Huszár Zoltán (szerk.): Kereszténység és államiság Baranyában (Pécs, 2000)
Tanulmányok - Kárpáti Gábor: A kereszténység és államiság Baranyában
Gábor Kárpáti dpTiANin AND SJAjEhOOD ÍN ]\il BARANYA í\EGÍ0N When the Roman Empire came to an end as a political entity in the fourth decade of the fifth century, religious observance came to an end along with it. There were a number of phases through which the religions of the newly-arrived ethnic groups began to cease being observed and to decay. The Germanic Goths and the Langobards must have come into contact with Christianity via the Empire, but they only became believers in the areas where they settled at a later date. Under the centuries of Avar rule, the initial influence came from Byzantium, and western Christianity only came to be experienced in the late 8th century under the pressure of the Frankish Empire. At least, the Caganite leaders living in the western part of the Carpathian Basin, after having lost their power, were already Christians. The greater part of the population of Pannonia was made up of Slovaks, who under the influence of Byzantium and Rome were to create states in Central Europe (the Great Moravian Empire), the Balkans (the Croatian region of Ohrid) and in the form of a vassal princedom, on the one-time territory of Pannonia and as part of the Frankish Empire with Mosaburg (Zalavár) as its centre and ruled by the Prince of Nyitra who had been expelled from Pribina. The influence of the Christian Slavs can be felt in the Hungarian language; for instance, 'karácsony', the Hungarian word for Christmas, is of Slav origin. In the 9th century Pécs became a bishopric under the name of Quinquae Basilicae. The settling Hungarians had already come into contact with Christians and Christianity in the course of their earlier adventures. However, long years of preparation were to take place before the religion became generally accepted in the reign of Saint István. The cross first appears in the cemeteries of the common people of Baranya at the end of the tenth century, signifying a general conversion process. The accepted, directive missionary aspect of the (rpád Dynasty reached its peak during the reigns of Prince Géza and King István. The final collision between the new and the old religions took place not far from Baranya. One of the bases of the struggle against the old pagan Koppány was at the central stewardship of Nagyváty, but of course the soldiers of the other castle estates loyal to the Prince also participated in the clashes. Such was Pécsvárad, which István had endowed to Asztrik as a reward for his vital role in bringing the crown from Rome to Hungary. After the turn of the millennium the new bishopric of Pécs and the Benedictine abbey at Pécsvárad became centres of Christianity, as well as the two largest landowners in the county after the lands belonging to the king himself. Below is a list of the most outstanding figures in the history of the bishopric, the borders of which stretched into the neighbouring county of Tolna and beyond the further bank of the River Drava: 1000-1036 Bonipertus: first bishop, a great scholar who obtains a library in order to train the priesthood 1036-1070 Saint Maurice: fights against the return of paganism 1106-1134 Simon: translator from the Greek of the founding letter of the nuns of the Valley of Veszprém 1188-1218 Kalán: diplomat, Governor of Dalmatia and and Croatia, archbishop 1219-1251 Bertalan: Builds the Pauline monastery at Jakabhegy. The history of the Pauline order begins here. A diplomat. 1360-1374 Vilmos: exceptional diplomat, and patron of the first Hungarian university 1374-1408 Archbishop Valentine, a diplomat 1452-1472 János: known as Janus Pannonius, the humanist poet 1473-1505 Zsigmond, who strengthens Pécs's city walls 1505-1521 György brings renaissance architecture to Pécs 1521-1526 Fülöp Móré falls in the Battle of Mohács 1541-1548 Szaniszló The last bishop before the Turkish Occupation From the 13th century, a number of abbeys were built in the county; at Pécsvárad, Okormindszent, Koromszó, Zebegény, Trimitás, Egregy, Nádasd (Benedictine); Szászvár (Premonstrant); Jakabhegy, Szentlászló, Barcs, Mágocs (Pauline Order). By the 13th century all of the mendicant orders had appeared at Pécs; the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites and Augustinians. Their arrival is a sign of the town's importance.
