Magyar News, 1996. szeptember-1997. augusztus (7. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1996-09-01 / 1. szám

continued from page 1I'Tjmtinit beginnings

Gregory the Illuminator, 257-331, baptized the king of the Armenians. The Armenians had constant and friendly contacts with the Huns. Saint Jerome (345- 420), exclaimed in a letter that “the Huns are learning the Psalms.” Attila was known to have had a speaking and writing knowledge of both Greek and Latin. When Attila dyed his empire seemed to have disappeared. But actually, in some areas the Turkic peoples absorbed and reorganized the remains. The Turkic Avars returned and occupied both Eastern and Central Europe bringing with them the peoples they conquered, including Onogurs, who are half of our Magyar components. Byzantium was their vassal paying them in immense quantity of gold. Byzantine Emperor Justinianos 527-565 seemed to have great ambition. He seemed to advance his missionary cause to reach his political goals. It was he who oversaw the growing success of a long period of Christening his large domain. It was also under him that the Alan people, originally from Persia, have been reached by the missionaries, with whom Saint Andrew began the noble enterprise. Some of the Alan people joined our ancestors. Perhaps through them we gamed our Persian vocabulary. It was also at this time that the Magyars joined forces for some years with the Khazar people, who had a strong Jewish presence in their ranks and government. Our identification as “one of the Turkic peoples " around the Caspian Sea occurred, because of this interim association with the Khazars There it was applied to our ancestors by several authors. The Magyars were possibly exposed then to the concept of Jewish monotheism. In 562 heredic forms od Christianity were also sweeping over the Turkic peoples. Thus rendering our ancestors more tolerant to “other” ideas

and values. In and around Byzantium there were Huns who became converts to Christianity. Some priests worked successfully among or Sabirs, (our other foreign reference name) in the Caucasian region. The Sabirs were also called Huns at this period! At this time the Sabirs had a strong woman in their highest office. Zakarias testifies that several religious texts had been translated into our Magyar ancestors’ language. This is one example that they had their own writing! Mentioned in the famous Christian Topography was that in the land of the Huns there were churches flourishing. Archeological finds in Hungary also prove that among the Avars Christian articles point to Byzantium for their origin. One Chronicle from the 6th century is an invaluable source. The writer is our witness for the conversion of Gordas, king of the Huns who’s godfather was Byzantine Emperor Justinianos. We know that our people sojourned at this time at the region of Meotis and Kuban. Their advances toward Christianity were not deeply rooted, nor permanent. But the new Faith moved ahead strongly among the Bolgars and the Khazars. In our movements, the increasing contacts with the spreading Christian culture were beginning to remind us that this new way was the way of the future, the way of survival. Among the Avars in, what is today, Hungary, the Onogurs, who are the other halves of the Magyars, opened their doors and hearts to Christianity.

Early Developments in Carpathia:

The Carpathian Mountains surround a perfect land unit enriched by the two rivers and Europe’s largest body of fresh water, the Lake Balaton or the Sea of Hungary. In earliest antiquity Carpathia provided home for human civilization which spread North and West. Products of metallurgy traveled from here far and wide. Archeological finds reflecting patterns parallel to those in early Mesopotamia are tell-tale signs of communication and transportation. It is only recently that increasing number of researchers and scholars acknowledge the need to explore this ancient horizon. Internal and external sources indicate that the Magyar people now inhabiting the land did not arrive here for the first time in 895-6 because their language was “already spoken in the place” and the people of the “new arrival” are merely returning. Paulus Osorius, the monk from Catalonia, writing in his World Chronicle m 418 A.D. identified Pannónia as “a state in Europe, whose recent occupiers, the Huns call it in their own language Hungária. ” Witnesses, wrote of “return” instead of arrival. Here the disTHINKING ABOUT BUYING OR SELLING? LET JIM MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!

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cussion will focus on the signs of earlier Christian developments. We are told by early church historians that Saint Ambrose of Milan began his campaign against Aryanism in Pannónia, the western part of what is today Hungary. The fact that Saint Ambrose focused on this area means that the place was Christian. The Saint was intent on preserving there the Christian faith. Our attention moves to the southern area of Pannónia, Sirmium. We have several references here. The Council of Aquilea (381) raised the complaint that a heretic sect was still gathering in this city of Sirmium. Pope Innocent (401-417) pleaded with the local bishop to take steps in this regard. This reveals that Christian life was existent here over an extended period, had a considerably large community (it had 4 bishops around 400 A.D.) and its church life was organized.

Not far from here was Sopianae, what we call Pecs. There was a Christian cathedral there in the 4th century. Around the church there were many Christians buried there in beautifully decorated graves. Christian Faith survived even the Fall of the Avars in early 9th century. A painting was said to have originated after the Avar collapse at Saint Mary’s church here. The German name of the city, Fünf Kirche tells us that there were there at least 5 churches. While here in the south and west the Faith remained, it did not in the east or north. Anarchy did set in many places.

However, there were Christian influences among peoples other than the Romans here. We know of the Huns, who had their purified “sky-father” concept. Joannes Chiysostomus worked among them as a missionary. Orosius speaks of baptisms among the Huns. The bishop of Tomi, Theotimus had such a respect among the Huns that they celebrated him as a Roman god. The good bishop entertained many of them and cultivated friendly relation with them.

Among the Avars there were signs of Christian influence. In a grave they found a Byzantine cross. In the eventual peace treaty with Charlemagne it was required that the Avars convert to Christianity. The king did and many followed suit.

The rebirth of a nation:

On a hot Summer day, August 10, 955 the Hungarian army was destroyed, and their leaders summarily executed at Augsburg. The people at home felt the grip of terror. The threat of annihilation was felt in every family, in eveiy home. This one event, so stark, so devastating, moved the leaders of this once proud nation to act. Historians cannot fully describe the extent of the impact. Later developments can only sug-Page 4