Magyar News, 2002. szeptember-2003. augusztus (13. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-01-01 / 5. szám
g tft 3in the ütxöMe Ages* t *. .! for...................rfüVi rf* -é -d liUuUl ,a n \B Í m tax n icxpnrx 11 By Erika Papp Faber m is s^uintiij: Hungary was known in the Middle Ages as "Pannónia Sacra", or "Holy Pannónia" (the Roman name of the area that became Hungary), because so many holy men and women were found there at that time. Many of them went abroad, being given in marriage, or as missionaries, and enriched other countries by their outstanding piety. Here are a few of those countries which were the beneficiaries of this Hungarian "export": CHINA - Blessed Máté Eskandélyi was an eminent, well-to-do inhabitant of Buda, in the 11-th century. He went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he was so moved by the experience that he decided to become a hermit. He lived a hermit's life there for a number of years, and then decided to spread the faith which had brought him such spiritual riches. He set out, and by way of India, arrived in China. His holy life, preaching and miracles brought about the conversion of many Chinese. His missionary work was so successful that the bonzes finally killed him. His life and works were recorded by the Chinese, and when, hundreds of years later, some Portuguese arrived, they were amazed to find Chinese Christians who traced their faith back to Máté Eskandélyi, the martyred Hungarian layman who had been the first Christian missionary in China. BYZANTIUM - St. Piroska of the House of Árpád (Eiréné in Byzantium). She was the daughter of King St. László, and was married to the Byzantine Emperor John Komnenos II. They were crowned together in 1118. She became the mother of eight children, and was outstanding in her loving charity towards the needy. Near the end of her life, she entered one of the convents she had founded. She died in 1133. A large mosaic in Hagia Sophia church (in presentday Istanbul, Turkey), depicts St. Piroska with her husband. RUSSIA -St. Mózes Magyar, one of three Hungarian brothers, served the Princes St. Boris and St. Gleb, who were murdered for political reasons. Mózes was captured, and, for his determination to become a monk, was subjected to terrible tortures for six years. Upon his release, he entered the cave monastery of Pecherskaya Lavra. Regarded as a saint even in his lifetime, he died in Kiev in 1043. The Orthodox Church reveres him as St. Mózes Magyar, the Wonderworker. FRANCE - St. Lajos (Louis) of Toulouse-was the grandson of Hungary's King István V , and son of Charles II of Anjou. He was kept hostage in Aragon (Spain) in his father's stead for seven years. During a serious illness, he vowed to become a Franciscan should he be cured. He rejected an offer of marriage with the sister of the King of Aragon, and, at the age of 22, was ordained a priest by special dispensation. He was made bishop of Toulouse, but considered himself a servant of the faithful. He died, at age 24, in 1297, "having preserved his baptismal innocence." GERMANY - St. Erzsébet (Elizabeth) of Hungary -also known as St. Elizabeth of Thiiringia. She was the daughter of King Endre II, and, according to the custom of the time, was engaged to the Margrave of Thiiringia at a very young age. Upon their marriage, Elizabeth gave birth to a son and several daughters. She was outstanding in love and generosity for the poor , feeding the people out of her own means, and founding the first public hospital. Her husband Louis died on his way to the Holy Land, and his relatives turned the young widow and her small children out of Wartburg Castle. Now in abject poverty , she supported herself by spinning and continued to live a life of great selfdenial, and devoting herself even more to the poor and sick. After making arrangements for having her children taken care of, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis. St. Erzsébet died at the age of 24 in 1231, and was canonized a mere four years later. The City of PRAGUE - One of St. Erzsébet's nieces, St. Agnes of Prague, opposed her royal parents' plans to marry the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, choosing to become a nun instead. She followed St. Erzsé-Page 4
