yy r Church." whicl . " ng them in the name of the Father and p 833 The} h pa r eparchy), refers { Phe Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching | | | | e | ' as @ | jist Risiacns byt pene ies aaa Seer immer ener t | ast andWest was shattere | | 178; 311,1; 312), These particular Ch The Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately 9 the Great §chism (DG. sep | | nstituted after the mode :

Cire Jed in th > efernal love of the Most Holy l t Church; it is in these and { mec ut OF ; lity: "The Church on earth is Dy her nature with t € SGIN€ SGCYGIN | exists"

(LG 23) F r, she has as her origin the MSsion of the — --— a "y ae "A [Pe ee Particular Churches are fully catholi Son and the Holy Spirit" (AG 2), The uitimate th on Va A fea fF 7LR PULL a n with one of them = cha ; ssion is none other than to on:

, Sr Sa ? J Pr ~ wey Vt, Puy > the Church of Kon ~ ; :

, Naa make men snare| ' poy eres YA , 7. i a Oe ys + , harity"

(St. Ignatius Of Antioch < NOEL. b the Father and the oon in their Spirit OT love va , > s ' 74 J SEG as "Or with this church Vy iCa. a ee to from God's % whe A ; Bi / we ,, * ' a .

For w he whole Church, that is the 851 Missionary motivation It is from q 'fa 2 i<5 F JZ / bn —_ :

\ must necessanly be in ve for all men that , ~! d } acy f .

> faithful everywhere, mu nen te" oe en ee A ation and > Wig - + - ; ; ass belie n the incamate Word's descent t Christ urges us on"

(2 Cor 5:14: cf. AA 6; salar < Mit Wy f y Pe } infe,- ose ee | to us, al Christian churches everywhere RMiss 11) Indeed, Pt aleciaien — _—~ ' i.

"Ge ENR Be BSA [ = jehelerestiChn rch that is be saved and to come to the knowlec Ay ) i o Re , :

Bi fat ¥e nee , " fat Romelt heir only be e truth (1 F P -% ' bn A J c ORS FS4, 1 Fe Oe here [at Rome] to be th :

P a +: through the knowledge an :© rr a ee erty tL ; * Teta, hi Fe ey Fine nce, according to the Se VIOr § Salvation of e veryone tn Ous PUie ; v ; a * re y ¥ Lm eae *, LA +, ; " Le '

__ tag * és J es Opuscula theo.:

137-140) of truth are already on the Dee ee mis " Mr =Oe oe af 'ger.

~ A Vy. Mel Cane. | ; rament af ration' the S( as to bring them the (rucn.

; ya (9 9/65 eet MO > :

, / rie a ae . be the universal sacrament of salvati sagt eel believes in God's universal plan of salvation, cigs oa Pe 2; ar, me Ne , | ola Pat"

; See Pe ee ee ae ; ; ioe the Church mnuer be missionary a, oq ne tts ms, i Mt 16-15) (ae r\ ee ar I Alqc oe _ hd , ; , ah yt TS oa: GF r, he, 4i¢PPD wees oe "ee J << '

Csi So ee Sis rg tg @ v ar Ss 7, + . y i Bs Brat ce A - ~» 5 ae. o's."

Sy - @ Pd _ -" 4% nad Ps ' * n eee _ b S "tt ..@ "

: if, ¥ a iy LIPS ZS og © ke «*s ; ext A€ 9 At naoeae hated Tpke ee <& '~w rf, Die Piet, 5% eft eia"*s ~s , ) OE DD 544 25 Sid Va ad Ss on.

7; Wat, 4 yA Ue + "ag / "De ~ . s ep) Se Cplae 4 Ale GS Mx aga pra Th a?

\wat es" bY Xe eBags? ~~ 4 ve) a"

/ ae oe PES AE ROT Su Sas pee } ft 55"

~- > we a, ty a f~na¥ ees.

= vat Ae eS oera " OS A ; be a4 ; :

L _—_— lb 1% we Ay, é A / < rng? of.

| = 'Vd. < PIS *% Ay Gx, . > '- '> -_ . c Z - Ps ~ i 4 —- - = . a « Chapter Six a NIA hd TA ~ Ako a .

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