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116-551: Ohrdruf was reportedly founded in 724–726 by Saint Boniface , as the site of the first monastery in Thuringia, dedicated to Saint Michael . It was the first of several religious foundations in the town, the latest of which is the Carmelite monastery Karmel St. Elija (founded 1991). Ohrdruf received municipal rights in 1399. In 1550, under Georg II von Gleichen  [ de ] work began on Schloss Ehrenstein at

232-727: A BBC -Devon website, in an account which places Geismar in Bavaria , and in a number of educational books, including St. Boniface and the Little Fir Tree , The Brightest Star of All: Christmas Stories for the Family , The American normal readers , and a short story by Henry van Dyke , "The First Christmas Tree". The earliest "Life" of Boniface was written by a certain Willibald, an Anglo-Saxon priest who came to Mainz after Boniface's death, around 765. Willibald's biography

348-600: A POW camp during World War I , housing around 20,000 prisoners. It was later used by the Wehrmacht and in the fall of 1944 a section of it became the Ohrdruf concentration camp . The prisoners were used to construct roads, railways and tunnels. The latter were to include a temporary headquarters for the Nazi leadership following the evacuation of Berlin ( Führerhauptquartier ). According to German historian Rainer Karlsch ,

464-489: A bishop without a diocese for an area that lacked any church organization. He would never return to England, though he remained in correspondence with his countrymen and kinfolk throughout his life. According to the vitae Boniface felled the Donar Oak , Latinized by Willibald as "Jupiter's oak", near the present-day town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse . According to his early biographer Willibald, Boniface started to chop

580-724: A bishop's residence, the St. Nicholas Diocese Center, costing €31 million. Details of the project were kept secret from Limburg's construction authorities to quash rumours of saunas, wine cellars, and interior decorations with precious gems, but the building was later nicknamed the "Kaaba of Limburg", as the colour and cubical shape resembled the Kaaba of Mecca. This was despite the diocese's strained budget, which often lacked funds for basic overhead and maintenance of church facilities and for services such as daycare. The "Tebartz effect" has disillusioned both Protestant and Catholic Christians. In Cologne

696-680: A great amount of academic and popular interest. The event occasioned a number of scholarly studies, esp. biographies (for instance, by Auke Jelsma in Dutch, Lutz von Padberg in German, and Klaas Bruinsma in Frisian), and a fictional completion of the Boniface correspondence (Lutterbach, Mit Axt und Evangelium ). A German musical proved a great commercial success, and in the Netherlands an opera

812-669: A hagiography of Sturm by Eigil of Fulda , Lullus attempted to block the move and keep the body in Mainz. His remains were eventually buried in the abbey church of Fulda after resting for some time in Utrecht , and they are entombed within a shrine beneath the high altar of Fulda Cathedral , previously the abbey church. There is good reason to believe that the Gospel he held up was the Codex Sangallensis 56, which shows damage to

928-709: A limited group of theologians" has become the bishops' proposals, which he says "openly contradict the teaching affirmed by all the popes since the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council ." Luis Ladaria Cardinal Ferrer , prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith , warned of "reducing the mystery of the Church to a mere institution of power," and so "the greatest danger" of the proposals

1044-528: A new vita of Boniface in the eleventh century, is credited with compiling the complete correspondence as we have it. Much of this correspondence comprises the first part of the Vienna Boniface Codex , also known as Codex Vindobonensis 751 . The correspondence was edited and published already in the seventeenth century, by Nicolaus Serarius. Stephan Alexander Würdtwein's 1789 edition, Epistolae S. Bonifacii Archiepiscopi Magontini ,

1160-620: A number of criticisms from bishops from all over the world. In February 2022, the Polish episcopate aired their concerns to Pope Francis, mentioning the impression that "the Gospel is not always the basis for reflection." In March 2022, the Scandinavian bishops also aired their deep concern of a possible "capitulation to the Zeitgeist," on the part of the German bishops. In April 2022, an international group of more than 70 bishops criticized

1276-418: A number of towns in 1855; both of these were predominantly Catholic affairs emphasizing the role of Boniface in German history. But if the celebrations were mostly Catholic, in the first part of the 19th century the respect for Boniface in general was an ecumenical affair, with both Protestants and Catholics praising Boniface as a founder of the German nation, in response to the German nationalism that arose after

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1392-478: A publication for the occasion on historical aspects of Boniface and his work, the 1905 Festgabe by Gregor Richter and Carl Scherer. In all, the content of these early celebrations showed evidence of the continuing question about the meaning of Boniface for Germany, though the importance of Boniface in cities associated with him was without question. In 1954, celebrations were widespread in England, Germany, and

1508-631: A supporter of Boniface's reform efforts in the Frankish church. Boniface himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester, that without the protection of Charles Martel he could "neither administer his church, defend his clergy, nor prevent idolatry". According to German historian Gunther Wolf, the high point of Boniface's career was the Concilium Germanicum , organized by Carloman in an unknown location in April 743. Although Boniface

1624-536: A survey by the Erfurt-based opinion research institute INSA a third of German Catholics are considering leaving. Older Catholics consider leaving primarily due to child abuse cases while younger Catholics primarily want to avoid paying the church tax. In 2022 522,821 people left the Church, according to figures released by the German bishops. A spate of nationwide de-registrations and protest occurred in late 2013 caused by financial corruption scandals, termed

1740-806: A teacher at the Lyceum . Johann Sebastian lived in Ohrdruf from the ages of 10 to 15. In the 19th century, the town became a centre of toy manufacturing. The Kewpie doll was produced here from 1913. There are still some old molds embedded in the facades of Ohrdruf buildings. In 1869, the Hohenlohe family sold the Grafschaft Gleichen including the castle and town of Ohrdruf to the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha . The nearby Truppenübungsplatz Ohrdruf  [ de ] (military training area) served as

1856-439: A violently ill monk is freed from his body and guided by angels to a place of judgment, where angels and devils fight over his soul as his sins and virtues come alive to accuse and defend him. He sees a hell of purgation full of pits vomiting flames. There is a bridge over a pitch-black boiling river. Souls either fall from it or safely reach the other side cleansed of their sins. This monk even sees some of his contemporary monks and

1972-534: A wealth of material available — a number of vitae , especially the near-contemporary Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldi , legal documents, possibly some sermons, and above all his correspondence. He is venerated as a saint in the Christian church and became the patron saint of Germania , known as the " Apostle to the Germans ". Norman Cantor notes the three roles Boniface played that made him "one of

2088-529: Is also a series of paintings there by Timothy Moore. There are quite a few churches dedicated to St. Boniface in the United Kingdom: Bunbury, Cheshire ; Chandler's Ford and Southampton Hampshire; Adler Street, London; Papa Westray , Orkney; St Budeaux , Plymouth (now demolished); Bonchurch , Isle of Wight; Cullompton , Devon. St Boniface Down , the highest point in the Isle of Wight ,

2204-681: Is also the largest religious group in Bavaria , Rhineland-Palatinate , North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg . The German state supports both the Catholic and Protestant churches; it collects taxes for the churches and there is religious education in the schools, taught by teachers who have to be approved by the churches. Church taxes are "automatic paycheck deductions" taken from all registered church members, "regardless of" whether, and if yes, "how often members attend services." Catholicism in Germany today faces several challenges: One of

2320-546: Is famous for the Passion Play staged every ten years. The Catholic Church in Germany also boasts one of the country's most recognizable landmarks, Cologne Cathedral . Other notable Roman Catholic cathedrals are in Aachen with the throne and tomb of Charlemagne , Augsburg , Bamberg , Berlin ( St. Hedwig's Cathedral ) with the crypt of Bernhard Lichtenberg , Dresden , proto-Romanesque Hildesheim , Frankfurt with

2436-497: Is generally called the Bonifatian correspondence, though not all them are by Boniface or addressed to him. They were assembled by order of archbishop Lullus , Boniface's successor in Mainz, and were initially organized into two parts, a section containing the papal correspondence and another with his private letters. They were reorganized in the eighth century, in a roughly chronological ordering. Otloh of St. Emmeram, who worked on

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2552-431: Is known about Nursling outside Boniface's vitae , it seems clear that the library there was significant. To supply Boniface with the materials he needed, it would have contained works by Donatus , Priscian , Isidore , and many others. Around 716, when his abbot Wynberth of Nursling died, he was invited (or expected) to assume his position—it is possible that they were related, and the practice of hereditary right among

2668-699: Is known of it outside the Bonifacian vitae . This monastery is believed to have occupied the site of the Church of St Mary Major in the City of Exeter , demolished in 1971, next to which was later built Exeter Cathedral . Later tradition places his birth at Crediton , but the earliest mention of Crediton in connection to Boniface is from the early fourteenth century, in John Grandisson 's Legenda Sanctorum: The Proper Lessons for Saints' Days according to

2784-483: Is named after him. Bishop George Errington founded St Boniface's Catholic College , Plymouth in 1856. The school celebrates Saint Boniface on 5 June each year. In 1818, Father Norbert Provencher founded a mission on the east bank of the Red River in what was then Rupert's Land , building a log church and naming it after St. Boniface. The log church was consecrated as Saint Boniface Cathedral after Provencher

2900-592: Is now generally discredited. Boniface balanced this support and attempted to maintain some independence, however, by attaining the support of the papacy and of the Agilolfings of Bavaria . In Frankish, Hessian, and Thuringian territory, he established the diocese of Würzburg (741). . By appointing his own followers as bishops, he was able to retain some independence from the Carolingians, who most likely were content to give him leeway as long as Christianity

3016-640: Is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church in communion with the Pope , assisted by the Roman Curia , and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman ) of the episcopal conference is Georg Bätzing , Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg . It is divided into 27 dioceses , 7 of them with the rank of metropolitan sees . Growing rejection of the Church has had its impact in Germany; nevertheless, 28.5% of

3132-643: Is regarded as Winnipeg's main French-speaking district and the centre of the Franco-Manitobain community, and St. Boniface Hospital is the second-largest hospital in Manitoba. Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 5 June . Some traditions credit Saint Boniface with the invention of the Christmas tree . It is mentioned on

3248-626: Is the basis of Ephraim Emerton 's selection and translation in English, The Letters of Saint Boniface , first published in New York in 1940; it was republished most recently with a new introduction by Thomas F.X. Noble in 2000. Included among his letters and dated to 716 is one to Abbess Edburga of Minster-in-Thanet containing the Vision of the Monk of Wenlock . This otherworld vision describes how

3364-403: Is to lose "one of the most important achievements" of Vatican II: "the clear teaching of the mission of the bishops and thus of the local Church." Seven popes have been from Germany. Bruno of Carinthia, who reigned as Pope Gregory V (996–999), is considered the first German pope. The 11th century saw five German popes, including Leo IX who was canonized as a saint. The most recent German pope

3480-581: Is told to warn them to repent before they die. This vision bears signs of influence by the Apocalypse of Paul , the visions from the Dialogues of Gregory the Great , and the visions recorded by Bede . Some fifteen preserved sermons are traditionally associated with Boniface, but that they were actually his is not generally accepted. Early in his career, before he left for the continent, Boniface wrote

3596-908: The Ars Bonifacii , a grammatical treatise presumably for his students in Nursling. Helmut Gneuss reports that one manuscript copy of the treatise originates from (the south of) England, mid-eighth century; it is now held in Marburg , in the Hessisches Staatsarchiv . He also wrote a treatise on verse, the Caesurae uersuum , and a collection of twenty acrostic riddles , the Enigmata , influenced greatly by Aldhelm and containing many references to works of Vergil (the Aeneid ,

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3712-660: The Georgics , and the Eclogues ). The riddles fall into two sequences of ten poems. The first, De virtutibus ('on the virtues'), comprises: 1. de ueritate /truth; 2. de fide catholica /the Catholic faith; 3. de spe /hope; 4. de misericordia /compassion; 5. de caritate /love; 6. de iustitia /justice; 7. de patientia /patience; 8. de pace uera, cristiana /true, Christian peace; 9. de humilitate cristiania /Christian humility; 10. de uirginitate /virginity. The second sequence, De vitiis ('on

3828-638: The Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church in Germany and was made bishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III . He was martyred in Frisia in 754, along with 52 others, and his remains were returned to Fulda , where they rest in a sarcophagus which remains a site of Christian pilgrimage . Boniface's life and death as well as his work became widely known, there being

3944-558: The Benedictine monastery and minster of Nhutscelle (Nursling) , not far from Winchester , which under the direction of abbot Winbert had grown into an industrious centre of learning in the tradition of Aldhelm . Winfrid taught in the abbey school and at the age of 30 became a priest; in this time, he wrote a Latin grammar, the Ars Grammatica , besides a treatise on verse and some Aldhelm -inspired riddles. While little

4060-613: The Carolingian era to modern buildings. A cursory list may name Quedlinburg , Maria Laach , Erfurt Cathedral , Eberbach , Lorsch Abbey with its remnant 'Torhalle' (gate hall), one of the oldest structures in Germany, Reichenau , Maulbronn , Weingarten , Banz and Vierzehnheiligen on the opposite hill, the Wieskirche , Ettal , Fürstenfeld , Sacred Heart in Munich (finished in 2000), Altötting and many more. Oberammergau

4176-643: The Eastern Orthodox Church . A famous statue of Saint Boniface stands on the grounds of Mainz Cathedral , seat of the archbishop of Mainz . A more modern rendition stands facing St. Peter's Church of Fritzlar. The UK National Shrine is located at the Catholic church at Crediton , Devon, which has a bas-relief of the felling of Thor's Oak, by sculptor Kenneth Carter. The sculpture was unveiled by Princess Margaret in his native Crediton , located in Newcombes Meadow Park. There

4292-622: The Frankish mayors of the palace , and later the early Pippinids and the Carolingian dynasty, was essential for Boniface's work. Boniface had been under the protection of Charles Martel from 723 onwards. The Christian Frankish leaders desired to defeat their rival power, the pagan Saxons, and to incorporate the Saxon lands into their own growing empire. Boniface's campaign of destruction of indigenous Germanic pagan sites may have benefited

4408-714: The Protestant Church encountered an 80% increase in absences, with 228 de-registrations. Also, 1,250 Bavarians left the church in October 2013, doubling from 602 in September. Throughout Germany the cities of Bremen , Osnabrück , Paderborn , Passau and Regensburg reported three-fold increases of Catholic resignations. Starting on 1 December 2019, the German Catholic Church held a Synodal Path convocation discussing: The synodal path faced

4524-631: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth , and local Devon leaders of the Orthodox, Methodist, and Congregational churches, officially recognised St Boniface as the Patron Saint of Devon . The earliest Bonifacian vita does not indicate his place of birth but says that at an early age he attended a monastery ruled by Abbot Wulfhard in escancastre , or Examchester , which seems to denote Exeter , and may have been one of many monasteriola built by local landowners and churchmen; nothing else

4640-673: The Treaty of Basel in 1795. Six years later, the Concordat of 1801 , an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII , was signed on 15 July 1801. Another two years later, in 1803, to compensate the princes of the annexed territories, a set of mediatizations was carried out, which brought about a major redistribution of territorial sovereignty within the Empire. At that time, large parts of Germany were still ruled by Catholic bishops (95.000 km with more than three million inhabitants). In

4756-460: The church tax can be deducted by the state and passed on to the relevant church in the state where the taxpayer lives. Apart from its demographic weight, the Catholic Church in Germany has an old religious and cultural heritage, which reaches back to both Saint Boniface , the "Apostle of Germany" and the first Archbishop of Mainz , buried in Fulda, and to Charlemagne , buried at Aachen Cathedral . Notable religious sites include structures from

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4872-443: The vitae leave out is that the action was most likely well-prepared and widely publicized in advance for maximum effect, and that Boniface had little reason to fear for his personal safety since the Frankish fortified settlement of Büraburg was nearby. According to Willibald, Boniface later had a church with an attached monastery built in Fritzlar, on the site of the previously built chapel, according to tradition. The support of

4988-399: The "Mainz tradition"; in Mainz, Michael Tangl 's dating of the martyrdom in 754 was not accepted until after 1955. Celebrations in Germany centered on Fulda and Mainz, in the Netherlands on Dokkum and Utrecht, and in England on Crediton and Exeter. The first German celebration on a fairly large scale was held in 1805 (the 1,050th anniversary of his death), followed by a similar celebration in

5104-544: The 'Tebartz-effect'. Investigations alleged misappropriation of church funds by Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg over several years. Nicknamed the "Protzbischof" ("bling-bishop" or "splurge-bishop"), he provoked outrage for the hypocrisy of preaching poverty while living extravagantly. His excesses included travelling first class on humanitarian missions to India on flights costing €7,000 each. Tebartz and his Vice-Vicar Franz Kaspar both qualified for Lufthansa 's luxury frequent flyer program. Tebartz commissioned

5220-481: The 740s before he could try to address this situation, in which Frankish church officials were essentially sinecures , and the church itself paid little heed to Rome. During his third visit to Rome in 737–38, he was made papal legate for Germany. After Boniface's third trip to Rome, Charles Martel established four dioceses in Bavaria ( Salzburg , Regensburg , Freising , and Passau ) and gave them to Boniface as archbishop and metropolitan over all Germany east of

5336-440: The Arch-chancellor of Italy ( archbishop of Cologne ), and the Arch-chancellor of Germany (archbishop of Mainz). The Holy Roman Emperor could only become such through coronation by the Pope . Burghers and monarchs were united in their frustration at the Catholic Church not paying any taxes to secular states while itself collecting taxes from subjects and sending the revenues disproportionately to Italy. Martin Luther denounced

5452-427: The Catholic population and more resistance by the Church. During the Kulturkampf, four bishops and 185 priests in defiance of the laws were tried and imprisoned and many more were fined or went into exile. After the death of Pope Pius IX in 1878, Bismarck took up negotiations with more conciliatory Pope Leo XIII who proclaimed the end of the Kulturkampf on 23 May 1887. The Catholic Church denounced Nazism in

5568-409: The Christians who inspected it afterward. Of those three books, the Ragyndrudis Codex shows incisions that could have been made by sword or axe; its story appears confirmed in the Utrecht hagiography, the Vita altera , which reports that an eye-witness saw that the saint at the moment of death held up a gospel as spiritual protection. The story was later repeated by Otloh's vita ; at that time,

5684-440: The Franks in their campaign against the Saxons. In 732, Boniface traveled again to Rome to report, and Pope Gregory III conferred upon him the pallium as archbishop with jurisdiction over what is now Germany. Boniface again set out for the German lands and continued his mission, but also used his authority to work on the relations between the papacy and the Frankish church. Rome wanted more control over that church, which it felt

5800-757: The German state from registered churchgoers (of Catholic and Protestant communities). Although the tax provides the Catholic and Lutheran churches with an exact membership count and a net income of 5.6 billion euros (in 2008) which has helped make the German Catholic Church one of the wealthiest in the world. A poll from universities in Berlin and Münster, advises that 70% of German Catholics approve of blessings for same-sex couples, 80% accept unmarried couples living together and 85% believe priests should be allowed to marry. 70% of German Catholics support same-sex marriage and 29% oppose it. 93% of German Catholics believe society should accept homosexuality while 6% believe society should not accept homosexuality. According to

5916-403: The Germanic nobility, who were expected to impose their new faith on the general population. This expectation was consistent with the sacral position of the king in Germanic paganism : the king is charged with interacting with the divine on behalf of his people. Hence the general population saw nothing wrong with their kings choosing their preferred mode of worship. The favoured method of showing

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6032-551: The Germans for allegedly viewing these issues through "the lens of the world rather than through the lens of the truths revealed in Scripture and the Church's authoritative Tradition." On Nov 24, 2022, the Vatican published the critique of two curial cardinals. Cardinal Marc Ouellet , prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops , after praising the seriousness of the Germans in tackling sexual abuse, said that this has been "exploited" to push unrelated ideas, and they seem to be making "concessions" to cultural and media pressure. "The agenda of

6148-411: The Holy Roman Empire were one of the reasons for the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which devastated most of Germany and killed eight million people, many of those within the Empire dying from disease and famine. In the war of the First Coalition , revolutionary France defeated the coalition of Prussia , Austria , Spain , and Britain . One result was the cession of the Rhineland to France by

6264-513: The Napoleonic era came to an end. The second part of the 19th century saw increased tension between Catholics and Protestants; for the latter, Martin Luther had become the model German, the founder of the modern nation, and he and Boniface were in direct competition for the honor. In 1905, when strife between Catholic and Protestant factions had eased (one Protestant church published a celebratory pamphlet, Gerhard Ficker's Bonifatius, der "Apostel der Deutschen" ), there were modest celebrations and

6380-506: The Netherlands, and a number of these celebrations were international affairs. Especially in Germany, these celebrations had a distinctly political note to them and often stressed Boniface as a kind of founder of Europe, such as when Konrad Adenauer , the (Catholic) German chancellor, addressed a crowd of 60,000 in Fulda, celebrating the feast day of the saint in a European context: Das, was wir in Europa gemeinsam haben, [ist] gemeinsamen Ursprungs ("What we have in common in Europe comes from

6496-410: The Pope for involvement in politics, and instigated the Protestant Reformation . Luther's doctrine of the two kingdoms justified the confiscation of church property and the crushing of the Great Peasant Revolt of 1525 by the German nobles. This explains the attraction of some territorial princes to Lutheranism. Along with confiscated Catholic church property, ecclesiastical (Catholic) dominions became

6612-402: The Ragyndrudis Codex seems to have been firmly connected to the martyrdom. Boniface's remains were moved from the Frisian countryside to Utrecht, and then to Mainz, where sources contradict each other regarding the behavior of Lullus , Boniface's successor as archbishop of Mainz. According to Willibald's vita Lullus allowed the body to be moved to Fulda, while the (later) Vita Sturmi ,

6728-414: The Rhine. In 745, he was granted Mainz as metropolitan see. In 742, one of his disciples, Sturm (also known as Sturmi, or Sturmius), founded the abbey of Fulda not far from Boniface's earlier missionary outpost at Fritzlar. Although Sturm was the founding abbot of Fulda, Boniface was very involved in the foundation. The initial grant for the abbey was signed by Carloman , the son of Charles Martel , and

6844-416: The Roman Empire. Aspects of primæval pagan religion have persisted to this day, including the names of the days of the week. As Roman rule crumbled in Germany in the 5th century, this phase of Catholicism in Germany came to an end with it. At first, the Gallo-Roman or Germano-Roman populations were able to retain control over big cities such as Cologne and Trier , but in 459 these too were overwhelmed by

6960-409: The US Army, on 4 April 1945. Shortly thereafter, Generals Eisenhower , Patton and Bradley came here to look at the piles of dead bodies left behind by the SS. The military training area of Truppenübungsplatz Ohrdruf was taken over in July 1945 by the Red Army , since Thuringia became part of the Soviet occupation zone. The Nordlager -part of the concentration camp was razed. Two memorials to

7076-429: The aged archbishop. The vitae mention that Boniface persuaded his (armed) comrades to lay down their arms: "Cease fighting. Lay down your arms, for we are told in Scripture not to render evil for evil but to overcome evil by good." Having killed Boniface and his company, the Frisian bandits ransacked their possessions but found that the company's luggage did not contain the riches they had hoped for: "they broke open

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7192-409: The attacks of Frankish tribes. Most of the Gallo-Romans or Germano-Romans were killed or exiled. The newcomers to the towns reestablished the observance of the pagan rites. The small remaining Catholic population was powerless to protect its faith against the new ruling Frankish lords. But as soon as 496, Frankish King Clovis I was baptized together with many members of his household. In contrast to

7308-420: The biggest challenges facing the church is to retain the registered, tax-paying members (regardless of how often they attend services) to fund parishes and church agencies, especially its international relief organizations like Adveniat. German Catholics, however, are divided over the issue of a compulsory church tax. Under the tax an additional 8 percent to 9 percent of personal income tax is deducted at source by

7424-400: The chests containing the books and found, to their dismay, that they held manuscripts instead of gold vessels, pages of sacred texts instead of silver plates." They attempted to destroy these books, the earliest vita already says, and this account underlies the status of the Ragyndrudis Codex , now held as a Bonifacian relic in Fulda, and supposedly one of three books found on the field by

7540-415: The coming season would be like. Similar events had sometimes been convened in times of crisis, for much the same reasons. The sacrifices, consisting of gold, weapons, animals, and even human beings, were hung on the branches of a holy tree. The Hiberno-Scottish mission ended in the 13th century. Supported by native Christians, they succeeded in Christianizing all of Germany. In medieval times, Catholicism

7656-420: The continent. A letter by Boniface charging Aldebert and Clement with heresy is preserved in the records of the Roman Council of 745 that condemned the two. Boniface had an interest in the Irish canon law collection known as Collectio canonum Hibernensis , and a late eighth/early ninth-century manuscript in Würzburg contains, besides a selection from the Hibernensis , a list of rubrics that mention

7772-468: The coronation church of the old Reich 's Emperors (superseding Aachen), Freiburg , Freising , Fulda , Limburg which was depicted on the reverse of the old 500 Deutschmark banknote, Mainz with St. Martin's Cathedral ) (the only Holy see other than Rome and Jerusalem ), Munich Frauenkirche with its onion domes and giant single roof, Münster , Paderborn , Passau , Regensburg , Speyer with its Rhenish Imperial cathedral , and Trier with

7888-484: The date (1 November) of his translation in 819, when the Fulda Cathedral had been rebuilt. A Vita Bonifacii was written in Fulda in the ninth century, possibly by Candidus of Fulda , but is now lost. The next vita , chronologically, is the Vita altera Bonifatii auctore Radbodo , which originates in the Bishopric of Utrecht , and was probably revised by Radboud of Utrecht (899–917). Mainly agreeing with Willibald, it adds an eye-witness who presumably saw

8004-416: The dead were erected at around this time. In 1991, ownership was transferred to the German Defence Ministry . Since 1993, the Bundeswehr has been in charge of the area. The Soviet troops also used Schloss Ehrenstein from 1956 until 1971, leaving it in a desolate condition. Boniface Boniface (born Wynfreth ; c. 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in

8120-462: The discriminated Polish minority. Laws enacted in the state of Prussia and in the empire in the early 1870s discriminated against Catholics. These laws were resisted by the Church, leading to heated public debates in the media and in the parliaments, during which the term " Kulturkampf " gained widespread currency. Diplomatic ties with the Vatican were cut and additional laws were passed to quell Catholic opposition. This only resulted in more support by

8236-428: The early 1920s) attacked a leading bishop for his defense of Jews. Some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party . This ban was modified after Hitler's 23 March 1933 speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the foundation for German values. The Nazis did not formally advocate Catholicism but rather an apostate "Christian" sect known as Positive Christianity that

8352-457: The early Anglo-Saxons would affirm this. Winfrid, however, declined the position and in 716 set out on a missionary expedition to Frisia . Boniface first left for the continent in 716. He traveled to Utrecht , where Willibrord , the "Apostle to the Frisians", had been working since the 690s. He spent a year with Willibrord, preaching in the countryside, but their efforts were frustrated by

8468-511: The eastern German tribes, who became Arian Christians, he became a Catholic. Following the example of their king, many Franks were baptized too, but their Catholicism was intermixed with pagan rites. Over the next eight centuries, Irish, Scottish , and English missionaries reintroduced Christianity into the German territories. During the period of the Frankish Empire , the two most important of these missionaries were Columbanus , who

8584-469: The facility built at nearby Jonastal was one of two locations where Kurt Diebner 's team tested its nuclear energy project . During this process, according to Karlsch, prisoners of war were killed under the supervision of the SS . Ohrdruf is believed to be the place where the historical Compiègne Wagon was blown up in an air attack in 1944. Ohrdruf was the first Nazi concentration camp to be liberated by

8700-574: The heresies of Clemens and Aldebert. The relevant folios containing these rubrics were most likely copied in Mainz, Würzburg, or Fulda—all places associated with Boniface. Michael Glatthaar suggested that the rubrics should be seen as Boniface's contribution to the agenda for a synod. Boniface's death (and birth) has given rise to a number of noteworthy celebrations. The dates for some of these celebrations have undergone some changes: in 1805, 1855, and 1905 (and in England in 1955) anniversaries were calculated with Boniface's death dated in 755, according to

8816-592: The importance of Boniface for German Christianity: Der heilige Bonifatius, Bischof und Märtyrer, 'bedeutet' den 'Anfang' des Evangeliums und der Kirche in Eurem Land ("The holy Boniface, bishop and martyr, 'signifies' the beginning of the gospel and the church in your country"). A photograph of the pope praying at Boniface's grave became the centerpiece of a prayer card distributed from the cathedral. In 2004, anniversary celebrations were held throughout Northwestern Germany and Utrecht, and Fulda and Mainz—generating

8932-438: The losses in church land and property made the national or local churches in Germany (as well as in the former Holy Roman Empire, France, Switzerland , and Austria) more dependent on Rome ( ultramontane ). This shift in the 1850s was sustained by a more zealous clergy, the revival of old teaching orders, the emergence of Marian confraternities, new religious congregations of men and women, and the holding of popular missions. In

9048-674: The martyrdom at Dokkum. The Vita tertia Bonifatii likewise originates in Utrecht. It is dated between 917 (Radboud's death) and 1075, the year Adam of Bremen wrote his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum , which used the Vita tertia . A later vita , written by Otloh of St. Emmeram (1062–1066), is based on Willibald's and a number of other vitae as well as the correspondence, and also includes information from local traditions. Boniface engaged in regular correspondence with fellow churchmen all over Western Europe, including

9164-613: The mediatizations, the ecclesiastical states were by and large annexed to neighbouring secular principalities. Only three survived a tide of secularization as theocracies : the Archbishopric of Regensburg , which was raised from a bishopric with the incorporation of the Archbishopric of Mainz , and the lands of the Teutonic Knights and Knights of Saint John . Monasteries and abbeys lost their means of existence as they had to abandon their lands. Paradoxically,

9280-747: The mid-19th century, the Catholic Church was also seen as a political power, even in Protestant Prussia , exerting a strong influence on many parts of life. However, from the Catholics' point of view (especially where Catholics were the majority as in the Rhineland Province, the Saar, Alsace and Loraine, and Silesia), Catholics often felt intimidated by self-consciously Protestant rulers, especially when an anti-Catholic campaign

9396-414: The mire. When it was pulled loose, a well sprang up. By the time of the Vita altera Bonifatii (9th century), there was a church on the site, and the well had become a "fountain of sweet water" used to sanctify people. The Vita Liudgeri , a hagiographical account of the work of Ludger , describes how Ludger himself had built the church, sharing duties with two other priests. According to James Palmer,

9512-642: The modern era, Lutz von Padberg published a number of biographies and articles on the saint focusing on his missionary praxis and his relics. The most authoritative biography remains Theodor Schieffer 's Winfrid-Bonifatius und die Christliche Grundlegung Europas (1954). Catholic Church in Germany The Catholic Church in Germany ( German : Katholische Kirche in Deutschland ) or Roman Catholic Church in Germany ( German : Römisch-katholische Kirche in Deutschland )

9628-428: The monks and legal owner of the abbey and its possessions, and all donations to the abbey were done in his name. He was honored on the date of his martyrdom, 5 June (with a mass written by Alcuin ), and (around the year 1000) with a mass dedicated to his appointment as bishop, on 1 December. Willibald's vita describes how a visitor on horseback came to the site of the martyrdom, and a hoof of his horse got stuck in

9744-494: The monks prostrating themselves and reciting Psalm 50 . After the abbey church was rebuilt to become the Ratgar Basilica (dedicated 791), Boniface's remains were translated to a new grave: since the church had been enlarged, his grave, originally in the west, was now in the middle; his relics were moved to a new apse in 819. From then on Boniface, as patron of the abbey, was regarded as both spiritual intercessor for

9860-499: The oak down, when suddenly a great wind, by miracle, blew the ancient oak over. When the gods did not strike him down, the people were amazed and converted to Christianity. He built a church from its wood at the site —the church was the beginning of the monastery in Fritzlar. This account from the vita is stylised to portray Boniface as a singular character who alone acts to root out paganism. Lutz von Padberg and others claim that what

9976-404: The oldest church in the country. The country has a total of about 24,500 Church buildings including many additional religious landmarks: abbeys, minsters, basilicas, pilgrimage churches, chapels, and converted former cathedrals, built in a profusion of different layouts and styles, from Romanesque to post-modern. Many are listed as World Heritage Sites . The earliest stage of the conversion of

10092-694: The personal property of the holder of the formerly religious office, for the right to rule was attached to this office. On 25 September 1555, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League signed the Peace of Augsburg to officially end the religious wars between the Catholics and the Protestants . This treaty legalized the partitioning of the Holy Roman Empire into Catholic and Protestant territories. Under

10208-647: The same source"). When Pope John Paul II visited Germany in November 1980, he spent two days in Fulda (17 and 18 November). He celebrated Mass in Fulda Cathedral with 30,000 gathered on the square in front of the building, and met with the German Bishops' Conference (held in Fulda since 1867). The pope next celebrated mass outside the cathedral, in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000, and hailed

10324-647: The site of the former 8th century monastery. During the 17th century, the Schloss fell to the Grafen von Hohenlohe who after 1760 made alterations to it in Baroque style . In 1695, the orphaned Johann Sebastian Bach came to live and attend school at Ohrdruf, under the care of his older brother Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721) , who had come here in 1690 as organist at the St. Michaelis Kirche (St Michael's Church) and as

10440-504: The supremacy of the Christian belief was the destruction of the holy trees of the Germans . These were trees, usually old oaks or elm trees, dedicated to the gods. Because the missionary was able to destroy the trees without being slain by the gods, his Christian god had to be stronger. The pagan sacrifices, known as blót , had been seasonal celebrations where gifts were offered to appropriate gods and attempts were made to forecast what

10556-481: The three popes he worked with, and with some of his kinsmen back in England. Many of these letters contain questions about church reform and liturgical or doctrinal matters. In most cases, what remains is one half of the conversation, either the question or the answer. The correspondence as a whole gives evidence of Boniface's widespread connections; some of the letters also prove an intimate relationship especially with female correspondents. There are 150 letters in what

10672-540: The total population remain Roman Catholic (23.9 million people as of December 2022). Before the 1990 reunification of the Germany by accession of the former German Democratic Republic (or East Germany), Roman Catholics were 42% of the population of West Germany. Religious demographic data is relatively accessible in Germany because, by law, all Christian taxpayers must declare their religious affiliation so that

10788-502: The treaty, the religion of the ruler (either Lutheranism or Catholicism ) determined the religion of his subjects. This policy is widely referred to by the Latin phrase, cuius regio, eius religio ("whose reign, his religion", or "in the prince's land, the prince's religion"). Families were given a period in which they were free to emigrate to regions where their desired religion prevailed. The religious intolerance and tensions within

10904-568: The truly outstanding creators of the first Europe, as the apostle of Germania, the reformer of the Frankish church, and the chief fomentor of the alliance between the papacy and the Carolingian family ." Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, he helped shape the Latin Church in Europe, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain today. After his martyrdom, he

11020-407: The upper margin, which has been cut back as a form of repair. Veneration of Boniface in Fulda began immediately after his death; his grave was equipped with a decorative tomb around ten years after his burial, and the grave and relics became the center of the abbey. Fulda monks prayed for newly elected abbots at the grave site before greeting them, and every Monday the saint was remembered in prayer,

11136-430: The use of Exeter . In one of his letters Boniface mentions he was "born and reared...[in] the synod of London", but he may have been speaking metaphorically. His English name is recorded as being Winfrid or Winfred. According to the vitae , Winfrid was of a respected and prosperous family. Against his father's wishes he devoted himself at an early age to the monastic life. He received further theological training in

11252-542: The various Celtic people and Germanic people to Christianity occurred only in the western part of Germany, the part controlled by the Roman Empire . Christianization was facilitated by the prestige of the Christian Roman Empire amongst its pagan subjects and was achieved gradually by various means. The rise of Germanic Christianity was at times voluntary, particularly among groups associated with

11368-506: The vices'), comprises: 1. de neglegentia /carelessness; 2. de iracundia /hot temper; 3. de cupiditate /greed; 4. de superbia /pride; 5. de crapula /intemperance; 6. de ebrietate /drunkenness; 7. de luxoria /fornication; 8. de inuidia /envy; 9. de ignorantia /ignorance; 10. de uana gloria /vainglory. Three octosyllabic poems written in clearly Aldhelmian fashion (according to Andy Orchard ) are preserved in his correspondence, all composed before he left for

11484-527: The war then being carried on between Charles Martel and Radbod, King of the Frisians . Willibrord fled to the abbey he had founded in Echternach (in modern-day Luxembourg ) while Boniface returned to Nursling. Boniface returned to the continent the next year and went straight to Rome, where Pope Gregory II renamed him "Boniface", after the (legendary) fourth-century martyr Boniface of Tarsus , and appointed him missionary bishop for Germania —he became

11600-614: The well was of great importance since the saint's body was hundreds of miles away; the physicality of the well allowed for an ongoing connection with the saint. In addition, Boniface signified Dokkum's and Frisia's "connect[ion] to the rest of (Frankish) Christendom". Saint Boniface's feast day is celebrated on 5 June in the Roman Catholic Church , the Lutheran Church , the Anglican Communion and

11716-462: The years leading up to its rise to power in 1933–34. It believed its primary duty was to protect German Catholics and the Church. Popes Pius XI and Pius XII publicly denounced racism and the murder of innocents. Many Jews were offered baptismal certificates by local parishes and priests in Germany, and some actually converted to escape deportation, arrest or execution, though the Nazi policy of anti-semitism did not exempt "converts" as their philosophy

11832-648: Was active in the Frankish Empire from 590, and St. Boniface, who was active from 716. The missionaries, particularly the Scottish Benedictines , founded monasteries ( Schottenklöster , Scottish monasteries) in Germany, which were later combined into a single congregation governed by the Abbot of the Scots monastery at Regensburg . The conversion of the Germanic peoples began with the conversion of

11948-636: Was based on race as pointed out in its National Socialist Program – not on religion. The Vatican knew of the murder of the Jews very early on during the Third Reich , as it had religious representatives in all of the occupied countries. Many individual priests, religious and lay Catholics attempted to save Jews in Germany. Adolf Hitler was raised as a Catholic in Austria but no longer practised his faith as an adult and as he rose to power. The Catholic Church

12064-466: Was carried on at many levels and would involve "the banishing of priests and nuns from the country, the driving of bishops from their chairs, the closing of schools, the confiscation of church property, the disruption of church gatherings, the disbanding of Catholic associations, and an open feud with the Vatican. Chancellor Bismarck regarded the Church as a threat, especially in view of its defense of

12180-464: Was himself consecrated as a bishop and the diocese was formed. The community that grew around the cathedral eventually became the city of Saint Boniface , which merged into the city of Winnipeg in 1971. In 1844, four Grey Nuns arrived by canoe in Manitoba, and in 1871, built Western Canada's first hospital: St. Boniface Hospital , where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet. Today, St. Boniface

12296-597: Was historically majority Protestant, and only 11% of the people were Catholic. There were only two, small, majority-Catholic regions in the GDR: a part of the Eichsfeld region and the region in the southeast inhabited by Sorbs . 28.5% of the total population is Catholic (23.9 million people as of December 2022). Only one of Germany's Bundesländer (federal states), the Saarland has a Catholic absolute majority: Catholicism

12412-533: Was imposed on the Saxons and other Germanic tribes. According to the vitae , Boniface had never relinquished his hope of converting the Frisians , and in 754 he set out with a retinue for Frisia. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation at a place not far from Dokkum , between Franeker and Groningen . However, instead of his converts, a group of armed robbers appeared and slew

12528-518: Was in direct opposition to Catholic dogma and doctrine. After World War II the Catholics in the zone occupied by the Soviet army found themselves under a militantly atheist government. Many parishes were cut off from their dioceses in the western part of Germany. German Catholicism was comparatively less affected than Protestantism by the establishment of the GDR, as nearly all of the Soviet zone's territory

12644-572: Was in opposition to other ideologies like Communism , because these ideologies were deemed incompatible with Christian morals. Some German bishops expected their priests to promote the Catholic political Centre Party . The majority of Catholic-sponsored newspapers supported the Centre Party over the Nazi Party. In Munich there were some Catholics, both lay and clerics, who supported Hitler, and, on occasion and contrary to Catholic doctrine, (in

12760-518: Was much too independent and which, in the eyes of Boniface, was subject to worldly corruption. Charles Martel , after having defeated the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate during the Battle of Tours (732), had rewarded many churches and monasteries with lands, but typically his supporters who held church offices were allowed to benefit from those possessions. Boniface would have to wait until

12876-463: Was not able to safeguard the church from property seizures by the local nobility, he did achieve one goal, the adoption of stricter guidelines for the Frankish clergy, who often hailed directly from the nobility. After Carloman's resignation in 747 he maintained a sometimes turbulent relationship with the king of the Franks, Pepin the Short ; the claim that he would have crowned Pepin at Soissons in 751

12992-591: Was quickly hailed as a saint in Fulda and other areas in Germania and in England. He is still venerated strongly today by Catholics in Germany and throughout the German diaspora . Boniface is celebrated as a missionary; he is regarded as a unifier of Europe, and he is regarded by German Roman Catholics as a national figure. In 2019 Devon County Council , with the support of the Anglican Diocese of Exeter ,

13108-421: Was staged. There is an extensive body of literature on the saint and his work. At the time of the various anniversaries, edited collections were published containing essays by some of the best-known scholars of the time, such as the 1954 collection Sankt Bonifatius: Gedenkgabe zum Zwölfhundertsten Todestag and the 2004 collection Bonifatius — Vom Angelsächsischen Missionar zum Apostel der Deutschen . In

13224-403: Was the basis for a number of (partial) translations in the nineteenth century. The first version to be published by Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH) was the edition by Ernst Dümmler (1892); the most authoritative version until today is Michael Tangl's 1912 Die Briefe des Heiligen Bonifatius, Nach der Ausgabe in den Monumenta Germaniae Historica , published by MGH in 1916. This edition

13340-581: Was the only official religion within the Holy Roman Empire . (There were resident Jews , but they were not considered citizens of the empire.) Within the empire the Catholic Church was a major power. Large parts of the territory were ruled by ecclesiastical lords. Three of the seven seats in the council of electors of the Holy Roman Emperors were occupied by Catholic archbishops: the Arch-chancellor of Burgundy ( archbishop of Trier ),

13456-521: Was widely dispersed; Levison lists some forty manuscripts. According to his lemma, a group of four manuscripts including Codex Monacensis 1086 are copies directly from the original. Listed second in Levison's edition is the entry from a late ninth-century Fulda document: Boniface's status as a martyr is attested by his inclusion in the Fulda Martyrology which also lists, for instance,

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