THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIAN CONVERSION
Large scale Christian conversion might have begun when leaders Bulcsú and Gyula were baptised in Constantinople in the middle of the 10th century. Arriving home, Gyula brought Hierotheos, the devout monk, who was consecrated bishop by the Byzantine patriarch, to Hungary. Organised conversion started and it was given a stimulus when Gyula's daughter, Sharolt, was married to chief prince Géza. The ruler - father of later king István (Stephen) - showed the Hungarian people a new direction, when he realised that the Hungarians needed to exercise a peaceful policy. The plundering campaigns against neighbouring people had to be stopped, otherwise the country was liable to be destroyed by stronger superpowers at some stage.
The main aspect of Géza's foreign policy was his striving for peace, as the threatening behaviour of the Byzantine empire was a real danger for the country. The chief prince, to stabilize the situation of the tribal alliance, opened up towards the west. He sent his ministers to the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, in spring of 972 to ask whether he supported the conversion of Hungarians to Christianity. The emperor said yes, and a monk from St Gallen, called Bruno, (who was consecrated converting bishop of the Hungarians by the archbishop of Mainz) arrived in Hungary together with the ministers bringing the reply.
In the autumn of 972 Bruno started the conversion of people, and he was the one who baptised chief prince Géza. In a very short time he converted a great number of Hungarians with the help of the priests who were sent to the country by Pilgrim, archbishop of Passau. From a letter sent to Pope Benedict VI in around 973-974 we learn that 5000 men and women had already adopted Christianity. The letter also mentions that the building of churches had begun in Hungary.
In Esztergom, his newly chosen residence, Géza had not only a castle but also a chapel built for the principal family. The chapel was built in honour of István, the first martyr (his name was given to his son, Vajk, in baptism - later he became king István [Stephen]). Bruno of St Gallen and his circles were the founders of St Gallen (Gallus) monastery, and in Pannonia, around Savaria, the propagators of the cult of St Martin, bishop of Tours, who was born at the beginning of the 4th century. Their memory is reflected in Hungarian St Gallen place names and the establishment of a Benedictian monastery on mount St Martin (Pannonhalma).
After chief prince Géza's death (997) his nephew, prince Koppány, lay his claims for the throne. He could demand the title of leader of the Árpád tribes and chief prince for himself according to the traditional theory of succession (levirate). In compliance with pagan traditions he wanted to marry Géza's widow, too. Koppány did not intend to accept the fact that in accordance with the Christian prerogative of the first-born son (primogeniture), he could not have accessed to power. Thus before prince István's initiation to chief prince, he took up arms and many of the free men joined him.
The fight of István and Koppány was destined to decide the future fate of the Hungarians. The rebels represented the old order, they fought for tribal autonomy, ancient rights and the pagan religion. The rebel leader and his army marched to Veszprém. István and his loyal troops launched an attack against them from the fortress of Esztergom. The attempt to lead Hungary out of the way of development that Géza had already started failed with István's victory over Koppány.
Neither Géza, nor István could control the pagans without the help of foreign monks, priests and knights. The situation of conversion drastically changed in 1000, when Pope Sylvester II sent István a crown and his apostolic blessing. With the coronation of István at Esztergom, Hungary joined the Christian community of European peoples. King István opened the gates to all the preachers. All of the first prelates in Hungary came from abroad and queen Gisella also played an important role in spreading Christianity.
The young king started to organise the permanent Hungarian church: he divided Transdanubia into three bishoprics with centers at Pécs, Győr and Veszprém., and established the archbishopric of Esztergom to supervise them. Between the rivers Danube and Tisza the church district of Eger was set up, and in the eastern territories the archbishopric of Kalocsa was established before 1015. In the western regions of the country a set of monasteries were set up: in 996 on mount St Martin (later Pannonhalma), around 1015 at Pécsvárad, in 1019 at Zalavár and Zobor, around 1020 at Bakonybél. The last church district, founded by István, was the bishopric of Csanád, the head of which was Gerald, the learned Benedictian theologian from Venice.
István undertook his organization of the church with great caution. This is clear from the fact that monks Zoerard-Andrew and Benedict, who came to the country - and later became martyrs - were sent to the northern areas, near Nyitra. Bishop Gerald - who was canonised together with István in 1038 - was directed to the southern part of the country, where Christianity had already taken roots due to Byzantine conversion. Missionary activities and pastoral duties of the Orthodox church were performed first of all by Slav monks and temporal priests who spoke Hungarian.
Church organisation had already been completed during the life time of the first king of the Hungarians, St Stephen, but the dangers threatening Christianity did not pass. This was shown by the murderous attempt against the elderly king and the subsequent revenge: prince Vazul was passed over; his sons, prince Andrew, Béla and Levente, were exiled (later they were going to play an important role in the history of the Árpád dynasty); the conspiracy against the successor to the throne, István's nephew, king Peter from Venice, and numerous pagan revolts.
