The Pope Commissions Boniface as a Missionary
The fateful meeting between Boniface and Pope Gregory II would forge lasting links between the German people and the papacy, links of faith and charity that would bear significant fruit throughout the Middle Ages. (From Willibald’s Life of Boniface)
When [Winfrid] read a letter carried to him by a messenger, he learned that he was summoned to Rome, and in a spirit of complete obedience, he got ready as quickly as he could…. Eventually he came into sight of the walls of Rome, and giving praise and thanks to God on high, he went quickly to the Church of St. Peter, where he strengthened himself in long and earnest prayer. After he had rested his weary limbs for a brief time, he had a message sent to blessed Gregory [II], bishop of the Apostolic See, saying that he had arrived….
A convenient day was fixed for a meeting, and at the appointed time the pope came down to the Basilica of St. Peter the Apostle, and the servant of God was summoned to his presence. After they had exchanged a few words of greeting, the bishop of the Apostolic See asked him some questions on his doctrine—on the creeds, traditions and beliefs of his church….
They discussed and debated many other matters relating to holy religion and the true faith, and in this exchange of views they spent almost the whole day.
At last the pope asked how successful he was in preaching the true faith to a people so rooted in error and sin. On learning that a vast number had been converted from the sacrilegious worship of idols and admitted to the communion of the Church, the pope told him that he intended to ordain him a bishop and set him over people who up to that time had been without a leader to guide them….
When the holy day for the sacred solemnity arrived, which was both the feast day of St. Andrew and the day set aside for his ordination, the holy pope of the Apostolic See ordained him a bishop and gave him the name of Boniface…. He also offered to him and to all his subjects the friendship of the holy Apostolic See from that time on and forever. Also, by means of his most sacred letters, the pope placed the holy man, now strengthened by ordination as a bishop, under the protection and devotion of the glorious leader Charlemagne.
Boniface Fells the Sacred Oak
Whereas St. Augustine of Canterbury had taken a milder approach, preserving and remodeling pagan temples into Christian churches, St. Boniface preferred tough love. His preference for outright destruction of pagan shrines, as a way of testifying to the superior power of the Christian God, was the far more common method. (From Willibald’s Life of Boniface)
Now many of the Hessians who at that time had accepted the Christian faith were confirmed by the grace of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. But others, weaker in spirit, still refused to accept the pure teachings of the Church in their entirety. Moreover, some continued—some secretly, others openly—to offer sacrifices to trees and springs, to inspect the entrails of victims, to practice divination, magic and sorcery, to attend to auguries, auspices and other sacrificial rites, even though others who were more reasonable abandoned all of these pagan customs and committed none of these crimes.
It was on the advice of these latter persons that Boniface endeavored to cut down, at a place called Gaesmere, a certain oak of extraordinary size called the Oak of Jupiter in the old pagan languages. Summoning up all his courage—for a great crowd of pagans stood by, watching and cursing this “enemy of the gods” in their hearts—he cut the first notch. But after the first, superficial cut, the vast trunk of the oak crashed to the ground, shaken by a mighty blast of wind from above, its topmost branches shattering into fragments. As if by God’s will, for the brothers who were there had done nothing to cause it, the oak burst apart into four parts, each of equal length.
At the sight of this extraordinary spectacle, the heathens who had been cursing ceased to do so, and rather believed and praised the Lord. After this, that holy bishop discussed with his brothers, and then built a church from the wood of the oak, dedicating it to St. Peter the Apostle.
The Martyrdom of Boniface
Boniface’s first missionary journey had been to Frisia (modern-day Holland), where the native barbarians were more fierce and savage than any others on the continent. Having had little success, he always dreamed of returning, and as an elderly bishop he finally determined to go back to Frisia, having no doubt he would be killed there. (From Willibald’s Life of Boniface)
When the Lord willed to deliver his servant from the trials of this world and set him free from the vicissitudes of this mortal life, it was decided, under God’s providence, that he should travel in the company of his disciples to Frisia, from which he had departed in body but not in spirit. And this was done so that in dying there he might receive the divine reward in the same place where he had begun his preaching….
This, then, is how he traveled throughout the whole of Frisia, destroying pagan worship and turning people away from their pagan errors by his preaching of the Gospel. The pagan temples and gods were overthrown and churches were built in their place. Many thousands of men, women, and children were baptized by him….
When the faith had finally been firmly planted in Frisia and the glorious end of that saint’s life drew near, he took with him a handpicked group of his personal followers and … set a date when he would confirm through the laying on of hands all those who had recently been baptized….
But events turned out otherwise than expected. When the appointed date arrived and the morning light was breaking through the clouds after sunrise, enemies arrived instead of friends, new executioners instead of new worshipers of the faith. A vast number of foes armed with spears and shields rushed into the camp brandishing their weapons. In the blink of an eye the attendants sprang from the camp to meet them, snatching up weapons here and there to defend the holy band of martyrs (for that is what they would soon be) against the insane fury of the mob.
But the man of God, hearing the shouts and the onrush of the mob, called all his clergy to his side and emerged from his tent, gathering up the relics of the saints that he always carried with him. At once he scolded his attendants and forbade them to continue fighting, saying: “Sons, cease fighting. Lay down your arms, for we are told in the Scriptures not to render evil for good but to overcome evil by good.”….
While he was encouraging his disciples with these words to accept the crown of martyrdom, the frenzied mob of pagans rushed suddenly upon them with swords and every kind of deadly weapon, staining their bodies with their precious blood.
How to Argue with a Pagan
St. Boniface’s close collaborator throughout his life, Bishop Daniel of Winchester, wrote, about 723, to advise him on the best way of arguing with a pagan. Daniel’s advice—don’t argue, just keep asking them questions about their beliefs until they realize just how absurd they are—is timeless. (From Letters of St. Boniface, no. 11)
To Boniface, honored and beloved leader, from Daniel, servant of the people of God.
My joy is great, brother and fellow-bishop, that your good work is finally achieving results. Supported by your deep faith and great courage, you have undertaken to convert pagans whose hearts have until now been stony and barren, and with the Gospel as your plow you have labored tirelessly day after day to transform them into fields fertile for harvest…. Moved by affection and good will, I am taking the liberty of making a few suggestions, in order to show you how, in my opinion, you may overcome with the least possible trouble the resistance of these barbaric people.
Do not start arguing with them about the genealogies of their false gods. Accept their premise that each god and goddess was begotten by other gods through sexual intercourse: then you can point out that, if these gods have a beginning, being born like humans are, they must be human and not gods. Once they admit that their gods have a beginning, you should ask them whether the world had a beginning or whether it has always existed. For before there was a universe, there was no place for the gods to live….
But