Piligrim
Encyclopedia
Piligrim (date of birth unknown; died 20 May 991) was Bishop of Passau
. Piligrim was ambitious, but also concerned with the Christianization of Hungary
.
He was educated at the Benedictine
Niederaltaich Abbey
, and was made bishop in 971. To him are attributed some, if not all, of the Forgeries of Lorch. These are a series of documents, especially papal bull
s of Pope Symmachus
, Pope Eugene II
, Pope Leo VII
, and Pope Agapetus II
, fabricated to prove that Passau was a continuation of a former archdiocese of Lorch. By these he attempted to obtain from Benedict VI the elevation of Passau to an archdiocese, the re-erection of those dioceses in Pannonia
and Mœsia which had been suffragans of Lorch, and the pallium
for himself. There is extant an alleged Bull of Benedict VI granting Piligrim's demands; but this is also the work of Piligrim, possibly a document drawn up for the papal signature, which it never received.
Piligrim converted numerous pagans in Hungary. He built many schools and churches, restored the Rule of St. Benedict in Niederaltaich, transferred the relics of St. Maximilian
from Oetting to Passau
, and held synods (983-91) at Ennsburg (Lorch), Mautern
, and Mistelbach
. In the Niebelungenlied he is lauded as a contemporary of the heroes of that epic.
Bishop of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of München und Freising. The diocese covers an area of 5,442 km². The current bishop is Wilhelm Schraml.-History:...
. Piligrim was ambitious, but also concerned with the Christianization of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
He was educated at the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Niederaltaich Abbey
Niederaltaich Abbey
Niederaltaich Abbey or Niederaltaich Monastery is a house of the Benedictine Order founded in 731 , situated in the village of Niederalteich on the Danube in Bavaria....
, and was made bishop in 971. To him are attributed some, if not all, of the Forgeries of Lorch. These are a series of documents, especially papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
s of Pope Symmachus
Pope Symmachus
Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome....
, Pope Eugene II
Pope Eugene II
Pope Eugene II, , pope was a native of Rome and was chosen to succeed Paschal I. Another candidate, Zinzinnus, was proposed by the plebeian faction, and the presence of Lothair I, son of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious was necessary in order to maintain the authority of the new pope...
, Pope Leo VII
Pope Leo VII
Pope Leo VII , Pope from January 3, 936 until his death in 939, was preceded by Pope John XI , and followed by Pope Stephen VIII . Leo VII's election to the papacy was secured by Alberic II of Spoleto, the monarch in Rome. Alberic wanted to choose the pope so that the papacy would continue to...
, and Pope Agapetus II
Pope Agapetus II
Pope Agapetus II was Pope from May 10, 946 until his death in 955, at the time when Alberic II , son of Marozia, was governing the independent republic of Rome under the title of "prince and senator of the Romans."...
, fabricated to prove that Passau was a continuation of a former archdiocese of Lorch. By these he attempted to obtain from Benedict VI the elevation of Passau to an archdiocese, the re-erection of those dioceses in Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
and Mœsia which had been suffragans of Lorch, and the pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
for himself. There is extant an alleged Bull of Benedict VI granting Piligrim's demands; but this is also the work of Piligrim, possibly a document drawn up for the papal signature, which it never received.
Piligrim converted numerous pagans in Hungary. He built many schools and churches, restored the Rule of St. Benedict in Niederaltaich, transferred the relics of St. Maximilian
St. Maximilian
Saint Maximilian of Tebessa is a Christian saint whose feast day is observed on 12 March. He is a martyr of the Christian Church from the third century CE, born in AD 274. Because his father Fabius Victor was a soldier in the Roman army, Maximilian was obliged to join at the age of 21...
from Oetting to Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
, and held synods (983-91) at Ennsburg (Lorch), Mautern
Mautern
Mautern may refer to two municipalities in Austria:* Mautern an der Donau, in Lower Austria* Mautern in Steiermark, in Styria...
, and Mistelbach
Mistelbach
For the town in Germany, see Mistelbach, Bavaria.Mistelbach an der Zaya is a town in the northeast of Austria in so called Lower Austria, one of Austria's nine Federal States. It is located roughly 40 km northeast of Austria's capital Vienna...
. In the Niebelungenlied he is lauded as a contemporary of the heroes of that epic.