Stephen ( hu, István; died after 1176) was a Hungarian prelate in the twelfth century, who served as
Archbishop of Kalocsa
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 archdioc ...
in the first half of the 1170s. As one of the confidants of the pretender
Géza, he strongly opposed the rule of King
Béla III, who therefore deprived from his dignity in 1176.
Career
Church historian József Udvardy identified his person with that certain Stephen, who served as chancellor and royal chaplain for queen mother
Euphrosyne of Kiev in 1163, when issued the royal charter of
Stephen III, who confirmed the privileges of the
Archdiocese of Split
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Split-Makarska ( hr, Splitsko-makarska nadbiskupija; la, Archidioecesis Spalatensis-Macarscensis) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Croatia and Montenegro. . Stephen was also styled as member (or presumably provost) of the collegiate chapter of
Titel
Titel ( sr-Cyrl, Тител, hu, Titel) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Titel has a population of 5,247, while the population of the municipality of Titel is 15, ...
by the document.
The archiepiscopal tenure of Stephen was mentioned only by one of the entries of the ''
Annales Posonienses
The ''Annales Posonienses'' or Annals of Pressburg ( hu, Pozsonyi Évkönyv) are the only extant early medieval annals written in the Kingdom of Hungary. However, they are rather a collection of notes which, as the historian Carlile Aylmer Macartn ...
'' under the year 1187. Accordingly, he was deprived from his dignity in that year. Early scholars, including
György Pray
György Pray (also: ''George Pray'', 11 September 1723 - 23 September 1801) was a Hungarian Jesuit Abbot, canon, librarian of the University library of Buda and important historian.
Biography
He was born at Érsekújvár (Nové Zámky) on 11 Sep ...
and István Katona accepted the data without doubt and interpreted the term "''deponitur''" as the burial of Stephen. József Udvardy examined other events that were recorded during that year's entry and put the correct date to 1176. Accordingly, Stephen belonged to those magnates and prelates, including Queen Euphrosyne, who supported the claim of Duke Géza to the Hungarian throne against his elder brother Béla III, who arrived from the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
to ascend the kingship. Béla's coronation took place on 18 January 1173, performed by an unidentified Archbishop of Kalocsa (possibly
Chama), thus Stephen definitely did not yet hold the position during that time, in accordance with Udvardy's narration. Béla imprisoned his younger brother, but Géza escaped from prison and fled to Austria in 1174 or 1175. It is possible that Stephen accompanied the pretender, along with the former
judge royal
The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (german: Oberster Landesrichter,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. hu, országbíró,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. sk, krajinsk ...
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
. Later, Géza tried to persuade
Soběslav II of Bohemia to help him meet
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor against Béla III, but Soběslav seized Géza and handed him over to the Hungarian king in 1176 or 1177. His faithful partisan, ''comes'' Vata was blinded, while Archbishop Stephen was officially deprived from his dignity around the same time. His successor,
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
was transferred from the
Diocese of Győr
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
to the Archbishopric of Kalocsa in 1176 (it is possible that he was elected in the absence of Stephen, who fled Hungary by that time).
According to historian Ferenc Makk, the author of the ''Annales Posonienses'', mixing up the name and dating the event over ten years later, in fact recorded the temporary disposal of Archbishop Andrew by Béla III around 1178 and such "Archbishop Stephen" never existed. Nevertheless, historian Attila Zsoldos accepted Udvardy's argument and added the name of Stephen with the year 1176 in his archontology.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen 01, Archbishop of Kalocsa
Archbishops of Kalocsa
12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary
12th-century Hungarian people