The Eighth Tribe, 1975 (2. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1975-08-01 / 8. szám
Page Two THE EIGHTH TRIBE August, 1975 THE HOLY CROWN Pope Sylvester II, had a strange dream one night. In his dream an angel came to him and spoke. “Many centuries ago, at the request of your predecessor, the mighty Atilla, King of the Huns, spared Rome. Now a later descendant of this Atilla is sending an envoy with a request to you. Young István, Ruler of the Magyars, is asking for a royal crown and for your Apostolic blessings. Give him the crown, because I say unto you, that the Magyars will become the shield of Christianity, and the sword of the Church. They will sacrifice and suffer more for the Christian faith than all the other nations on earth combined.” This was the dream of the Pope, and lo, only a few weeks later, Archbishop Astrik, from the land of the Magyars, arrived in Rome with a splendid escort and abundant gifts. He asked in the name of Geza’s son Vajk, who had been baptized and had received the Christian name István, for a royal crown. He was received with great joy. Pope Sylvester II sent back with him not only a Royal Crown, along with his apostolic blessings, but also a beautifully written letter. The letter said, “Pope Sylvester, Servant of God, to the leader of the Magyars, hail and blessing!” “With the power invested in us by the Almighty God, and the Apostles, we willingly permit, give and donate with our Apostolic Blessing, everything you have asked from us, namely, the Crown, the Royal title, Esztergom’s ecclesiastical metropolitanship, and the other bishoperies.” “Furthermore, with our Apostolic power, we allow, and request, that you and your lawful heirs and successors, whoever they shall be, may have the cross carried before them as an apostolic symbol. As befits an Apostolic King, you and your successors may manage and settle, instead of us, all the present and future ecclesiastical and church matters in your land.” “Rome, March 27, 1000 A.D.” As the Holy Crown began its journey from Rome into the land of the Magyars, a host of heavenly angels escorted it high on the sky, clearing the clouds away, stopping winds, rainstorms and floodwaters. Wherever the small group carrying the Crown passed through, flowers suddenly appeared on both sides of the road, even in the high mountain-passes where there was still snow on the ground. Many other wondrous things happened along the road. The cows gave more milk, the ewes dropped three lambs that year, pastures, meadows, plow-fields and orchards doubled their crops. Seeing these miracles, people along the way knelt down as the Crown passed by, and gave thanks to God, each in his own tongue, from the City of Rome, to the land of the Magyars. o o O o o The father of István, leader Geza, great grandson of Arpad, was already christianized, and had built several churches in the land. His wife, Sarolt, the mother of István, was the daughter of Gyula, Duke of Transylvania, and was raised in the Greek- Christian religion. Istvan’s wife, the Bavarian Princess Gizella, brought German knights and missionaries into the land of the Magyars, giving them huge estates, with feudalistic powers. The Magyars rebelled against these new-comers, as well as against the feudalistic power-structure, which was new to their ancient tribal society. History, mostly under German influence, prefers to attribute these insurrections to religious reasons, a fight of the old religion against the new. However, the fact is that most of the Magyars were already Christians by that time, but not so much under the influence of Rome as of Byzantium. (Sarolt’s mother was a princess of Greece.) What the Magyars, especially those on the Western borders, rebelled against, was the intrusion of the German knights, the huge land-donations made to them, taken out from the free grazing range of the tribe, and the feudalistic system, which forced the free tribesmen into servitude to the new landlords. However, it must be noted, that István, not yet under the influence of his wife, the Bavarian Princess Gizella, asked the Pope for a crown and did not ask it from Otto III, ruler of the “Holy Roman Empire”, as many other new kings in Central Europe had done. Thus, he emphasized the complete independence of the new Hungarian Kingdom. István, the first King of the Magyars, was later canonised, thus the Hungarian Holy Crown is also known as “Saint Stephen’s Crown.” THE EIGHTH TRIBE Editor .................................................................. Sándor E. Chomos Contributing Editor ................................................... Albert Wass Published and printed monthly by The Bethlen Press, Inc. P.O. Box 637, Ligonier, Pa. 15658, U.S.A. Second Class Postage paid at Ligonier, Pa. 15658, U.S.A. Subscription: $8.00 yearly. Authorized representative in Cleveland, Ohio is: Sándor Szabadkai. 1794 W. 30 Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113.
