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044 - 13 New Missions · Short History of the Christian Church

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  Speaker 1: Part two, Chapter thirteen of Short History of the Christian
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  Speaker 1: Church by John Fletcher Hurst. This LibriVox recording is in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. Chapter thirteen, New Missions. The spread of
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  Speaker 1: Christianity continued steadily from the centers in Germany and France.
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  Speaker 1: Missionaries went out and labored in the darker European countries.
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  Speaker 1: There was constant communication between Britain and the continent. Missionaries
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  Speaker 1: from Ireland the Holy Isle and from England crossed the
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  Speaker 1: Channel into France and co operated with Continental missionaries in
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  Speaker 1: founding missions among the heathen dwelling in the remoter parts
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  Speaker 1: of Europe. The monasteries kept up a close brotherhood. That
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  Speaker 1: there was great missionary fervor in them can be seen
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  Speaker 1: in the number of monks who went out from them
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  Speaker 1: and threaded the forests and climbed the mountains of rude
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  Speaker 1: and barbarous peoples, and spent their lives amid all possible
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  Speaker 1: dangers in endeavoring to extend Christianity. Many of them fell
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  Speaker 1: by violent hands. No people parted with their ancestral idols
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  Speaker 1: without regarding the first Christian preachers worthy of immediate death.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes the rulers were the first to accept the Gospel,
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  Speaker 1: but often it ascended from the poor and the lowly,
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  Speaker 1: step by step, until the throne was reached and Christianity
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  Speaker 1: was publicly proclaimed as the faith of the state. Harold,
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  Speaker 1: King of Juteland, was aided to the throne of his
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  Speaker 1: fathers against his competitors by the Carolingian Emperor Louis le Debonnaire.
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  Speaker 1: Harold and his queen were baptized in the Cathedral of mens.
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  Speaker 1: There is no knowing how much conscience was in this
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  Speaker 1: proof of their espousal of Christianity, but it is a
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  Speaker 1: fact that the Danish king and queen, ever afterwards befriended
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  Speaker 1: the Gospel and did their utmost to plant it throughout
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  Speaker 1: their dominions. An scar, a monk of Corbi, accompanied them
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  Speaker 1: back to Denmark with a view to organize the Christian
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  Speaker 1: Church in that country. The mission in Denmark was resisted
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  Speaker 1: by the people. A rebellion was excited against Harold, and
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  Speaker 1: he was obliged to flee from the country. Anscar was
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  Speaker 1: also compelled to leave, but instead of giving up his
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  Speaker 1: missionary work, turned his eyes towards the still more savage
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  Speaker 1: Sweden and determined to plant missions there. In the year
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  Speaker 1: eight thirty one, Anscar, with Vitmar, a brother monk as companion,
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  Speaker 1: proceeded to Sweden with gifts for the king of the country.
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  Speaker 1: They were attacked by pirates while on their voyage and
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  Speaker 1: lost all their possessions, such as the gifts for the king,
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  Speaker 1: their sacred books and their priestly robes. They barely escaped
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  Speaker 1: with their lives. They reached Birka on the Malar Lake
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  Speaker 1: and were hospitably entertained. The king welcomed them, and in
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  Speaker 1: a short time his councilor Harigar, became a Christian convert.
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  Speaker 1: A few Christians were found already there, but there was
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  Speaker 1: no organization. Anscar remained a year and a half in
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  Speaker 1: Sweden and then returned to Louis, to whom he brought
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  Speaker 1: friendly letters from the King of Sweden and gave a
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  Speaker 1: full account of his experiences. Louis established an archipiscopal sea
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  Speaker 1: at Hamburg with a view to operating directly upon Scandinavia.
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  Speaker 1: Ansgar went to Rome, where he was consecrated to the
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  Speaker 1: archipiscopal office and deputed to preach the Gospel to the
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  Speaker 1: northern nations. Hamburg was desolated by a Danish army, and
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  Speaker 1: the sea was united with Bremen, an scar removed to
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  Speaker 1: the latter place. He made a second visit to Sweden
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  Speaker 1: in eight fifty five. He died in eight sixty five,
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  Speaker 1: but before his death had the pleasure of seeing Christianity
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  Speaker 1: taking firm hold throughout Scandinavia. He was one of the
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  Speaker 1: most beautiful characters of the whole medieval period. In charity,
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  Speaker 1: personal exposure, fearlessness of danger or death, and sublime devotion
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  Speaker 1: to his work. He was surpassed by no one of
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  Speaker 1: his times. He said, one miracle I would, if worthy,
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  Speaker 1: ask the Lord to grant me, and that is that
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  Speaker 1: by his grace he would make me a good man.
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  Speaker 1: The first positive accounts we have of the introduction of
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  Speaker 1: the Gospel into Norway is that it was carried thither
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  Speaker 1: by some seafaring youth. It is not unlikely, however, that
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  Speaker 1: the Norwegian pirates, who organized and made expeditions along the
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  Speaker 1: western coast of Europe, came in contact with Christianity, and
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  Speaker 1: that some of their prisoners were the means of preaching
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  Speaker 1: it afterwards in the country to which they were taken. Olaf,
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  Speaker 1: the thick king of Norway called Saint Olaf, was the
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  Speaker 1: first to organize the church on a permanent basis. This
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  Speaker 1: he achieved in ten nineteen, but only after the most
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  Speaker 1: violent measures. The Gospel reached Iceland from Norway. During the
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  Speaker 1: tenth century. Christianity was fully established in the island. The
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  Speaker 1: bishops were always elected by the people. There was no
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  Speaker 1: formal organization of a mission there, the first preachers being
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  Speaker 1: merely transient missionaries. Olaf Trygvesen established Christianity permanently in the country.
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  Speaker 1: This was secured at a public assembly of the people.
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  Speaker 1: They accepted the Gospel, but reserved the right to worship
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  Speaker 1: their former national gods in private if they wished. From Iceland,
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  Speaker 1: Christianity extended to Greenland. A bishopric over the latter country
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  Speaker 1: was established shortly after the introduction of the Gospel into Iceland.
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  Speaker 1: Even from these remote regions, Rome was careful to gather
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  Speaker 1: gifts for her treasury. The Greenland Christians paid their tithes
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  Speaker 1: to Rome in water. Ulris Teeth Cyril and Methodius, two
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  Speaker 1: Greek monks, were the first to introduce the Gospel among
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  Speaker 1: the Bulgarians. Cyril was a theologian and Methodius a painter,
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  Speaker 1: and the latter's pictures of the Day of Judgment had
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  Speaker 1: as much to do with the conversion of the country.
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  Speaker 1: As the arguments of the former. These people had conquered
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  Speaker 1: the tribes along the Lower Danube and had settled there,
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  Speaker 1: and also in Macedonia and Epirus. The Bulgarian Prince Bogoris
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  Speaker 1: was besought by Greek, Roman, and Armenian missionaries to adopt
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  Speaker 1: each of these forms of Christianity. He looked towards the
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  Speaker 1: Pope Nicholas for advice, and during this formative period of
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  Speaker 1: the Bulgarian Church, its relations were with Rome. Moravia was
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  Speaker 1: in the ninth century a large and powerful kingdom. In
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  Speaker 1: eight sixty three, the king Radislav requested the Greek emperor
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  Speaker 1: Michael to send him learned men who should translate the
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  Speaker 1: Bible into the Slavonic tongue and explain it to the people.
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  Speaker 1: Cyril and Methodius were accordingly sent. They composed a Slavonic
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  Speaker 1: alphabet and translated the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Psalms,
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  Speaker 1: and other parts of the Bible. This procedure awakened the
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  Speaker 1: opposition of the German missionaries, who regarded it as a
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  Speaker 1: measure hostile to their own language and methods. For many years,
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  Speaker 1: the Moravians suffered greatly. The Archbishopric of Prague was established
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  Speaker 1: in nine seventy three. The misfortunes of the Moravians culminated
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  Speaker 1: when they were attacked and overrun by the Magyars. When
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  Speaker 1: peace came, they were no more a nation but a
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  Speaker 1: mere province of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The Russian Princess
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  Speaker 1: Olga in nine fifty five went down to Constantinople, where
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  Speaker 1: she embraced Christianity. She endeavored to convert her son spot
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  Speaker 1: as Love to Christianity, but he was proof against all
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  Speaker 1: her importunities. Her grandson, Vladimir, however, was more accessible to
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  Speaker 1: the truth. After a long period of reflection and the
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  Speaker 1: sending out of messengers into different lands to examine all
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  Speaker 1: the various faiths, he accepted Christianity and caused churches to
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  Speaker 1: be organized and the people to be instructed in the
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  Speaker 1: use of the Slavonic scriptures and liturgy. The VENs lived
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  Speaker 1: between the soul and the odor, and were distinguished by
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  Speaker 1: their wildness and their fidelity to their idolatrous worship. They
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  Speaker 1: were divided into many tribes. The emperor Otho the First
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  Speaker 1: conquered them, but they regained their independence in nine eighty
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  Speaker 1: three and in ten forty seven, Gotschalk united them into
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  Speaker 1: one kingdom. He strove to introduce Christianity among his people,
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  Speaker 1: but was assassinated and the land reverted to idolatry. The
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  Speaker 1: restoration of Christianity was not finally affected until eleven sixty eight,
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  Speaker 1: when the last vendic idol was burned by Absalom, Bishop
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  Speaker 1: of roskild amidst the rejoicings of the people. Poland received
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  Speaker 1: the Gospel through Christian refugees from Moravia when that kingdom
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  Speaker 1: was broken up. When in nine sixty six missus Laus,
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  Speaker 1: Duke of Poland, was married to a Bohemian princess, it
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  Speaker 1: was the signal for the formal adoption of Christianity in
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  Speaker 1: place of Idolatry. Relations with the Roman Church were established.
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  Speaker 1: The rude peasantry, however, fondly cherished the memory of their
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  Speaker 1: pagan rites for a long time. Hungary first became acquainted
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  Speaker 1: with Christianity through the instrumentality of certain of her princes
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  Speaker 1: while visiting Constantinople. Many German slaves, who had been captured
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  Speaker 1: by the Hungarians in war, b their religion with them
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  Speaker 1: and contributed largely towards its establishment in their new country.
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  Speaker 1: Duke Gayesa, who reigned from nine seventy two to nine
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  Speaker 1: ninety seven, was a mixed character, for he both sacrificed
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  Speaker 1: to the gods of his people and built churches for
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  Speaker 1: Christian worship. Under Stephen, his son, who reigned from nine
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  Speaker 1: ninety seven to ten thirty eight, Christianity became the religion
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  Speaker 1: of the country. Stephen was successful in developing as well
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  Speaker 1: the material interests of his country, and in bringing it
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  Speaker 1: into close relationship with Germany. He was a remarkable man.
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  Speaker 1: He traveled from one end of the country to the other, preaching, baptizing,
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  Speaker 1: building churches and monasteries, founding schools, and organizing governments. He
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  Speaker 1: changed the constitution from a tribal union to a kingdom,
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  Speaker 1: and largely through his own efforts, christianized the whole country.
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  Speaker 1: He is rightly called Saint Stephen of Hungary. He received
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  Speaker 1: the Golden crown from the Pope with the title of
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  Speaker 1: Apostolic King. A remarkable evidence of the power of Western
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  Speaker 1: Christianity and Hungary is the fact that from the time
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  Speaker 1: of Stephen to the beginning of the present century, Latin
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  Speaker 1: has been the official language of church, court, school and government.
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  Speaker 1: Strong measures were taken by the ruder Hungarians after Stephen's
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  Speaker 1: death to restore the old idolatry, but they were unsuccessful.
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  Speaker 1: The Finns were conquered by Erik, the Saint King of
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  Speaker 1: Sweden in eleven fifty seven. The forests were vast and
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  Speaker 1: the population far away from the current of European life.
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  Speaker 1: Hence the attachment of the ancestral idolatry was intense. The
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  Speaker 1: ignorant peasantry were largely under the control of the magicians.
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  Speaker 1: Some time after Eirek's labors to introduce Christianity from Livonia
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  Speaker 1: and the German districts along the Baltic, the Christians passed
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  Speaker 1: over into Finland and labored assiduously for the conversion of
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  Speaker 1: the people. The Esthonians, a people along the Baltic, were
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  Speaker 1: forced to accept Christianity in twelve eleven through a powerful
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  Speaker 1: religious order, the Brethren of the Sword, whose aim was
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  Speaker 1: to see that the northern Idolators should become Christian at
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  Speaker 1: all hazards, if not by peaceful measures, then by the sword.
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  Speaker 1: End of chapter thirteen,