"Turkia" keleti keresztény fő papjai az első ezredforduló magyar történelmében - The Eastern Christian High Priests of 'Turkia' in the Hungarian History around the first Millenium

Abstract

The first bishop of Turkia, Hierotheos and his collaborators began to work among the Hungarians in the middle of the 10th century: they introduced Christianity to Gyula’s territory, but some sources report that other Hungarian tribes were involved as well. As their seals were preserved, three of his successors are known: Theophylaktos, Antonios and Demetrios. However, we do not have any details about them (their origin, the dates of their episcopate, etc.), but it is probable that they Christianized on the territory of Gyula the younger until 1003, and later on the territory of Ajtony. Turkia became metropolia between the end of the 10th century and 1025; presumably the bishops were active there until that year. The promotion to a higher rank might have been the result of the time passed, the Byzantine-Hungarian alliance and Ajtony’s baptism. After Ajtony’s defeat, the monasteries took over the pastoral care of the Eastern Christians. Although the Byzantine Church began the Hungarians’ conversion, it was completed by the Western Church. In historiography it is widely believed that the Hungarian would have disappeared or would have been marginalized, if they had not joined the Western Church. This common belief is easily refuted, if we consider the example of the Eastern European Ortodox states whose historical development was similar to the Hungarian one from the Middle Agesto the modern era,yet none of disappeared.

Keywords

• Eastern Christianity
• millennium
• Byzantium
• Turkia
• Gyula
• Ajtony