Religion paper #1 – St Boniface
Perhaps no other Christian missionary ever had such a great influence on such a large portion of the world as St Boniface did on the Germanic tribes in the 7th century. By the time of his martyrdom, nearly all of the Germans, Hessians, and a large portion of the Frisians had converted to the Christian faith. Boniface worked tirelessly for the faith for many years, and eventually died a martyr in 754.
Boniface was born in what is now Devon County in modern-day England. His given name was Winfrid. While he was a boy, he was inspired to become a missionary after several missionaries spent some time at his family’s house. As he grew older, Winfrid studied at the monasteries in England and was ordained a priest at about the age of 30. After his ordination, Winfrid was called by the Holy Spirit to become a missionary. His first trip began in 716, when he traveled to Frisia, which is now part of the modern-day Netherlands. Earlier missionaries to Frisia had attempted to convert the people living there, but had had only mixed results. When Winfrid arrived, he found that those Christian practices that had been accepted by a portion of the populace had been mixed with pagan traditions, or had fallen victim to full paganism. Winfrid’s earliest efforts towards converting the Frisians met with hostility and disinterest. By nature, Winfrid was prone to despair and disappointment. He was a timid person, but the obstacles he encountered in his quest to convert the Frisians demanded that he have courage and strength. In the face of so many roadblocks towards conversion from the Frisians, Winfrid’s tendency towards despair began to rear its head. Eventually, these tendencies became so great that he traveled to visit Pope St Gregory the Second, to whom he expressed his belief that he had failed in his mission to convert the Frisians. Winfrid also asked the Pope whether he should stay in Frisia and continue his efforts, or return to his home in England. Pope Gregory was impressed by Winfrid’s piety, so much so that he gave him a new name: Boniface. This name comes from two Latin words (bona and facere), and the name itself means “doer of good”. Bolstered by Pope Gregory’s confidence in him, Boniface returned to Germany. He was now a newly appointed papal legate to the German countries, or the Pope’s personal representative to the area. On this return trip to Germany, however, Boniface did not return to the Frisians, but instead went south to the country of Hesse to convert the pagans living there. It was among the Hessians that Boniface committed one of his most famous acts. The German pagans were great worshippers of many inanimate objects. Among the objects they worshipped were trees. German legends said that two gods created man and woman from two trees, so the tree was of particular significance …show more content…
In 736, Boniface was made the Archbishop of Mainz, a city in the southern part of modern-day Germany. He continued to work among the German peoples, and founded several more monasteries, while bringing the German clergy he was building up closer to Rome and the Pope. Boniface also worked to reform the crumbling Church in the Frankish kingdom. Boniface weeded out corrupt religious leaders and convened a synod in 742 to lay out plans for even greater
Perhaps no other Christian missionary ever had such a great influence on such a large portion of the world as St Boniface did on the Germanic tribes in the 7th century. By the time of his martyrdom, nearly all of the Germans, Hessians, and a large portion of the Frisians had converted to the Christian faith. Boniface worked tirelessly for the faith for many years, and eventually died a martyr in 754.
Boniface was born in what is now Devon County in modern-day England. His given name was Winfrid. While he was a boy, he was inspired to become a missionary after several missionaries spent some time at his family’s house. As he grew older, Winfrid studied at the monasteries in England and was ordained a priest at about the age of 30. After his ordination, Winfrid was called by the Holy Spirit to become a missionary. His first trip began in 716, when he traveled to Frisia, which is now part of the modern-day Netherlands. Earlier missionaries to Frisia had attempted to convert the people living there, but had had only mixed results. When Winfrid arrived, he found that those Christian practices that had been accepted by a portion of the populace had been mixed with pagan traditions, or had fallen victim to full paganism. Winfrid’s earliest efforts towards converting the Frisians met with hostility and disinterest. By nature, Winfrid was prone to despair and disappointment. He was a timid person, but the obstacles he encountered in his quest to convert the Frisians demanded that he have courage and strength. In the face of so many roadblocks towards conversion from the Frisians, Winfrid’s tendency towards despair began to rear its head. Eventually, these tendencies became so great that he traveled to visit Pope St Gregory the Second, to whom he expressed his belief that he had failed in his mission to convert the Frisians. Winfrid also asked the Pope whether he should stay in Frisia and continue his efforts, or return to his home in England. Pope Gregory was impressed by Winfrid’s piety, so much so that he gave him a new name: Boniface. This name comes from two Latin words (bona and facere), and the name itself means “doer of good”. Bolstered by Pope Gregory’s confidence in him, Boniface returned to Germany. He was now a newly appointed papal legate to the German countries, or the Pope’s personal representative to the area. On this return trip to Germany, however, Boniface did not return to the Frisians, but instead went south to the country of Hesse to convert the pagans living there. It was among the Hessians that Boniface committed one of his most famous acts. The German pagans were great worshippers of many inanimate objects. Among the objects they worshipped were trees. German legends said that two gods created man and woman from two trees, so the tree was of particular significance …show more content…
In 736, Boniface was made the Archbishop of Mainz, a city in the southern part of modern-day Germany. He continued to work among the German peoples, and founded several more monasteries, while bringing the German clergy he was building up closer to Rome and the Pope. Boniface also worked to reform the crumbling Church in the Frankish kingdom. Boniface weeded out corrupt religious leaders and convened a synod in 742 to lay out plans for even greater