The Eighth Tribe, 1978 (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-01-01 / 1. szám
Page 8 THE EIGHTH TRIBE January, 1978 no bearing whatsoever on Stephen’s Christian kingship; for he did receive a crown, and he was crowned the king of Hungary. Nor does it alter the fact that St. Stephen was the only one among the rulers of East Central Europe who obtained a hereditary royal title immediately upon his opting for the Christianization of his people, and that his successors managed to retain this title, and along with it their full independence from the Holy Roman Empire, throughout the medieval period. Only a few months after St. Stephen’s coronation, nascent Hungarian Christianity received another boost by the establishment of the autonomy of the Hungarian Church. This came in the form of the foundation of the first Hungarian archbishopric at the old royal administrative seat of Esztergom, and the elevation of Abbot Astrik to the head of the Hungarian hierarchy. With these measures, the path for the transformation of Hungary into a true “Christian kingdom” was opened, and this transformation now became a distinct likelihood. The achievement of this goal, however, depended on the success of two separate and complex undertakings: The Christianization of the Magyar masses through the establishment of a wide network of basic religious institutions (e.g. bishoprics, abbeys, parishes, schools, etc.), and the expansion and strengthening of the monarchical power structure through the establishment of new administrative, military, financial and legal systems for the country as a whole. Only through the foundation and successful development of these religious and civil institutions could the newly introduced Christian faith and civilization and the principle of monarchical centralization hope to triumph in the land of the Magyars. As fate had it, Stephen’s coronation and his decision to transplant Western Christianity and civilization to Hungary on a mass scale coincided with the triumph of the new religious revival, which is generally known as the Cluniae reform. This reform fought for the spiritual regeneration of the Church and for the unity of Western Christendom. It was represented first of all by the Benedictine Order, whose members spread the new ideals through all of the Christian lands. Carried also to Hungary by various Benedictine monks, most of whom were associated with the Bavarian ruling dynasty, these were the very ideals that came to motivate King Stephen’s plans and deeds. He was impressed not only by the inner religiosity, morality and humanitarianism of the Cluniae reformers, hut also by their dedication to hard and systematic labor — goals that work hand-in-hand for the spiritual and material well-being 78 creasingly ashamed of the actions of their own governments. It is precisely this general human concern and this feeling of shame that must be mobilized by the Hungarian political leaders — be they in Hungary or in one of the Western states. Their efforts should not be directed toward some remote and unattainable goal, but rather toward the immediate goal of saving the Hungarian minorities from total extinction. If these Hungarians, who are living in their ancient homeland and are the victims of great power politics (and the resulting border changes), manage to survive, then one day perhaps some of the more remote and “less realistic” goals may also be achieved. But the precondition for all future goals is the survival of the Hungarian minorities as Magyars. ANOTHER VIEWPOINT:— (Continued from page 3) Many of the Slovaks, Germans, Ruthenians, even the Rumanians received Hungarian nobleman status. The freedom fighters of the Zrinyis, the Thükoly’s, the Rákóczi’s were just as many Magyars as Ruthenians, Slovaks, Croatians, etc. In this multinational federation of the nationalities occupying the Hungarian Basin throughout the many centuries, the Magyars were the most numerous and the most influential group. As you know, all the countries in the world have mixed national groups in their citizenry. Everyone of these countries imposed the dominant national language upon the others, to the point that they even forgot their national tongue. Only the Magyars are exceptions in this, since they have pursued the policy and the concept of the multilingual national since the very first king of St. Stephen. This went so far that the Latin was chosen for the official language for Centuries in dealing with the so-called “federal” matters and court proceedings, national conventions to facilitate communications, and was done so as not to offend any national feelings. We believe this was a unique, a real and a true multinational democracy. Differences, disagreements and even hostility developed here and there between the Magyars and the other nationalities only when outside influence and domination attempts were made in the sense of “divide and so rule” (divide and impera) as by the Austrian emperors, and/or by the Panslavic Forces, such as the Russian Czars or the Serbians. The Countries of St. Stephen’s Crown, the Hungarian Empire, is broken now; but it could and will be restored again if the people of that region will find each others’ hands in that 1000-year proven brotherly unity, trust and friendship.
