Monthly Archives: May 2019

St. Boniface of Mainz

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The cathedral of Mainz became the ecclesiastical center north of the Alps, through the work of St. Boniface. It acquired the title of “Holy See” during the 10th century. The columnin the plaza is from the Roman period of the area; its base is adorned with small monuments to four different periods of the city’s history.

St. Boniface of Mainz was born in England and was a leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He organized significant foundations of the Church in Germany and was made archbishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III. He was martyred on June 5, AD 754, along with 52 others, and his remains were returned to Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which became a site of pilgrimage. He became the patron saint of Germania, known as the “Apostle of the Germans.”

St. Boniface is said to have been killed by pagans as he was chopping down one of the sacred trees they worshipped, thinking it was sacred to Odin or Thor. Boniface was known for cutting down the sacred trees and groves to demonstrate how powerless the old pagan gods were to defend their trees. He is sometimes given credit for inventing the Christmas tree as a further demonstration that the old gods were vanquished: not only could they not prevent the Christians from chopping down the sacred trees but the Christians were able to bring the trees indoors–something no devout pagan would ever do!–and use the trees to celebrate the birth of Christ.

The cathedral in Mainz, first built shortly after St. Boniface was killed, was one of the most important medieval churches north of the Alps. Besides Rome, the diocese of Mainz is the only diocese in the world with an episcopal see that is called a Holy See (sancta sedes). The Archbishops of Mainz traditionally were primas germaniae, the substitutes of the Pope north of the Alps. During the Middle Ages, the Archbishop of Mainz also had the right to crown German kings (and queens). The crowning in Mainz awarded the monarch the kingdom of Germany, and a subsequent in Rome granted him the Holy Roman Empire (this was simply a technical distinction). Once crowned in Mainz, the monarch had claim to rule Western Europe.

During the Nazi period, the Bishop of Mainz, Albert Stohr, formed an organization to help Jews escape from Germany.

May 29: A Day of Contrasts

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The fall of Constantinople in 1453 signaled a shift in history and the end of the Byzantium Empire. Roger Crowley’s readable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmet II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current conflict between the West and the Middle East.

May 29? A day of infamy and a day of celebration!

May 29, 1453 – The city of Constantinople was captured by the Turks, who renamed it Istanbul. This marked the end of the Byzantine Empire as Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

May 29, 1660 – The English monarchy was restored with Charles II on the throne after several years of a Commonwealth under Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.

Known as “Black Monday,” the day that Constantinople fell to the Turks, was a tragedy of epic proportions. The Ottoman Empire, established in the newly-conquered territory, allowed Jews and Christians to practice their religion but with great difficulty. Many were killed for their faith. The treatment of the Greeks and the Armenians by the Ottomans is said to have inspired Hitler’s plans for the Final Solution; “Who speaks today of the extermination of the Armenians?” Hitler asked, just a week before the September 1, 1939 invasion of Poland. An excellent study of the heartbreaking events of Black Monday can be found here.

King Charles I, the Martyr, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649 by Oliver Cromwell, a stern and rigid Puritan. Cromwell ruled until his death from natural causes in 1658 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The Royalists returned to power along with King Charles II in 1660, and they had Cromwell’s corpse dug up, hung in chains, and beheaded. Charles II was one of the most popular and beloved kings of England, known as the Merry Monarch in reference to both the liveliness and hedonism of his court and the general relief at the return to normality after over a decade of rule by Cromwell and the Puritans.

Also on May 29, 1913 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a riot.

Melchizedek, King of Salem

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This icon of Melchizedek is one of several that I painted many years ago. You can see the curls of the challah bread in his hand reflected in the curls of his beard. He wears the turban of a high priest and the crown of a king, as he was both priest of God Most High and king of (Jeru-)Salem.

Melchizedek is a mysterious but very important figure in the Bible. He is the king of Salem (later known as Jerusalem) and a priest of God Most High, and he blessed the patriarch Abraham. In the book of Genesis, we read how Abram returns from defeating king Chedorlaomer and meets with Bera the king of Sodom, at which point: “…Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was [is] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed Abram, and said, ‘Blessed be Abram to the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand’. And Abram gave him tithe from all.” (Genesis 14:18–20)

Melchizedek is also mentioned in Psalm 110 as an example of one man acting as both priest and king (a new development in Jewish practice, dating from the time of the Maccabees about 200 BC) and Christ is compared to Melchizedek in the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament. Melchizedek is the only non-Jewish priest in the Old Testament who is considered legitimate; his priesthood is also greater than the Jewish priesthood because he blesses Abram [Abraham], the father of all Jews and thus all of Abraham’s descendants–including the Jewish priests! Abraham also offers Melchizedek a tithe (10%) of all he has, indicating that he considers Melchizedek more important than himself. Melchizedek, king of Salem [i.e. “righteousness” and “peace”], sacrifices bread and wine to God; this is considered by Christian readers as a clear allusion to the Eucharist. Because he is king of righteousness and seems to be a priest for all eternity (as there is no record of his birth or death or his ancestors), he is considered by Christians to be an archetype of Christ Himself.

Some Jewish legends also notice his apparent eternity and say that he presided at the funeral of Abel and was hidden by God in Eden during the Flood to protect him. He was also important to Jews who rejected the legitimacy of the Temple, such as the Essenes and the Qumran community who compiled the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Melchizedek is commemorated by the Eastern churches on May 22.