Wiching or Viching"Wiching", '' :sk:Encyklopédia Slovenska'' () was the first bishop of Nitra, in present-day

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Life

He served between 880 and 891 AD. Wiching was originally a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

from Swabia. After 874, he served

Svatopluk I Svatopluk I or Svätopluk I, also known as Svatopluk the Great (Latin: ''Zuentepulc'', ''Zuentibald'', ''Sventopulch'', ''Zvataplug''; Old Church Slavic: Свѧтопълкъ and transliterated ''Svętopъłkъ''; Polish: ''Świętopełk''; Greek ...

. From 874 to 879 he worked with John of Venice. At the end of 879 he was appointed a bishop of

Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavs, Wes ...

, after St Methodius, and in 880 visited the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, who made him Bishop of Nitra. He was known for accusing the

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wi ...

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

for holding

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...

instead of the standard

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

of the

Roman Church Holy Roman Church, Roman Church, Church of Rome or Church in Rome may refer to: * The Diocese of Rome or the Holy See * The Latin Church * Churches of Rome (buildings) In historical contexts ''Roman Church'' may also refer to: * The Catholic Chur ...

. Wiching was a counselor for Svätopluk I and the only known

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of Archbishop Methodius. Wiching was notorious for his disputes with St. Methodius. He remained in Rome and sent to king Svätopluk an allegedly forged letter from the pope, which caused Svätopluk to unseat Methodius. In 881, Methodius learned from the Pope about the forgery and appealed to the Pope, who deposed Wiching. In 885, shortly before Methodius' death, Wiching left Poland and with the consent of Svatopluk went to Rome, where he falsely accused Methodius to the new Pope,

Stephen V Stephen V may refer to: * Pope Stephen IV, aka Stephen V, Pope from 816 to 817 *Pope Stephen V (885–891) *Stephen V of Hungary (born before 1239 – 1272), King of Hungary and Croatia, Duke of Styria *Stephen V Báthory Stephen Báthory of Ec ...

who issued papal bull ''Quia te zelo fidei'' forbidding the Slavonic liturgy. During the summer of 885, when the Pope learned of the death of Methodius, he named Wiching once again as bishop of Nitra and, in addition, gave him the title of Ecclesiastical Administrator. Wiching used this position to expel Methodius' students.KOVÁČ, Dušan, et al. Kronika Slovenska : od najstarších čias do konca 19. storočia. (Bratislava : Fortuna Print, 1998). p101 In 891/892, he left Svatopluk to serve Arnulf of Carinthia with whom Svatopluk was having a conflict. Wiching was part of the delegation sent to Svatopluk to negotiate peace. After Arnulf of Carinthia died, and with the fall of

, Wiching withdrew from public life. He died between 900 and 912, likely on September 12.

Life

References

Further reading