The universal calendar of the Church celebrates his feast on the 2nd of September. His feast day in Hungary is on the 20th of August, a first class feast for us. Catholics and Protestants all go to church in a spirit of thanksgiving for God's precious gift of a holy and wise king for the nation.

Neither is the celebration confined to religious life. The whole country is ablaze with flags. There is dancing on the streets. Many major works of art have their first presentation that day. The bread eaten on that day is from the new harvest. At night, the seven bridges across the Danube at the heart of Budapest are ablaze with light.

It would be hard to find a corner of the world where more than two Hungarians are together where this feast is not celebrated; for at home and abroad, Arpad's people, Saint Stephen's people rejoice on being just that, and reaffirm their consent to fight and work for the transmission of their national, inherently Christian heritage to their children and to the children of their children across the generations until this world is no more.

The Communists are hard-headed realists on the whole and hold no illusions about the strength of the faith; but Saint Stephen caused them more headaches than all those valiant figures of the Church, large or small, who have fallen into their clutches alive. With these, care could be taken that they should either perish in secret, or if too prominent, then kept barely alive, by means of carefully apportioning the torture sessions, using medical supervision if need be, for the blood of the martyrs was known to be too powerful a weapon against the forces of darkness. But what to do about the first king of this stubborn, tradition-loving country—a king who was not only holy but so wise that the laws laid down by him still play a part in the way in which Hungary's affairs are conducted today? Eradicating the 20th of August as a day of special significance was not even attempted, although until the late 50's heroic efforts were unable to make it into something else—the Feast of the Constitution, the Feast of New Bread, the day on which the currency was established in 1946, when new institutions were inaugurated. By now this is all given up—it's Saint Stephen's day the same way in which the segments of the main boulevard in Budapest are named after Saint Stephen, Saint Margaret of Hungary, and the Holy Crown of Saint Stephen, displayed in state in the National Museum, has an honor guard.

Who was this man who within the lifetime of one generation had thoroughly and irrevocably Christianized a pagan nation of fearsome warriors, who previously held their Western neighbors in such abject terror that they even besought God in the litany of all Saints in the early part of the Middle Ages: Sagittaribus Hungariorum salva nos Domine.

He was a saint, born to rule and his strength, imparted by the grace of God, was born of the understanding that the Christian faith is the way of the truth, enhancing and ennobling what is best in us. Absolute truth admits no compromises and in matters of faith there were none; furthermore, the beliefs and practices of a religion, new to the nation, had to be made to grow through intelligent nurturing. The structure, apportioning a major role to the church in the affairs of the country, had to be firm so as to withstand not only the test of time itself but natural disasters and political misfortunes as well, let it be danger from outside enemies or misdeeds of unworthy successors; but yet it could not be at a price of discarding ancient wisdoms and just pride in our national heritage. The kingdom of Hungary had to join the family of Christian nations of Europe, without debasing national dignity or eradicating its traditionally unique ways of thinking and interaction.

The decision for Hungary to embrace Christianity was made by Saint Stephen's father, the ruler Geza, chiefly on political grounds. If the nation wanted to continue to inhabit the Carpathian basin, it had to adopt the ways of its neighbours to a degree that harmonious existence side by side with other nations would become a reality. The image of Hungarians as a bunch of pagan marauders, living off the riches of their diligently toiling Christian neighbours, had to be replaced by something less liable to invite a desire to eradicate them from the face of the Earth. So with the knowledge and consent of the nation, Geza invited Christian missionaries onto the land, had his son Vojk instructed thoroughly in the Christian faith, had him baptised and had arranged his marriage to Gesella, sister of Emperor Henry II. Geza was baptised himself, but he practiced the pagan rites of his ancestors alongside the Christian rites to the end of his days.

The ancient Hungarian religion was similar to that of the American Indians. It was monotheistic, acknowledging the big Father, the Chief of all Lords of War and paying special homage to the four elements: Mother Earth, Mother Air, Mother Water, Mother Fire. The horse was the sacrificial animal, the future forecast from its bones by the shamans, in whose ranks the healers and storytellers were also found. Idol worship or human sacrifice were unknown. Our elders were strictly monogamous, with a tradition of courtesy and respect for women who did not participate in the political life of the nation but had fulfilled a task of crucial importance in maintaining the family hearth, with their warrior husbands often away from home.

The history of Hungarians as a group of people with customs and a language of their own stretches back to 3000 years. Our ancestors came from the northern part of China and the Mongolian steppes and wandered far and wide across the great expanses of Asia as semi-nomadic people, at times living side by side with ancient civilizations, observing their customs and incorporating those which they found admirable into their pattern of living. Just as the map of Central and Western Europe has been drawn and redrawn by the dissolution of the Roman Empire, regrouping of the peoples also happened on the more Eastern parts of the globe but on a larger scale and over a longer time. Whole nations and civilizations disappeared forever. Hungarians also could have simply disappeared from the map and most probably would have done so if in the ninth century the elders of their seven tribes would not have united themselves into one nation by blood oath and thus strengthened, set out to find a new homeland where they and their children's children could live free from the danger of extinction. The seven leaders chose Almos as their new chief, the head of the largest tribe, and decreeing that his seed should rule them and their nation in days to come. Almos led his people across the Carpathians and saw the land on the other side before drawing his last breath. The mantle of leadership had fallen onto the shoulders of Arpad, who begot Zsolt, who begot Taksony, the father of Geza, whose son named Vojk was given the baptismal name of Stephen. Up to that fateful day in the late 1940's when under Soviet military occupation Hungary became a "people's democracy," the crown of Hungary has rested only once on the head of a ruler who was not demonstrably from the bloodline of Arpad.

Monarchy or republic, Hungary exists to this day. It could preserve its identity even amid the constant wars against pagan invaders of the East, whose stopping point more often than not was at the Western border of Hungary, because Saint Stephen laid a solid foundation; and into this foundation Christianity is woven inseparably, witness survival of the Christian faith, the Church and its institutions even after 40 years of atheism as official government policy. Nay, more than that! When Islamic rule swept across Eastern and Central Europe, the Turks had linguistical and racial similarities with Hungarians. These distant blood ties, in face of the religious differences, did not even have a pull even though the often "could not care less" attitude of our Western Christian brethren was flagrant enough to amount to a scandal, putting lines of worry on the faces of many of the popes. Even when the Habsburgs were the kings, who right up to 1867 took their responsibilities as apostolic kings somewhat lightly, the face of the nation has not changed, remaining united in the faith and love of homeland. Protestantism swept across the continent when anti-Habsburg feelings, who were Catholics, were highest. In the end, two-thirds of the country was won back to the Catholic faith, chiefly by the efforts of the brilliant Primate, Cardinal Pazmany, who regarded all Hungarians, Protestants and Catholics as his spiritual charges; and so did his successors right up to Cardinal Mindszenty who first tasted prison at the hands of Germans for raising his voice in the defense of the beleaguered Jews. The constitutional framework was that of an apostolic kingdom, implying ipso facto acceptance of Catholic mores and many Catholic customs; and if there were kings with evident clay feet, the nation could—and often did—forcefully remind them of their duties under the constitution of Saint Stephen.

The constitution of Saint Stephen was designed to preserve the already existing sense of nationhood and build a superstructure on traditional bases which would allow the Catholic Church to propagate and preserve the true faith without, however, changing Hungarians into pale imitations of their Western neighbours. Many a feudal institution established in Hungary, was similar to those found in other countries; the main differences were due to the preservation of the National Council and incorporation of the higher ranks of clergy into it.

When under Arpad in 896 and the following years, the land was taken from the Slav rulers of Svatopluk and Marot, the inhabitants were left alive and allowed to continue farming whilst the Hungarians concentrated on the martial arts. The land was divided between the seven tribes with the ruler of the nation keeping under his own jurisdiction the major parts. The forts became the administrative centers of each county, similar to the state capitals in the U.S. The counties of present day Hungary are the same as they were in St. Stephen's days but the country itself is smaller since the annexation of its parts by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Saint Stephen built on this existing system. He inherited a country so sensibly divided into counties by regional boundaries on the basis of geographic, economical and demographic principles that in the 1970's the Roumanians—not known for their Hungarian sympathies—abandoned the regional delineation, which they instituted in that part of Roumania which was annexed to them from Hungary under the treaty of Versailles in 1919 and readopted the county boundaries of Saint Stephen. Saint Stephen enlarged the areas belonging directly to the crown, deeded lands to tribal rulers, rather than to tribes. The land tracts of the tribal chiefs were sizable and the distribution equitable enough to secure the council's approval. The king had a right to give portions of the crown's land to anybody as he saw fit. He abolished the right of the chiefs of the county to inherit the leadership, preferring to make the selection himself. This office—foispan—appointed by the king, existed until 1945. In practice, more often than not, the sons inherited their chance to rule but unless they were seen to be deserving, they were placed on the sideline.

It is in the organization of the king's council that the differences are the greatest between the constitution of Saint Stephen and ancient laws of the pagan days on one hand, and the Hungarian constitution and other European models on the other.

When Saint Stephen became the ruler, the Hungarians had a 2000 year-old national history. Their semi-nomadic existence, in which military preparedness played a large part, presupposed a very stable internal administration, capable of preserving unity, internal harmony and thus assuring survival of the population among the hardship of planned seasonal migration in search of grazing land and unexpected dislocations in face of attacks by hostile foes. Such an existence precluded the luxury of strong-willed contenders scrambling to the pinnacle of power at the price of divisive battles among ourselves. A leader in the person of Almos was chosen in 888 and his lineage was to rule; nevertheless, the group of leaders had both the right and the duty to serve on the nation's council. As to their right, they and their descendants could not be excluded; in the case of treason, the traitor was to die and his son to step into his shoes. As far as duty went, failure to attend the sessions was punishable by death.

Saint Stephen's constitution also retained the principle of preserving a family's right to its land, regardless of a punished offender's misdeeds. The leaders of the tribes constituted the second order of the king's council. The third order constituted the warriors and their descendants, and this was the layer to which many others, distinguishing themselves in battle, were elevated from the ranks of the commoners. The privilege to take part in the nation's councils brought with itself the obligation to respond to a call for arms; at higher echelons, the size of the troop to be brought was also defined. The obligation existed only if the king was calling for help to defend the country. No obligation existed to go abroad, even at the king's behest. Landgrants from the king enabled the nobles to maintain themselves in a state of military readiness.

The biggest change in the original structure was the establishment of bishops as the first order of nobility with suitable land grants, but also with the obligation to bear arms in the defense of the country. The abbots were also members of the first order but without the obligation to bear arms. Because of their learning, members of the first order easily gained considerable respect and their opinions were taken seriously. This however, they would have lost easily if they were unwilling to defend the country in war. Several bishops, archbishops and even Primates died in the battlefield in the Kingdom of Hungary—both in 1241 when the Mongolians swept across Hungary and in 1526 when the Turkish occupation began. Two other areas within the Corpus Juris also contributed to the ease with which Christianity became a way of life in Hungary—one was the judicial system, the second was the duty of fulfilling one's religious obligations.

The king judged on civil matters and pronounced sentences on offenders during his royal progresses when he visited each country, consulted with the nobility and then held a judicial session. In order to prevent undue delays, judges were appointed for each county who held their sessions in the name of the king; their jurisdiction, however, did not extend over members of the clergy who came under the ecclesiastical courts, in which only men of impeachable character were allowed to testify. On the other hand, breaking the laws of the Church by the laity was a matter for the civil court system. Some of the obligations were to pay the clergy's tithe, cohabit within marriage only and attend church on Sundays (except one woman in each household to tend the fires) and once there, to be silent. Those, who talked were dealt with according to their rank—nobles fined, commoners whipped and their heads shaved. The obligation to attend church was easily fulfilled because every ten villages had to build a church, two houses beside it and also donate a specified amount of livestock. The bishops provided the sacred books and the king the vestments. His queen Gisella, her ladies and the nuns in the queen's city, Veszprem, embroidered diligently and during the coronation of the kings of Hungary, right up to the 20th century, one of the ceremonies included the queen sewing a few stitches on the coronation gown.

The reasons why such wide sweeping changes could come into force were twofold. First, Saint Stephen called upon the council of the nation to discuss the proposed constitution and second, he was an apostolic king.

In calling his council together, the king proceeded as his predecessors and followed the same custom afterward. He laid his propositions before the members, listened to their advice but the final decision was his. He could do so without inviting a widespread rebellion because it was by common consent that his illustrious ancestor, Almos, was given the power to lead, with succession in perpetuity. There were two pagan rebellions in Saint Stephen's lifetime and both were subdued with the help of the rest of the country. Thus, he would command nationwide support even in a situation when, in the hitherto habitually cohesive Hungarian nation, brother had to fight against brother.

The second factor in making a constitution, with such an important position for the church possible, was the fact that Saint Stephen was an apostolic king—a title proudly borne by all his successors who had the duty not only to defend but to propagate the Catholic faith and as an outward sign of this, were permitted to have the crucifix borne in front of them in processions. As long as the royal line of Arpad ruled, this duty was taken seriously by the kings. Up to the 15th century, Hungary was beleaguered by numerous smaller pagan tribes near its borders. These, once subdued, were offered full rights on conversion and—as in Saint Stephen's days—they were provided priests and churches. Saint Paulus of Hungary and other Dominicans played a significant role in this process. The Mongolian hordes in the 13th century were stronger than us; but, mercifully, they had left after one year. During the 160 year-long Turkish war, the reminders addressed to the often unwilling Habsburgs by the Holy See and nobility always made reference to the duties of an apostolic king. Saint Stephen also founded a monastery in Jerusalem. Hungary often provided hospitality to Christian armies on their way to the crusades, and Saint Ladislaus of Hungary was only prevented by his early death from assuming the command of the first crusade, offered to him by Urban II and the rulers of Europe.

Besides the obligations though, Saint Stephen had also considerable privileges as an apostolic king, such as the privilege to found monasteries and to appoint bishops. He decided both on the number and on the person of the bishops. Were he not given this power, opposition serious enough to block his proposal—to make bishops and abbots the members of the first order of nobility—could have resulted, for the spectre of a deluge of German clergy—who had sizeable ambitions to make Christian Hungary part of their own dioceses—was not exactly a welcome thought. German presence was manifest in the queen's entourage, and among the monks in the six monasteries founded by Saint Stephen, but his bishops were more often Czechs or Italians and later Hungarians.

Saint Stephen's very excellence as a ruler may tend to make one forget that he was a saint with the disposition of one; and, therefore, desirous not only for doing God's will and carrying out His work, but also to spend his time with those for whom God is a central preoccupation. He came to power in 997, but his constitution was not written until after his coronation in 1000. He ruled for thirty-eight more years and could personally see it through and guide the nation to live by it, and had three years (three-fourths of the term for a U.S. president during which to design, implement and follow up on major reforms) in which to plan and seek the counsel of others. He had been in regular contact with Saint Odile of Cluny and with the Benedictine monastery of Monte Casino: to this day, the monastery at Pannonhalma has the same privileges as Monte Casino had. He invited noted architects and artists from Italy to build churches. His court had an inviting atmosphere for the religious great. Saint Gellert from Venice came to visit and remained for the rest of his days, fulfilling the duties of tutor to Saint Emericus, the king's son, and then as bishop of Csanad before gaining the crown of martyrdom at the hands of pagan rebels after the death of Saint Stephen. Saint Astrik first visited Hungary in the company of Saint Adalbert who baptized and confirmed St. Stephen, whilst his father Geza was still alive, and worked towards getting Blessed Gisella accepting St. Stephen's offer of marriage. Saint Adalbert never returned, judging conversion of Geza's people a somewhat hopeless proposition; but Saint Astrik did and it was he who went to Rome on Saint Stephen's behalf to obtain the crown for him from Pope Sylvester II and who performed the coronation.

Much as Saint Stephen respected men of the church, this was never a mindless adoration of all and sundry. He simply did not tolerate roaming monks or clergy. They came by invitation and if they did not, they were shepherded into the nearest monastery.

Of his contacts with other rulers, perhaps his friendship with Saint Henry, Henry II, German Emperor is the most significant. The chief target for the raids by our pagan elders was the land of the Germans, who at that time were busy coercing as many of the younger and smaller nations as possible into a position of feudal subjection; and this aim, in one form or another, was alive in the Teutonic breasts for many centuries. Saint Henry was as it is often the case both holy and wise and thus wishing to propagate the faith and not desiring to burden himself with hostile subjects of known military excellence, supported the idea of an independent Christian Hungary; and who heartily rejoiced in the marriage of his sister Gisella to Saint Stephen and maintained friendly contact with the ruler of Hungary even before the coronation of the latter. This coronation itself may not have taken place if Henry II—as some of his bishops urged him—would have come forward with the idea of Hungary as a vassal state of his empire; but he did not, and this created a situation in which Pope Sylvester II had to consider the idea of a Christian Kingdom of Hungary very seriously. He had heard great things about this young ruler from Henry II, holy and learned abbots, emissaries passing through Hungary and Bishop Astrick presented his case on behalf of Hungary well, but still—was it safe or even sane? Pictures of longhaired barbarians on swiftly running horses, showering their arrows right, left and center, burning churches, pillaging towns came rather easily to mind—and they were like this only recently. This was the face which they presented to the world. And yet, there were those other tales of their Christian piety, smoothly ordered national life at home, indicating enough ancient wisdom to be able to be an honourable member of Christendom. So the wise vicar of Christ on Earth prayed and through this came the answer—a vision of the Blessed Mother, asking for a crown for Stephen—and, thereby, proclaiming that her Hungarian children are precious to her, and waiting for their king to give them to her to watch over, love and give them strength to battle for the faith throughout the centuries.

Although Saint Stephen waited until 1031 when the death of the crown prince, his only son Saint Emericus, in a hunting accident, made him think deeply about the fate of his people, even with this delay, Hungary was the first country to be formally consecrated to the Blessed Mother; and, furthermore, our holy king consecrated not only the country, but also its people. This is why in Hungary, the veneration of the Blessed Mother is not unheard of even among Protestants. This is why her picture has been lovingly painted by Protestant painters whilst poets among our separated brethren sing of her glories, and Hungarians right up to the first World War—when battle flags were not in fashion—had her picture on their flags, and the battle cry against the Turks was Jesus-Maria!

When on the 20th of August the faithful break into hymns, Protestants will also sing to Domina Magna ac Patrona Hungariae whose feast day is on the 8th of October—a special gift of Pope Leo XIII to his Hungarian sons and daughters to commemorate the millennium of Hungary in 1896. Yes, She is ours and we are all Hers. The moment a babe is born on our land and opens its mouth for a lusty yell, it is consecrated to Mary, let its parents be Catholic, Protestant, or even otherwise—for this was the wish of the king, whose power to rule over us was deeded to him by the will of the people.