Saint Astrik of Pannonhalma (also known as Anastasius, Astericus, Ascrick, Astrissicus) (died c. 1030/1040) is a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
of the 11th century.
Life
Radla was a Czech or Croat from Bohemia, who was a monk in Hungary. He probably received the habit at Brevnov, taking the name of Anastasius, of which Astrik is the equivalent.
Astrik accompanied
Saint Adalbert in the latter's missionary work to the
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
ns and became the first abbot of
Břevnov Monastery
Břevnov Monastery ( cs, Břevnovský klášter, german: Stift Breunau) is a Benedictine archabbey in the Břevnov
Břevnov () is a district in the west of Prague, located in Prague 6. The district is home to the Břevnov Monastery (Czech: ''B ...
. When Adalbert failed to consolidate his position in Bohemia, and left Prague, Astrik Radla went to the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
to help the missionaries among the
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
.
["Saint Astrik of Pannonhalma (? – 1040)", Hungarian Catholic Mission]
/ref>
He first served the wife of Duke Géza Géza is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following:
* Benjamin Géza Affleck
* Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians
* Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...
. In 997 Astrik became the first abbot of the Benedictine abbey of St. Martin's (Pannonhalma Archabbey
The Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey or Territorial Abbey of Pannonhalma (lat. ''Archiabbatia'' or ''Abbatia Territorialis Sancti Martini in Monte Pannoniae'') is a medieval building in Pannonhalma, one of the oldest historical monuments in Hun ...
),[ the first ecclesiastical institution in Hungary, founded by Géza.][ He then served Géza's son, ]Stephen I of Hungary
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István király ; la, Sanctus Stephanus; sk, Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the f ...
, and became the first archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of the Hungarian Church.
Astrik served as Stephen's ambassador to Pope Sylvester II
Pope Sylvester II ( – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a French-born scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab and Gre ...
.Aldásy, Antal. "Archdiocese of Gran." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 9 Mar. 2014
/ref> The pope recognized Stephen as King of the Hungarians. Soon after Astrik's return Stephen was crowned by Astrik, with a royal crown sent by Pope Sylvester, granted no doubt at the instance of the Emperor Otto III
Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu.
Otto III was crowned as King of G ...
, in 1001.[
]
Discovery of remains
The Assumption Cathedral of Kalocsa was extensively restored between 1907 and 1912, under the direction of architect Ernő Foerk
Ernő Foerk (3 February 1868, Temesvár – 26 January 1934, Budapest) was a Hungarian architect.
Life
Foerk originally began as a sculptor, but subsequently finished as a master builder. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts
The A ...
. Under the sanctuary, a red marble archiepiscopal tomb was excavated in 1910 in the place of the original 11th-century cathedral. In addition to the intact skeleton, a gilded silver-headed crosier
A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...
, a silver chalice, paten
A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium.
Western usage
In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...
, golden rings, crosses, ''pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
'' with three jeweled gold pins, and textile remnants were found. Foerk estimated the age of the grave and thought its 11th-century origin, identified the corpse with Astrik, as the grave laid in the central axis of the first cathedral, a usual resting place for the church founders. Foerk also analogized the crosier with the near-contemporary pastoral staff of Anno II
Anno II ( – 4 December 1075) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 until his death. From 1063 to 1065 he acted as regent of the Holy Roman Empire for the minor Emperor Henry IV. Anno is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church.
Life
He w ...
, Archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...
(d. 1075). However Jesuit art historian Joseph Braun
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
analyzed the chalice and the textiles based on the pictures sent, but he did not deal with the other objects. Thereafter he dated the grave to the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. Accordingly, he identified the skeleton as the corpse of 12–13th-century archbishops Saul Győr
Saul from the kindred Győr ( hu, Győr nembeli Saul; died early 1202) was a prelate in the Kingdom of Hungary at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. He was Bishop of Csanád (now Cenad in Romania) between 1188 and 1192, then Archbishop of K ...
or Ugrin Csák
Ugrin (III) from the kindred Csák ( hu, Csák nembeli (III.) Ugrin, hr, Ugrin Čak, sr, Угрин Чак; died in 1311) was a prominent Hungarian baron and oligarch in the early 14th century. He was born into an ancient Hungarian clan. He ac ...
. The diocese's librarian Pál Winkler emphasized that Ugrin was killed in the Battle of Mohi
The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241), also known as Battle of the Sajó River''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279; "Although Mongol losses in t ...
(1241) and his body was never found. Moritz Dreger considered the textiles of Byzantine origin. In 1912, the tombstone was relocated into the new Archbishop's Crypt with the epitaph "OSSA ANONYMI AEPPI COLOCEN. SAEC. XII. / SAULI DE GYŐR /? / 1192–1202 /".
In January–February 2014, the tomb was re-examined during archeological excavations, which aimed to define the exact age of the skeleton. The identification was supported by the AMS radiocarbon examination that was conducted on the two phalanxes acquired from the skeleton. The result of the Carbon-14
Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...
(radiocarbon) examination defined the date of death of the archbishop buried in the grave at (cal AD) 1001–1030, which date coincides with the scanty historical data on Astrik. Accordingly, the skeleton was identified with the corpse of Astrik, and not Saul Győr.
References
Sources
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External links
Saints of November 12: Astrik
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Astrik
Hungarian Roman Catholic saints
10th-century births
11th-century deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain
11th-century Christian saints
Medieval Hungarian saints
Archbishops of Esztergom
Archbishops of Kalocsa
11th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary
10th-century Bohemian people
11th-century Hungarian people