Tuesday, August 1, 2023

It is the 1st of August, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 It was towards the end of the primary Crusades that many in the Latin West learned of another powerful Kingdom to the East. Not only were there the Muslims to the South East, but to the North East were the formidable Mongols under the legendary Genghis Khan. By 1225 they had spread over China and Siberia, and by 1240 came as far west as Kyiv and took the city that year. The Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan was renowned for its use of cavalry and bows- their strict military training and speed made them a formidable opponent wherever they traveled. 

Western Kings and the Pope were concerned not only that they had taken over the hub of Eastern Christianity amongst the Rus but that they might unite with the Muslims and attack the Latin Christian West. In 1241 the fears of the West were confirmed when some 80,000 Mongols swept into Poland and Hungary. They took and burned Crakow, the Polish capital, and on the 9th of April in that year, won a decisive battle at Liegnitz against an army composed of the once-vaunted Knights Templar and Teutonic Knights.

When the emperor Ogedei Khan died in 1241, the Mongols retreated to the East to name a new emperor. A rattled Pope Innocent decided to send the first Papal emissary to the Mongols in an attempt to mollify the new Khan and get a first-hand account of this new world power.

Enter Giovanni da Pian del Carpini… but we will call him John of Plano Carpini. He was a well-renowned leader in the Franciscan order. He was a friend of St. Francis and trusted by the Pope to faithfully deliver his letter to the great Khan and report on their customs. But John was a curious choice. He was already in his 60s and, by one historian's account, a very large man- he would have to routinely change horses on account of the strain he put on them. Nevertheless, he would be sent out with Stephen of Bohemia and Benedict the Pole as translators. They made their way from Italy to Kyiv by April of 1246, where they were received by Batu Khan- grandson of Genghis and head of the Golden Horde. He sent them on to the court of the Supreme Khan- they traveled across what is modern Russia, down into the “stan” countries, and into Mongolia. They traveled some 3,000 miles in time for the election of Kuyuk, the new Khan. John and his companions delivered the letter from the Pope to the new Great Khan, in which the Pope requested that the new Khan be baptized and become a Christian. And then, by being Christians, they would cease to attack fellow Eastern European Christians. The letter went over about as well as you might think. In the Khans response to the Pope, he wrote:

“If you desire peace, come before me! We see no reason why we should embrace the Christian religion. We have chastised the Christian nations because they disobeyed the commandments of God and Jenghiz Khan. The power of God is manifestly with us.”

By 1247 John was back in Italy and set forth to record his observations from travel in a book that has come to us in fragments of manuscripts known as the “History of the Mongols.” It is considered to be more even-handed than later stories, such as that of Marco Polo, who was inspired in part by John’s writing and travels. It recorded their history, customs, battle tactics, and the geography leading up to the Asian Steppes.

For his work, the Pope named John of Plano Carpini the archbishop of Antivari in Dalmatia, where he served until he died on this the 1st of August in 1252. Born around 1180, he was likely in his early 70s. The Mongols would never threaten the West directly but in subsequent centuries, would push the Ottoman Turks westward, reigniting Christian Muslim tensions culminating with the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Ephesians 6:

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 1st of August 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man still wondering how the Star Trek guys get involved in all of this Khan stuff…. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who loves a good Mongolian bbq- thinly shaved lamb, bean sprouts, and chili oil with those little sesame rolls…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.