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Conversion of the Saxons

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Conversion of the Saxons Conversion of the Saxons Blessed to be a Blessing • Gen. 12:1-3—Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee; • And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. • And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. History When the Rhine froze in 404, hordes of German people flooded into the Roman Empire Rome sacked in 410 and fell in 476 The German peoples Goths, Vandals, and Lombards Saxons – northern Germans They were retreating before the Huns The Huns were being pressed by the Mongols Background of the Germanic Peoples The Germanic tribes were all pagan, except for the Arian Goths, whose king Clovis was converted in 496 The Franks were converted to Christianity following their settlement in Gaul (modern France). The stage was now set for confrontation with the advancing Saxons. Missions to the Saxons Early Celtic Christians from the British Isles led the way. Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome (r. 590- 604) dispatched Augustine to Britain and Pope Gregory II sent Boniface to N. Europe, where particular attention was given to the Saxons in both regions. Christian wives led their royal husbands to the faith in kingdoms such as Kent and Northumbria in Britain. Missions to the Saxons Charlemagne King of the Franks crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 A.D. Sought to Christianize northern neighbors by conquest Established a center of learning in Aachen In Aachen, nobility and scholars worked and learned together using Latin. Historical sketch of England Roman legions withdrew from Britain in 410. Picts began to invade from the north of the island. Britons invited the warlike Saxons to govern and defend them. Picts were driven back. Historical sketch of England The Saxons, and their allies, including the Angles, settled permanently in the island Angle Land = England Created kingdoms thru center of island It was to reach these people that Gregory sent Augustine King Ethelbert of Kent was converted Edwin of Northumbria was converted when Ethelbert’s daughter married Edwin “Religion of ruler is religion of his subjects.” Pre-Reformation Missions Influence of Persian Empire (500 B.C. – A.D. 400) Grecian Influence (323 B.C. – A.D. 400) Mar Thoma Church (A.D. 50 – 1500) Coptic Church (A.D. 50-1500) Roman Republic Empire (27 B.C.–476 (500-27 B.C.) A.D.) Missions to the Saxons, 400-825 596, Augustine sent to Britain 597, King Ethelbert is converted Sketch of Christian history in England Celtic Christianity present in England Patrick took the faith to Ireland Originally from Britain Patrick’s successors, including Colomba (c. 521-596) and Columbanus (c. 543-615) established missionary-sending monasteries, notably on the island of Iona (off the coast of Scotland), and at Lindisfarne Tension between Irish and Roman Christians Missionary activity of Anglo-Saxon Christianity Accepted communion with Rome, but continued their missionary tradition of Celtic (Irish) Christianity. Missionaries sent to establish monastery outposts among the Germanic tribes (including other Saxons on the continent) Willibrord (658-739) and Boniface (c. 680-754) were among leading figures. Pre-Reformation Missions Influence of Persian Empire (500 B.C. – A.D. 400) Grecian Influence (323 B.C. – A.D. 400) Mar Thoma Church (A.D. 50 – 1500) Coptic Church (A.D. 50-1500) Roman Republic Empire (27 B.C.–476 (500-27 B.C.) A.D.) Missions to the Saxons, 400-825 Willibrord, 658-739 396-460, Life of Patrick, Missionary to Ireland 596, Augustine sent to Britain 597, King Ethelbert is converted Colomba, 521-596 Columbanus, 543-615 Missionary activity of Anglo-Saxon Christianity Trial by ordeal (a form of spiritual power encounter) was one key missionary method to reach such tribes Example: Boniface cut down the sacred oak of Thor among the Frisians Differences between Irish-English missions and Roman missions Irish and English missions emphasized the ver- nacular for the Scriptures and religious writings. Roman missions insisted on using Latin to keep the common people dependent on the pronouncements of the Roman church hierarchy. Despite this “divine mandate,” few local priests has any real education to interpret the Scriptures. Fewer priests had access to a copy of the Bible. Differences between Irish-English missions and Roman missions (Cont’d) The result of the Roman approach: common people had a kind of folk Christianity with merged elements of the previous pagan world view and the Christian’s world view. By contrast: In England in the 14th and 15th centuries, John Wycliffe and William Tyndale would build upon the English tradition of using the Scriptures in the vernacular. Bede (c. 673-735) Benedictine monk in England Recorded most of what we know of the period, up to and including the mission of Willibrord in The Ecclesiastical History of the English People Popularized the system of dating years as anno Domini (A.D.) Missions to the Northmen • Gen. 17:7—“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (KJV). • Gal. 3:29—“If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” The Vikings New threat to Western Europe Threat came at the time the Angles and the Saxons in England and Germany were being converted Late eighth and early ninth centuries From the North Background Homeland was inhospitable land in the far North, in Scandinavia (what is now modern Denmark, Sweden and Norway) Farms in mountain valleys adjoining fjords Crops susceptible to failure .Harsh weather .Raids from other villages So they looked to the sea for their livelihood Viking Colonizations Enabled by technological breakthrough in sailing vessel construction and design Maritime skills and intrepidity Colonized Iceland and Greenland Landed on Newfoundland in North America, a half millennium before Columbus Contributing Factors to Conquests Technological means for travel over greater distances A barbaric religion and culture Bravery and fierceness in battle were prized Despised the weak and helpless Aspired to a heroic death in battle Threat to Europe In western Europe, the Mediterranean, and what is now Russia, Viking longships could maneuver in shallow water and even be carried between watercourses. Threat to Europe Viking movements Sailed up the Seine and sacked Paris Pillaged monasteries, including Iona and Lindisfarne Viking actions Killed defenseless and unresisting monks, women and children without inhibitions Sold captives into slavery, or took people into slavery themselves Viking Missions Viking kingdoms were established in Ireland, England, and France. Irish Celtic and English Saxon missionaries went to Viking kingdoms in Ireland and England. Viking Missions (Cont’d) Other missionaries went to Scandinavia. Saxon Anskar was supported by Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne Missions were supported by Saxon king Otto I (the Great), who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in place of Charlemagne’s dynasty (962). Christian persecution and Christian rule by Viking rulers Danish king Gorm attempted to extirpate Christians from his realm in the time of Anskar, and largely succeeded. His son, Harald Bluetooth, was converted and encouraged Christianity in Denmark. His son, Sweyn, opposed Christianity. He fought and killed Norway’s first Christian king, Olaf Tryggvason. Christian persecution and Christian rule by Viking rulers (Cont’d) Canute (Knute) succeeded Sweyn as a Christian king in Denmark. Canute united England, Denmark, and Norway under a Christian king. However, Norway reverted to old gods after Canute. Development in Norway Olaf Haraldson became a Christian after an apprenticeship in Russia He was elected king of Norway by local things (councils or chieftan groups) He established Christianity more by persuasion than by force He died in battle. Later reports circulated of miracles associated with relics pertaining to him so he was canonized as Saint Olaf. Successful / Unsuccessful Methods Early Scandinavian conversions made by force. Viking chieftains resented such “evangelism.” Reversions were frequent. Voluntary conversions were more lasting. esp. decisions by local deliberative assemblies Ethnomusicology was missiologically significant. The gospel message was effectively conveyed by traveling scalds (bards or minstrels). .
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