Synopsis
The overall effect of the rise of Islam was to shift Christianity's center of gravity further north and further west. Missionary monks showed great creativity and skill in contextualizing the Gospel for people in faraway lands such as Kent (England), Saxony (Germany), and Russia. The encounters of these peoples with missionaries were raw, often dangerous, and occasionally hilarious.
Key Quotes
- "In 596, King Ethelbert of Kent would only agree to meet with Pope Gregory’s envoy, Augustine, outside. The reason for this was that he had heard that Augustine had magical powers and could make tails grow on the backs of people who displeased him. He believed that being outside would neutralize Augustine’s powers. Ethelbert eventually became a Christian and remained tail-free for the rest of his life."
- "Boniface made quite the impression by chopping down the Saxons’ sacred oak and using its timber to build a chapel. Since this oak had been dedicated to Thor, the Saxons expected Boniface to drop dead at any moment. When he didn’t, many of them were so impressed that they became Christians."
- "Cyril and Methodius found success in the one direction that was not closed off to the Eastern Church by Muslim expansion: north, to the Slavic peoples on the great Eastern European plain. Since these peoples were illiterate, Cyril invented an alphabet (the Cyrillic alphabet, still used today in Russia) for them. His efforts were crucial to the survival of Eastern Orthodoxy."
- Why did the West send out more missionaries than the East?
- How did Moscow become known as the "Third Rome"?
- What motivated Pope Gregory III to form an alliance with the Frankish government?
Click the link below to hear a Christmas reading from The Heliand, a narrative poem written by missionary monks that harmonized and contextualized the Gospel for the Saxon German culture.
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