ANASTASIUS, ST.

Hungarian archbishop; d. Nov. 12 c. 1036–39. A German disciple of Bishop adalbert of prague, Anastasius (or Ascherich; Ascrick; Astericus; Astrik; Radla-Astericus) became abbot of Adalbert's newly founded monasteries at Brevnov, near Prague (993), and then at Miedzyrzecz, Poland. He later undertook a mission to Hungary at the request of King stephen i of Hungary, according to Stephen's vita (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores 11:232–33). There Anastasius became abbot of St. Stephen's foundation at Pannonhalma, and later archbishop of Esztergom, possibly the only Hungarian metropolitan see (K. Schünemann). In 1007 Anastasius attended the Synod of Frankfurt, and in 1012 he was at the consecration of the church of St. Peter in Bamberg. His possible German origin and his certain presence at German synods is witness to the continued close links between Germany and the Christianization of Hungary under Duke Geza and Stephen I.

Feast: Nov. 12.

Bibliography: k. schÜnemann, Die Deutschen in Ungarn bis zum 12. Jahrhundert (Berlin-Leipzig 1923) 35–37, 46–48. a. brackmann, Kaiser Otto III und die staatliche Umgestaltung Polens und Ungarns (Abhandlungen der Deutschen 1939) 23–26; Zur Entstehung des ungarischen Staates (ibid. 1940) 17–19. r. bÄumer, Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:494. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York 1956)

4:325–326. f. dvornik, The Making of Central and Eastern Europe (London 1949).

[v. i. j. flint]