Thursday, August 20, 2026

It is the 20th of August 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A happy St. Stephen’s Day… but, not that St. Stephen’s Day… let me explain. Good King Wenceslas went out on the “Feast of Stephen,” but that’s a Christmas song, and that St. Stephen- December 26th is the first martyr in the book of Acts.

 

Today’s “St. Stephen” is one of the most important figures in Hungarian history and Hungarian church history. In fact, if you’re anywhere near Budapest today, you might see a strange sight- a procession through the streets with the “Holy Right Hand” of the saint who was also the King who brought Christianity to the Carpathian Basin.

 

In the early church, the faith had spread that far east. In fact, it was St. Martin of Tours who was said to have been from that region, and Roman Pannonia and Dacia had Christian converts. But the fog of those “Dark Ages” and Roman retreat left the area in pagan hands.

 

Our story begins with the Arpad Dynasty of the 9th century- and the people called the “Magyars” (today Hungarians call their country Magyarország- MAH-dyar-or-saag). It was Grand Prince Geza in the 900s who saw the potential usefulness of Christianity and allowed missionaries to the Kingdom. His son, Vajk (Vyke), was born around 970 and was baptized, taking the Christian name Stephen. In 996 Stephen would marry Gisela of Bavaria- the sister of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II; this would cement the connection to the West. With the death of Geza, Stephen had to fend off Koppany, another rival to the throne.

 

It was in the year 1000 (the 25th of December or January 1st 1001) that Stephen was formally crowned. The question of “who” crowned him was significant. The actual crowning was likely done by Archbishop Dominic, but it was in collaboration with Pope Sylvester II and Emperor Otto III. This was important because whoever crowned the king could claim rightful jurisdiction. Regardless of the claim, Stephen would claim autonomy. He called himself “King of the Hungarians”- the first named King in Hungarian history (his father was a “Grand Prince”).

 

Stephen set up his own church- his own Archbishoprics, monasteries, and churches. This became an independent church-state model that would have implications for centuries to come- the Hungarians and the Ecclesial independence have long shaped the church there.

 

Stephen required church attendance and support for the churches- the common faith uniting what once were warring tribes and factions. He had one surviving son, Emeric (or Imre- a popular Hungarian name). Stephen would compose a famous text- “The Admonitions” which serves as a kind of handbook for a Christian king. Emeric would die in 1031, leaving a crisis of succession, but the family connection through Gisela of Bavaria would keep the crown within the Arpad dynasty.

 

Stephen would die on the 15th of August in 1038. Amidst the crises of the next decades, he would be canonized by the church on this, the 20th of August in 1083. By making the first King of Hungary also a saint, it supported his family’s claim to the throne and cemented the Christian identity of the Kingdom.

 

The story of Hungarian Christianity will continue up through the Reformation and the infamous battle of Mohacs in 1526. The Hungarians, independence-minded since the time of Stephen, would reform their own church- or what was left of it- and the tradition of Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, and Reformed churches in Hungary stems from that era.

 

But the 20th of August has always been the traditional day of celebrating not only Stephen (hence the relic of his right arm carried through the streets) but also its Christianization.

 

In the 20th century, with the communist takeover of the country, the Stalinists chose to promulgate the new communist constitution, and they turned St. Stephen’s Day into the day for celebrating the Hungarian People’s Republic. With the fall of communism in 1989, the people of Hungary had a few different days to choose from to celebrate their nation's birthday- they settled on today, St. Stephen's Day, and so not only do we get the procession of his right hand but fireworks up and down the Danube… It’s like a Hungarian 4th of July- but the 20th of August- the “other” St. Stephen's Day.

 

 

 

The Last word for today comes from Colossians 2:

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh s was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

 

 

 

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 20th of August 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who noted that today is also World Mosquito Day… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who reminds you that while Mosquitos can fly, flies can not, in fact, mosquito… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.