The Mendicants' Missionary Activities and Strategies in Moldavia from the XIII th to the First Half of the XVth centur

Résumé du document

Preaching, Conversion, Ministering and Struggling against Hussites: The Mendicants' Missionary Activities and Strategies in Moldavia from the Thirteenth to the First Half of the Fifteenth Century. 17 pages



This study aims at a new analysis of the edited sources concerning the Mendicants in Moldavia from the perspective of the new approaches of the mendicant orders' historiography. I will focus on the Mendicants' missionary goals and their strategies used to achieve them, in Moldavia from the thirteenth to the first half of the fifteenth century . Both Franciscans and Dominicans considered Moldavia as a country of mission, which means that they were interested in conversions, baptism and ministering to the people.

Extraits

[...] The inquiry into these sources draws an interesting picture of the activities and strategies of the Mendicants in Moldavia in the first half of the fifteenth century. The Hussites were a problem for the Catholic Church throughout all Central and Eastern Europe. The papacy tried to counteract the Hussites' activities using the help of the Mendicant Orders and especially of the Observant Franciscans from the vicariate of Bosnia. Moldavia was an important point on the map of the Franciscans' activities in the region For the Franciscan activities against the Hussites, G. [...]

[...] The Dominicans applied this strategy in their attempts to convert the Cumans. They were successful, for example, when they convinced a Cuman chieftain, called Bortz, to want to be baptized The news about Bortz' conversion as a result of the Dominicans' preaching activities can be inferred from Pope Gregory IX's letter to the archbishop of Ezstergom. Theiner, Vetera monumenta historica Hungariam, doc p Bortz sent his son Burch together with 12 of his followers to the archbishop of Ezstergom and promised that if the archbishop went into Cumania, he, together with 2,000 men, would also receive baptism Albericus de Trois Fontaines, published in Monumenta Germaniae Historica, ed. [...]

[...] Herkulan, Presenza minoritica, p which shows the preparation undertaken by the Franciscans for this conversion. Andreas was appointed and confirmed by the bishop of Cracow in March 1371 Hurmuzaki, doc 136, pp. 176- His bishopric did not encompass all the territory of Moldavia; the south of the country belonged to the bishopric of Milkovia The Bishopric of Siret encompassed the entire Moldavia under Latcu's rulership as pope stated in his letter: ac totam dictam Terram seu Ducatum Moldaviensem in quantum ad praefatum ducem pertinet Hurmuzaki, doc p It is argued that the south of Moldavia did not belong at that time to the country of Moldavia. [...]

[...] The Franciscans hoped that the conversion of Latcu would also lead to the conversion of his people The conversion of the Moldavian voivode and the establishment of the Catholic bishopric might have been also seen as a step forwards in the work of the union of the churches. Nevertheless, the bishopric did not accomplish its task, because most of the bishops appointed in Siret did not go to their bishopric. In subsequent years the bishopric became only a nominal function; the last bishop known, Ioannes Petrus, was appointed in 1434, but he never came to Siret. [...]

[...] or not, it is worth to be kept in mind as a possible strategy regarding this voievode envisaged by the Mendicants. The Dominicans enjoyed their good position at the court of the voivode in the next few years as well. The links between the court and the Dominicans are also demonstrated by the documents related to a miracle, which happened in Siret at the Dominican convent The document was published by A Czolowski in Kwartalnik Historyczny (1891), pp. 594-598 and republished by Renate Möhlenkamp, "Ex Czeretensi civitate", pp. [...]