Three years after the issuance of the Edict of Milan, which established the religious peace of the Roman Empire, Martin, later venerated as a saint, was born in Savaria, a small town in a province very far from Rome.
It was born in an exciting and busy period, since the previously persecuted Christians had already been released from prisons and all their previous restrictions were lifted after, according to tradition, the co-emperors Constantine the Great (306–337) and Licinius (311–323) issued the Edict of Milan in Milan, i.e. the Milan decree in favor of Christians.
According to this, " we give Christians and everyone the free choice to follow the religion they want, so that any deity or heavenly power may be well-willed towards us and everyone who lives under our authority" .
However, this religious peace did not create religious peace, because the tension immediately flared up between the followers of the so-called official Roman doctrines and the followers of priest Arius, the Arians.
Martin was still a small child when Emperor Constantine the Great called a council in 325 in accordance with Pope Sylvester I in order to end religious strife.
The First Universal Council of Nicaea formulated the Catholic creed, according to which Jesus was " begotten of the Father before the beginning of time." God from God, Light from Light, real God from real God. Begotten, but not a creature: he is of one substance with the Father, and all things came into being through him... ", and the followers of Arius were declared heretics by the council.
However, Márton was not yet interested in the Christians' debate, he enjoyed all the flavors of life.
He was only 15 years old when he entered the army, but because of his young age he served in a training unit for four years and only became a legionnaire at the age of 19. Even then, those around him spoke of him as a benevolent, helpful, modest and reliable young man.
One of his best-known stories also comes from this period. According to this, one winter evening he was walking the streets of Ambianensium (today Amiens - ed.) and met a babbling beggar who had been robbed by robbers. He wanted to help: he cut his cloak in two with his sword and draped one half over the beggar's shoulders. In the evening, he dreamed that Jesus was the beggar. As a result, he was baptized in 339, at the age of 22.
Two years later, barbarians attacked Gaul. Márton's army also marched in front of the enemy. To the emperor's words urging him to fight, Márton replied that he was a soldier of Christ and did not wish to fight. When he received the answer that he was a coward, he braced himself and went to the enemy without a weapon to fight him. Seeing this determination, the barbarians retreated, which the emperor's soldiers considered a miracle. With the arrival of peace, Martin left the army and went first to Poitiers, then to his hometown, Savaria, and finally to Milan, but the heretical Arians were everywhere.
Márton's faith did not waver despite the mockery and attacks, on the contrary: it became deeper and firmer.
He settled in Liguge in Gaul and founded the first European monastic monastery in 361.
Even in his lifetime, people respected the humble, modest, but helpful man as a saint, and when the second bishop of Tours, Márton, died in 371, they asked him to lead his flock, that is, the community of the faithful, as a good shepherd.
According to the legend, Márton protested against his election and hid from the delegation coming for him so that they would not find him.
However, the geese gave away their secret with their cackling.
He persistently practiced his profession until his death, he died on November 8, 397.
Let us now give the floor to the Legenda aurea, which described his death as follows: " He kept turning his eyes and hands towards the sky and prayed unceasingly with a tireless spirit. He always lay on his back, and when the priests asked him to turn to his side and ease himself a little, he said: Leave it, my brothers, leave it, let me look at the sky rather than the earth, so that my soul can open itself to the Lord. Saying this, he saw that the devil was also there. What are you doing here, you cruel beast? he said to her. "You won't find any dirt in me." Abraham's bosom welcomes me! "
Three days later, on November 11, he was buried in Tours, a chapel was built over his grave, which was later expanded into a basilica.
The first church burned down in 997, but was rebuilt in the 11th century. A golden reliquary was made for his body in 1454. The basilica was looted by the Huguenots in 1526, a year so mournful in Hungarian history, and only a few bones remained. The church was looted a second time, during the French Revolution. The church was also damaged, so it was demolished in 1795. A monument was erected over the grave of St. Martin in 1863, and the new church built around it was completed in 1902. His relics can also be found in the Saint-Gatien Cathedral, the Basilica of St. Martin in Tours, the Cathedral in Szombathely, the Abbey of Pannonhalm and the Church of St. Martin on Forgách Street in Budapest.
A chapel was also built on the site of his parents' house, except here in Hungary.
Above the entrance to St. Martin's Church in Szentmárton, which used to exist as an independent village in the eastern part of Szombathely, the inscription reads: " Hic natus est sanctus Martinus " - i.e. " Saint Martin was born here ".
The finger relic of St. Martin is kept within the walls of the church.
It is not possible to know exactly where his birthplace was, so it would be more correct to say that it was somewhere in the area, however, an ancient legend believes that it is known that the visiting Márton baptized his mother with the water of the well in front of the church, which has foundations dating back to Roman times. , whose unbroken popularity for thousands of years is excellently demonstrated by the Hungarian verse prayer, Saint Martin, Isten szolgaia, written by an unknown author from the beginning of the 17th century. According to this, on November 11, "On this May day, I invite you / To honor you, / Let them eat now, / That they may rejoice with you. / Beseech God therefore, / Ask for help to the faithful, / Be merciful to all, / Give malt to this people”.
Source: hirado.hu / author: Ákos Jezsó
