A Great Cloud of Witnesses:
40 Saints from Catholic History
Session 6:
9 Century - Ansgar, Cyril & Methodius
10th Century - Wenceslaus
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The rise of the Carolingians
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486: Clovis became king of the Franks (Merovingian line)
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590-650: Columban and the Irish missionary monks
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732: Charles Martel stops the Muslim advance into France at Tours
 He was mayor of the palace for the weak Merovingian king of Franks
741: Charles died and was succeeded as mayor of palace by son Pepin
 Pepin appointed Boniface to lead series of reform synods in France
 Founding of Benedictine monasteries east of the Rhine
Pepin needed divine sanction in order to be true king of Franks
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They re-evangelized the Frankish territories: especially rural
720-750: Boniface evangelized the barbarians east of the Rhine
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496: he was baptized, and his people followed suit
After Clovis’ death in 511 the Frankish Church became lax
In 750 he wrote to Pope Zachary: “Who is legitimate king, the one with the name, or the one with the power?”
 Zachary replied that it’s the one with the power
751: Boniface anointed Pepin king of Franks (Carolingian line)
752: the Lombards threatened Rome itself
 Pope Stephen II appealed to Pepin and the Franks for help
756: Pepin defeats the Lombards, hands over lands in central Italy to pope
 This is known as the “Donation of Pepin”
 These would become the Papal States: pope as king (lasted until 1870)
771: Charlemagne becomes King of Franks (771-814)
 Ambitious, aggressive, statesman, patron of scholars
 772-805: long conquest of Saxony, forced conversions
 Theocratic
monarch: ruled Church & state (like Constantine)
was a loyal son of St. Peter, but also admirer of old imperial Rome
 “Carolingian Renaissance”: court school at Aachen
 He
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Pope Hadrian I was elected (772-795): tough Roman aristocrat
 Match for Charlemagne: they
liked each other, worked well together
confirmed the “Donation of Pepin”
 795: Hadrian dies on Christmas day; Charlemagne wept at the news
 Charlemagne
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Christmas Day, 800: Charlemagne is crowned as “Emperor”
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Filioque (“and the Son”) controversy
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During mass at St. Peter’s, Pope Leo III places imperial crown on him
 Was this Charlemagne’s idea, or Leo’s, or both?
Constantinople protested this usurpation of imperial title and power
 German emperors would eventually claim title “Holy Roman Emperor”
 Decisive turn of Western Church away from East to the North
Church in Spain (6th century) added this clause to Nicene Creed
 The Spirit “proceeds from the Father (and the Son)”
 Spread to Charlemagne’s realms; he promoted it
Greeks objected to this addition to the ancient creed
700’s: Slavic peoples move into eastern Europe and the Balkans
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They were pagan and had no written language
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Breakdown of Charlemagne’s empire: 814-900
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His sons turned out to be weak rulers
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Photian Schism (863-870)
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Eastern Emperor (Michael III) deposes Patriarch of Constantinople (Ignatius) and replaces him with Photius
863: Pope Nicholas I (the Great) deposes and excommunicates Photius
867: Photius presides over Eastern synod that returns the favor
 Attacked Filioque (“and the Son”) as a Western heresy
8th Ecumenical Council: Constantinople IV (870)
 Attended mostly by bishops aligned with Rome
 Photius is deposed, Ignatius is reinstated
 This council was not recognized as truly ecumenical by eastern churches
Tensions between Roman church and eastern churches rise
800-950 AD: Invasions of Europe from three sides
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843: Treaty of Verdun divides Charlemagne’s empire between three sons
Muslims in the Mediterranean
 830’s: Muslim forces conquered Sicily and southern Italy
Magyars (“Hungarians”): from central Asia
 In 895 arrived on the Hungarian plain: incursions into Frankish realms
 Finally defeated by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I in 955
 Magyars were assimilated: conversion under King Stephen (d. 1038)
Viking invasions: from Scandinavia (Norsemen)
 Swedes went southeast deep into Russia
 Norwegians and Danes went southwest into Europe: summer raids
 850’s: they settled in northern England and northwest France (Normandy)
 870’s: battered coast of Spain, took Sicily and southern Italy
Carolingian civilization was nearly wiped out by all of this
 Birth of Medieval Europe: feudalism
Ansgar, bishop (Feb. 3)
9th Century
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Patron saint of Denmark
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Born circa 801 near Amiens in northern France
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He was baptized there: soon brought Ansgar with him back to Denmark
 Ansgar preached to the Danes and won many converts
But in 827 King Harold was expelled from Denmark
 Anskar returned to Saxony: brought many Danish converts with him to be educated at monasteries
829: King Bjorn of Sweden sent envoys to Frankish Empire
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Educated at nearby monastery of Corbie: became a monk there
Then moved to Corbie’s offshoot in Saxony: abbey of Corvey
 This monastery would play key role in evangelization of Scandinavia
 Ansgar began a preaching ministry in the surrounding area
In 825 King Harold of Denmark came to Mainz
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Extensive biography of him by his successor as archbishop, St. Rembert
Ansgar returned to Sweden with them and began preaching
 This mission met with initial success
831: Ansgar was elected abbot of Corvey (he returned to Saxony)
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Then King Louis the Pious named him bishop of new see of Hamburg
 Founded to organize the mission to the Danes & Swedes
Pope Gregory IV made him legate of the Holy See to peoples of the North
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831-845: Ansgar as bishop of Hamburg
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845: King Louis the German names Ansgar as bishop of Bremen
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For next 20 years Ansgar labored to continue mission to Scandinavia
But resources were severely lacking: little success
865: death of Ansgar (buried in Bremen)
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He organized the mission to Denmark, Sweden, & Norway
But as the Frankish Empire declined this mission fizzled
 Vikings were able to attack Frankish lands: even Hamburg in 845
The missions to Scandinavia soon collapsed
 Not revived until the end of the Viking age circa 1000
Ansgar renowned for his preaching, charity to the poor, simplicity of life
 Began the practice of adding a Psalm Prayer after each Psalm in the Divine Office
Cyril, monk (and Methodius, bishop): Feb. 14
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Brothers: Methodius born in 815, Cyril in 827 (in Thessalonika)
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7th-9th century: spread of Slavic peoples into Eastern Europe
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Oversee territory of Moravia and the Balkans
Territorial tensions with German bishop of Salzburg
 Methodius was arrested and imprisoned by German king for two years
872: Pope John VIII reversed earlier papal policy
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867: they set out for Constantinople
 But atmosphere of tension between Rome & Constantinople
 Patriarch Photius had been excommunicated by Pope Nicholas I
 Rome had also objected to use of Slavonic in the liturgy
Pope Hadrian II invited them to Rome: triumphal reception of relics (Clement)
 Hadrian granted approval for their Slavonic liturgy
 Both Rome & Constantinople were eager to win allegiance of Slavs
Cyril died in 869 in Rome
 Methodius wanted to bury his brother back in Moravia, but Hadrian had Cyril buried in the Church of San Clement
870: Methodius was consecrated as a bishop by Pope Hadrian
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Asked Emperor at Constantinople to send missionaries: who could teach his Slavic people in their own language
 Emperor Michael III appointed Cyril & Methodius as the leaders
 Cyril invented Cyrillic alphabet: translated Bible into Slavic
Cyril & Methodius went to Moravia: early success
 Created Slavonic form of the liturgy: Old (or Church) Slavonic remains the liturgical language of many eastern
European churches to this day
Their success pushed the older German mission into the background
 Caused tensions with Western missionaries
Cyril & Methodius needed a bishop to ordain local clergy
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Acceptance of Christianity in Moravia would incorporate his realm into Western Christendom & consolidate it as a state
 Yet he also feared German dominance over his state and church
862: King Ratislav seeks missionaries to Moravia
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Missions to the Slavs were initially the domain of great German centers at Regensburg & Salzburg
 Frankish control, and allegiance to Rome rather than Constantinople
840’s: King Ratislav of Moravia fought for independence
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Cyril studied under Photius at Constantinople
 He became a fluent linguist, especially Slavic language
 Eventually became priest, monk, and secretary to Patriarch
Methodius became abbot of a monastery in Constantinople
860: Emperor sends Cyril on religio-political mission to Chazars (Ukraine)
 There he claimed to have miraculously recovered relics of St. Clement
Forbad Methodius and his followers to use the Slavonic liturgy
He fell out of favor with King Svatopluk of Moravia
King accused him of heresy for omitting Filioque from Creed (yet this addition was not even used in Rome at the time)
Methodius successfully defended himself to the pope
 880: Pope John VIII again approved use of the Slavonic liturgy
 Methodius died in 882 in Moravia
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After the death of Methodius his mission soon collapsed
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Cyril & Methodius were liturgical pioneers: use of vernacular
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Along with Benedict
John Paul II was the first Slavic pope
Decline of Papacy: 870-1000
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Fell into hands of aristocratic Roman families: ambition, greed
 40 popes in 140 years: average reign of 3 ½ years
14 of these 40 popes died in “suspicious” circumstances
 John VIII (872-82): 1st pope assassinated (by his own entourage)
 Formosus (891-6): body exhumed by Stephen VI, “Cadaver Synod”, three fingers hacked off, body thrown into
Tiber
 Stephen VI (896-7): deposed, jailed, and strangled to death
Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (the Great): 936-973
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10th Century
With decline of Carolingians the papacy lost strong protector
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Revived the Empire in the East Frankish Kingdom
 Final defeat of the Magyars in 955
962: he was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII in Rome
Otto and his successors took strong role in running the Church
 Appointed popes, bishops, abbots
Other notable events in last half of the 10th century
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In the East their feast has long been celebrated on May 11
It wasn’t extended to the Western Church until 1880 (by Pope Leo XIII)
 Where it is celebrated on February 14
Pope John Paul II named them patrons of all of Europe
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Pope Stephen VI favored the German mission to the Slavs: he forbad the Slavonic liturgy again
Moravia collapsed under successive Magyar incursions
 Bohemia reverted to East Frankish control
The seeds of 20th century unrest in the Balkans were planted
John XV (985-96): first pope to ritually canonize a saint
Gregory V (996-9): 1st German pope, appointed by HRE Otto III
Sylvester II (999-1003): 1st French pope, genius (mathematician)
966: King Mieszko I of Poland is baptized (Poland becomes Christian)
988: Czar Vladimir is baptized by missionaries from Constantinople
Wenceslaus, martyr (Sept. 28)
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Born near Prague (Bohemia) in 907
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Wenceslaus’ mother (Drahomira) assumed control of Bohemia
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She, along with other powerful interests, opposed Christianity
Wenceslaus’ grandmother (Ludmilla) encouraged him to lead
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His name in Slavic was Vaclav = “greater glory”
Christianity was not yet firmly established in Bohemia
 Cyril & Methodius had evangelized it only 60 years earlier
 Distinctly Slavic form of Christianity: but increasing influence of Latin Christianity from German missionaries
While his grandparents were devout Christians, his mother was nominal
 921: his father died in battle against the Magyars
He studied under a disciple of St. Methodius
Afraid that Christianity might be wiped out in Bohemia
But two powerful nobles murdered Ludmilla in her palace
922: Wenceslaus was proclaimed duke
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He banished Drahomira and brought Ludmilla’s remains to Prague
He consolidated control over western and southern Bohemia
 But his brother (Boleslas) solidifed his own power in eastern Bohemia
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Wenceslaus was an upright and decisive ruler
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He relied on the Bohemian clergy for advice
Eventually he recalled Drahomira from banishment: no longer opposed him
He focused on the rule of law, improved education, supported Christianity
Wanted to open Bohemia to the West, but protect it as well
 He acknowledged Henry I as successor to Charlemagne and overlord
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928: Wenceslaus married and had a son
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929: Boleslas invited Wenceslaus to a feast in eastern Bohemia
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Dismissing the warnings of his advisers, he went
The morning after the feast (Sept. 28) Boleslas attacked his brother
 And his attending nobles finished off Wenceslaus
 His dying words were: “Brother, may God forgive you”
Although his death had little to do with his religion, Wenceslaus was immediately hailed as a martyr
 His relics were transferred to St. Vitus Church in Prague
Feast day celebrated in Bohemia by 985: Svaty Vaclav as patron of Bohemia
 Many legends soon grew about St. Wenceslaus
Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslaus”
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Certain Bohemian nobility began to align behind his brother (Boleslas)
Written by 19th century English hymn writer, J. M. Neale
 Yet no widespread devotion to Wenceslaus in English world
Words of carol do not relate to any known incident in the saint’s life
After World War I
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Wenceslaus became patron of new state of Czechoslovakia
 Focus of Czech and Slovak nationalism
After fall of communism (1990): Czech Republic and Slovakia
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