The advent of Orthodoxy in the German-Speaking lands (Part 3)
27 Ιουλίου 2010
The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries and Their Disciples
The Germanic Angles and Saxons had conquered England and, through missionary efforts from Rome and Ireland, were converted to Christianity in the 7th century. Inflamed with Christian zeal, a number of them chose to return to the continent and to bring the word of God to their pagan brothers. For the area that was to become Germany, the most important of these Anglo-Saxon missionaries was the great St. Boniface, known as the Enlightener of Germany. This powerful and complex man set about correcting the errors, corruption and heresies of the remnant Christian communities. He also entered unchurched areas where the Germans still practiced human sacrifice, divination, and demon-worship, and he established order in a Church that had been ravaged by war and missionized haphazardly by wandering monks. He had a wonderful ability to attract strong helpers to himself and three fellow-countrymen came to join him in Germany: the future Sts. Willibald, Wunibald, and Lull. Through his correspondence with English abbesses, he was also able to inspire a number of holy women, including Sts. Leoba and Walburga, to start convents and missionary activity in the German lands.
By the end of his life St. Boniface had established bishoprics in Mainz, Regensburg, Eichstatt, and Salzburg; he had reformed a clergy that had often been decadent and Christian in name only; and he had baptized and begun to educate large numbers of people. After appointing St. Lull as his successor, he left the main centers of his activity St. Boniface, Enlightener of Germany.
The Conversion of Northern Germany
The Frisians and the West Saxons were the main tribes in the north of present-day Germany.
They clung to their pagan gods, all the more since they equated Christianity with defeat by a foreign power. It is true that Charlemagne, at the end of the 8th century, had strong political motives for converting the Saxons, who, from their position on the coastlands of the North Sea, were harassing his kingdom. But, unlike his famous predecessors the Emperor Constantine and King Clovis, he used brutal force to bring this about, which resulted in rebellion. Fortunately, true saints were also working in the area to convert the hearts and minds of the people to Christ through love and meekness.
Three of the earliest-known missionaries were St. Swidbert and the two St. Ewalds. St. Swidbert missionized the Brucktuari, a Saxon tribe later scattered by invasions. Sts. Ewald the Black and Ewald the White were Anglo-Saxon missionaries who attempted to convert the Saxons. While they waited to meet with the local leader they were murdered by his men, who did not want to give up their pagan gods.
St. Luidger, both because of his personal qualities and the later timing of his work, was by far the most successful missionary to both the Frisians and the Saxons. Through God’s Providence, his grandfather had left the kingdom of the Frisians while they were still barbarians; his kindly and impartial character was incompatible with their cruel ways. He and his whole family then became Christians in the land of the Franks.
When West Frisia (the Netherlands) was conquered by the (Christian) Franks, St. Luidger’s family moved back to the region near Utrecht. Their home was open to the great Christian missionaries of the day, and as a young boy Luidger met St. Boniface there, shortly before the latter’s martyrdom. From his family history and from these encounters with missionaries, Luidger was inspired to bring Christianity to the barbarians. His fluency in the Frisian language and familiarity with Frisian beliefs and customs, as well as an outstanding monas¬tic education in Utrecht and York (England), added to his qualifications.
When the East Frisians in northern Germany were subdued by the Franks, Luidger received as his missionary territory five Frisian districts that previously had been violently opposed to Christianity. Now, they agreed to become Christian if they were sent a teacher who could speak their language. Despite having to leave twice because of uprisings, Luidger travelled extensively, finally converting the region through his teaching and by building small wooden churches and monasteries.
He later turned down the bishopric of the distinguished city of Trier in order to expand his missionary activities to the neighboring Saxons, who had just been conquered by the Franks under Charlemagne. Here he accepted the episcopal office and became the first bishop of Munster. Lastly he built a large monastery on the Benedictine model in Werden on the Ruhr (near present-day Essen), which drew its monks from Frisia, Saxony, and Franconia; this is also where he chose to be buried and where his relics are still honored.
A little further north, another missionary, the Anglo-Saxon St. Willehad who became the first bishop of Bremen, brought Christ’s gospel to the territory of Bremen and Oldenburg.
Prussia
The last important part of present-day Germany to be missionized was Prussia, in the East. This, however, was never an Orthodox area, for until quite late the people maintained their pagan beliefs and violently opposed Christianity, killing the first two known missionaries who came to their territory – St. Adalbert of Prague, (997) and St. Bruno of Querfort, (1009). The Prussians did not become Christian until they were forcibly converted by Roman Catholic missionaries in 1249.
Post-Schism German Orthodoxy-Orthodox Christianity was brought to present-day Germany, Austria and Switzerland by immigrants who, with a few exceptions,1 came over the past century as refugees or guest workers from Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and other Orthodox countries. There are now a number of different Orthodox churches in all the German-speaking countries, as well as a Serbian monastery which has most of its services in German (St. Spiridon Skete in Geilnau, Germany). Today, German seekers are beginning to discover the Orthodox Church.
We also know of several Germans who left their own country and became Orthodox saints in Russia. The most notable of these are the Fools-for-Christ’s-Sake St. Procopius of Ustiug, St. Isidore and St. John the Merciful, both of Rostov, the Royal Martyr Tsaritsa Alexandra, and the Royal Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth. These, along with the young martyr Alexander Schmorell, a member of the “Weisse Rose” resistance group during Hitler’s regime, are greatly revered by German Orthodox Christians today. 4*
This article is an edited version of an earlier article published in the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood Calendar: The Coming of Orthodoxy in the German-Speaking Lands.
1 For instance, services have been held in Stuttgart, Germany since 1816 due to the presence of Russian royalty; a permanent church was consecrated in 1895. In Geneva, Switzerland there has been a Russian Orthodox church since 1866, and in Vienna, Austria since 1899.
Source: “Road to Emmaus” Magazine. Vol. XI, No.2, Spring 2010(#41)
