Christianity, Society and History to 20Th Century in Slavonic Territory (Slovakia)

E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0003

Christianity, Society and History to 20th Century in Slavonic Territory (Slovakia)

doc. PhDr. ThDr. Daniel Slivka, PhD. University of Prešov in Prešov, Greek Catholic Theological Faculty ul. biskupa Gojdi ča 2, 080 01 Prešov

Ancient History in Slavonic Territory Since the early history, Slovakia situated in the central Europe is con- sidered to be a Christian country. Her foundations are built by Christian values originating in the Jewish-Christian tradition. The ancestors of the Slavs were pagans who worshiped many gods and goddesses. These people worshiped predominately gods derived from their faith in natural elements and seasons, as for example the god of thunder and lightning known as Perun and the goddess of winter called Morena. Even nowadays people using slang tend to say “Perun struck” meaning that there was a strike of lightning or thunder. Moreover, in spring TV news often offer reportages dealing with folklore traditions which are connected with the farewell to winter. Based on this custom, lads and girls carry an effigy of Morena through a whole village. At the end of the village they set the effigy on fire and drown it in river. This custom closes the winter season and opens the spring one. The origin of Christianity in the area of today’s Slovakia goes back to the period of 2 nd and 3 rd century CE. 1 At first, Christianity was brought by Roman soldiers who served in this area. There is even a story about these soldiers that connects them with the victory column of Marcus Aurelius placed in Rome. According to this story, the Roman emperor conducted a military expedition against the Germanic tribes. When his soldiers were thirsty during the stay and preparation for fight, they kneeled down and asked God for help. The enemies were firstly puzzled, but after a while

1 ŠKVARNA, D. a kol..: Lexikón slovenských dejín. Bratislava : SPN, 1999. p. 12-15.

29 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0003 when it started to rain and storm followed, they scattered. This story dem- onstrates that Romans living in our territory were Christians. 2 It is presumed that the oldest settlement of Christians in Slovakia was in the village Iža near Komárno. Archaeologists confirmed that Christians lived in several areas of Southern Slovakia as early as in the 4 th century. In the 6 th century, when the Roman population was gradually dying out, people started to migrate which resulted in exchange of several different multi-ethnic groups in the area of today’s Slovakia. When these tribes left the region of the Middle Danube and the Germanic inhabitants gradually disappeared, the Slavic people took their place. It was the period of predominately Slavic migration and settlement. In the period of 568-670 AD, tribes of The Avars spread across the Europe and got to the neighbour- hood of the Slavs. Consequently, the long coexistence of these tribes led to significant mutual, mostly non-violent, influence. The Avars were of nomadic origin, so they did not lived in permanent settlements and rather travelled with their herds across the country. They were mostly interested in rich Byzantium and Kingdom of the Franks. The reasons for their spo- radic raids on the Northern bank of Danube included material gain, war booty as well as keeping their control over Slavs via collection of taxes. However, the first half of the 7 th century is marked by changes connected with life in the Carpathian Basin. The Slavic people started to rise up against the oppressing Avars and sought the ways how to defeat them. 3 At these times, a merchant caravan lead by the Frankish merchant Samo came to the region of the Middle Danube. He offered mostly a military help to the Slavic people and thus helped them to succeed in their uprising. Therefore, in 623 the Slavs asked Samo to become their king. Under his leadership, the Slavs were able to defeat the Avars in several battles in the period of 623-624 and regain their freedom. However, Samo’s Empire or also called kingdom cannot be regarded as a state. It was a free tribal union based on a voluntary union of highly independent tribal territories. Which was led by the Frankish merchant Samo from the Senonian country. Despite the prohibition, the union traded weapons. According to chronicler Fredegara. Samo’s Empire was a protective tribal union at times when the Slavs were threatened by the Avars and later also by the Franks. In 658 AD the empire collapsed due to its territory, internal conflicts and the death of the authoritative king Samo. Then, the Slavs fell once again under the rule of the Avars, but this time not as vassals. 4

2 ČAMBAL, R. KOVÁR, B.: Kelti, Germáni a Rimania. In: Historická revue . Bratislava : SAHI, 12/2011. p. 28-33. 3 ŠKVARNA, D. a kol..: Lexikón slovenských dejín. Bratislava : SPN, 1999. p. 12-15. 4 MAŤOVČÍK, A. a kol.: Reprezentačný biografický lexikón Slovenska. Martin : Matica Slovenská, 1999. p. 291.

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Middle Ages in Slavonic Territory The collapse of the Avars Empire created favourable conditions for missionary work. When the Avars were defeated, the Kingdom of the Franks expanded to the largest state in the Middle Ages and thus at the fall of the 8 th century Christian missionaries started to come to the area of today’s Slovakia. Even before 795 the Slavic tribes took the advantage of the weakened power of Avars and started to form the Upper Danubian principalities. In the region of today’s Nitra, a local Slavic dynasty established its rule and helped to establish a new state organization. The power of this dynasty was secured by a system of new hillforts and military groups. The overall situation of this period was favourable for the formation of the first Slavic principality which was at the same time a bishopric known under the name of Principality of Nitra. The territory of this principality situated above the river Danube was prosperous and the Slavs were for several generations the greatest ethnic group of its inhabitants. These social as well as economic changes reflected in formation of local and military centres known as hillforts among which Nitra town was the most important. 5 The Principality of Nitra was not ruled by a king, but by a leader who was brave, wise, and courageous. The most significant prince of Nitra was the prince Pribina (861 AD). The court of principality followed ceremonies of Byzantine and Frankish customs. Due to its strategic geographical posi- tion, Nitra was an attractive trading centre and meeting place of merchants from Orient and Northern states as well as the Franks. It is known that Pribina refused to accept Christianity from the neighbouring Franks, even if they tried to persuade him and claimed that Christianity is a way to ad- vancement for him and his principality. According to historical sources, Pribina married a Frankish Christian woman who was a relative of the Salzburg archbishop Adalram. When in 828 Pribina built the first Christian church, which was consecrated by Adalram, he was still a pagan. This church was built in Nitra and is the oldest Christian church in Slovakia. Following the construction of the church, the missionary work based on the newly formed Church institution spread through the Principality of Nitra thanks to Frankish priests – Roman Catholicism rite. However, this period is also known for the foundation of Principality of Moravia in the area of today’s Czech Republic. This principality was ruled by Mojmír I. Pribina and Mojmír I. (833 – 846) had a significant military group which was formed through decades. The expansion of the both principalities resulted in mutual military clashes. As the Moravian prince Mojmír I. won, the prince Pribina together with his family and armed co- hort had to leave the country. The defeat of Pribina ended the sovereignty

5 ŠKVARNA, D. a kol..: Lexikón slovenských dejín. Bratislava : SPN, 1999. p. 18.

31 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0003 of the Principality of Nitra. As Mojmír I. did not want to destroy inhabited prosperous and organized political organization of the Principality of Nitra, the process of unification of Moravia and Nitra followed. The unification was completed in 833 with the foundation of a new territorial unit known as Great Moravia (833 – 10. century) – Magna Moravia in Latin, ἡ µεγάλη Μοραβία in Greek. It was the first Slavic state and the Principality of Nitra was in the role of an associated principality. The central territory of Great Moravia corresponds with the region of today’s Moravia – Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Northern part of Hungary. 6 The rule of the second prince Rastislav (846 – 870) meant stabilisation of the state, because it was time of Frankish Attacks which were once again stopped. The Frankish sources mention strong forts such as Devín Castle or the fortified town Mikulčice that have been already found by archaeologists. Even if in about 800 AD the territory of today’s Slovakia was already Christianised, Rastislav asked the pope to set a bishopric and send teachers who would teach local priests. Rastislav sought to weaken and stop the influence of the Kingdom of Fanks which constantly sent missionaries whom based on the language barrier the Slavs did not under- stand at all. However, due to good relations with the Kingdom of Franks the pope did not respond to Rastislav’s request. As there were also byzantine priests – Byzantine Catholicism rite in the Eastern part of the country, they suggested Rastislav to turn with his request to the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. 7 In 863 the Byzantine emperor sent to Great Moravia two edu- cated priests – brothers Constantine (Cyril). However, in 869 Constantine fell ill and left for monastery where he accepted monastic name Cyril and died shortly later. 8 and Methodius 9 to spread Christianity in the territory of today’s Slovakia. The important reason for this request was also the language, as Rastislav wanted to ensure that Christian faith is explained in the language familiar to people in order to secure their understanding of the faith. For the needs of the Slavs, Constantine created the first Slavic alphabet known as the Glagolitic alphabet. He immediately started to translate Scriptures to the newly created language which was close to the Slavs. Consequently, Constantine and Methodius became founders of the Slavic literature. They also translated sacral books to Old Church Slavonic and brought the tradition of Byzantine Rite – Byzantine Catholicism rite. 10

6 ŠKVARNA, D. a kol..: Lexikón slovenských dejín. Bratislava : SPN, 1999. p. 19. 7 FARRUGIA, E. G.: Encyklopedický slovník kresťanského východu. Olomouc : Refugium Velehrad-Roma s.r.o., 2008. p. 585. 8 ČÍŽEK, A.: Synaxár – životopisy svätých. Prešov : Vydal spolok biskupa Petra Pavla Gojdi- ča v Prešove, 1998. p. 271-277. 9 VNUK, F.: Príručný slovník kresťanstva . Bratislava : Smaragd, 2003. p. 185. 10 ŠKVARNA, D. a kol..: Lexikón slovenských dejín. Bratislava : SPN, 1999. p. 19-21.

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As the brothers came from Byzantine Empire and Great Moravia be- longed to Church hierarchy of Rome, in 867 they went to Rome with the consent of rulers Rastislav and Svatopluk to ask for pope’s approval to use the Old Church Slavonic as a liturgical language. In the same year, the pope approved the whole mission of Great Moravia. In February 868 pu- pils of Constantine and Methodius were consecrated in Rome. Finally, in March 868 the pope approved to use Slavic liturgical language (Old Church Slavonic) as the fourth language of the Western Church – Roman Catholic rite next to Latin, Greek, and the Hebrew language which was not done by any pope until the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965). Moreover, in 869 Pope Adrian II appointed Methodius as the first Great Moravian archbishop of the all Slavs. 11 However, due to the constant pressure of Bavarian priests on the pope, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius were forced to leave the territory of Great Moravia in 885 which caused that Great Moravia returned to the Western - Roman Catholic rite. Later these outcasts and their followers conducted Church-linguistic missions through the whole Eastern and Southern Europe and created a new language called the Cyrillic scrip which replaced the Glagolitic alphabet on the basis of which it was created. Once again Latin liturgy and German (Frankish) priests established themselves in region of Great Moravia. After the death of Cyril and Methodius, Benedictine monks became their followers and contributed to the development of written culture. Dur- ing the ages, monasteries were founded which became centres of culture and education. At the turn of the 9 th and 10 th century the territory of Slo- vakia became part of the Kingdom of Hungary – Regnum Hungariae in Latin. The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia (except Istria), Transylvania (in present-day Romania), Car- patho Ruthenia (in present-day Ukraine), Vojvodina (in present-day Ser- bia), Burgenland (in present-day Austria), and other smaller territories sur- rounding present-day Hungary's borders. The kingdom existed for almost one thousand years (from 1000 to 1946) with the continuity being broken for only two years (1918–1919). The most important abbeys in this territory were in Nitra on Mount Zobor and in Hronský Beňadik founded in 1075. In the abbey situated on Mount Zobor, there worked also monks St. Andrew-Zorard and Benedict who were declared saint in 1083 as the first Hungarian saints. 12 In the 12 th – 14 th century they founded parish, monas-

11 VNUK, F.: Príručný slovník kresťanstva . Bratislava : Smaragd, 2003. p. 105. 12 MAŤOVČÍK, A. a kol.: Reprezentačný biografický lexikón Slovenska. Martin : Matica Slovenská, 1999. p. 11.

33 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0003 tery and canonry schools, such as the canonry school in Nitra which was founded in 1111. 13

Modern Time and Slavonic Territory The reformation of Christianity which began in 1517 in Germany resulted in the recognition of Protestant religion also in our territory and even by Church and state representatives. As early as in 1521 the first Evangelical Church groups started to appear also in Slovakia. Students studying in Germany brought the reformation teaching mostly to mining towns such as Banská Štiavnica, Kremnica, etc. Fifty years later, there were as much as 900 church groups in Slovakia. However, it did not take long and the harsh anti-reformation followed and deprived Protestants of their property as well as lives. The cruellest persecution of Evangelical Church in Slovakia took place in Bratislava during special trials in 1671, 1673, and 1674. This period is also marked by the Executive Court of Prešov in 1687 when Evangelical priests and lords were beheaded. If Protestants wanted to build a church in the period of anti-reformation, they had to meet many conditions. 14 It was 1782 Edict of Tolerance of Joseph II that granted religious freedom to the followers of the Evangelical church. The edict opened the period of construction of Evangelical churches. Landlords built churches and declared priests regardless their Catholic or Evangelical persuasion. 15 The 17 th century was marked by political-religious wars that cost lives of several priests and monks. Under the rule of Maria Theresa in 1776, three Catholic bishoprics – bishopric of Spiš, Rožňava and Banská Bystrica were founded in Slovakia. 16 In the 18 th century many priests were also representatives of literature and carriers of education. They published their religious works and thus contributed to the development of the Slovak language. For example, canon Juraj Palkovič translated the Bible into the Slovak language, but known are also names of Alexander Rudnay, Ján Hollý, or Martin Hamuljak. Moreover, the first attempt to establish the first Slovak language 17 standard was also conducted by Catholic priests Anton Bernolák. However, the Slovak language standard was codified by Ľudovít

13 ŠKVARNA, D. a kol..: Lexikón slovenských dejín. Bratislava : SPN, 1999. p. 24-31. 14 BORZA, P.: Kapitoly z dejín kresťanstva. Prešov : Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, GTF, 2011. p. 26-30. 15 ŠKVARNA, D. a kol..: Lexikón slovenských dejín. Bratislava : SPN, 1999. p. 91-93. 16 DLUGOŠ, F.: Vznik Spišskej diecézy a biskup Ján Vojtašák. In: Gréckokatolícka cirkev na Slovensku vo svetle výročí. (Prešov : Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, GTF, 2011. p. 210-224. 17 VOREL, J. Andrej Bělyj a Otokar Březina (Skryté příbuzenství básníků). In: STUDIA HU- MANITATIS III – ARS HERMENEUTICA, METODOLOGIE A THEURGIE HERMENEUTICKÉ INTERPRETACE III. Ostrava : FF OU, 2010. s. 279–310.

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Štúr who was a professor of the Lutheran College in Bratislava and Evan- gelical priests Hurban and Hodža. 18 In 1870, Spolok sv. Vojtecha which is a publishing house of religious literature was founded. This publishing house remained functioning in Slovakia until now. 19

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