Editing Stephen I of Hungary (section)

=== Sainthood ===
{{Infobox saint
|name=King Saint Stephen
|feast_day=16 August<br />20 August (in Hungary)<br />2 September (1686–1969)<br />30 May (his Holy Dexter in Hungary)
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]]<br />[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|image= StefanIHongarije.jpeg
|imagesize=
|caption=
|titles=King and Confessor
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=20 August 1083
|canonized_place=[[Székesfehérvár]]
|canonized_by=[[Pope Gregory VII]]
|attributes=[[Holy Crown of Hungary|Crown]]; [[Sceptre]]; [[Globus cruciger|globe]]
|patronage=Hungary, kings, masons, stonecutters, stonemason, bricklayers, protector against child death
|major_shrine=[[St. Stephen's Basilica]]<br />[[Budapest]], Hungary
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
}}
Stephen's cult emerged after the long period of anarchy characterizing the rule of his immediate successors.{{sfn|Magyar|1996|p=24}}<ref name='Diós'>{{cite web |last=Diós |first=István |title=Szent István király [King Saint Stephen] |work=A szentek élete [Lives of Saints] |publisher=Szent István Társulat |url=http://www.katolikus.hu/szentek/0820.html |access-date=18 August 2013 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620002407/http://www.katolikus.hu/szentek/0820.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, there is no evidence that Stephen became an object of veneration before his canonization.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=127}} For instance, the first member of the royal family to be named after him, [[Stephen II of Hungary|Stephen II]], was born in the early 12th century.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=129}}

Stephen's canonization was initiated by Vazul's grandson, King [[Ladislaus I of Hungary]], who had consolidated his authority by capturing and imprisoning his cousin, [[Solomon, King of Hungary|Solomon]].{{sfn|Engel|2001|pp=32–33}}{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=35}} According to Bishop Hartvic, the canonization was "decreed by apostolic letter, by order of the Roman see",<ref>''Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary'' (ch. 24.), p. 393.</ref> suggesting that the ceremony was permitted by Pope Gregory VII.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=125}} The ceremony started at Stephen's tomb, where on 15 August 1083 masses of believers began three days of fasting and praying.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=124}} Legend tells that Stephen's coffin could not be opened until King Ladislaus held Solomon in captivity at [[Visegrád]].{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=124}} The opening of Stephen's tomb was followed by the occurrence of healing miracles, according to Stephen's legends.{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=35}} Historian Kristó attributes the healings either to [[Folie à deux|mass psychosis]] or deception.{{sfn|Kristó|2001|p=35}} Stephen's legends also say that his "balsam-scented" remains were elevated from the coffin, which was filled with "rose-colored water", on 20 August.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=124}} On the same day, Stephen's son, Emeric, and the bishop of Csanád, Gerard, were also canonized.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=33}}

{{Blockquote|Having completed the office of [[Vespers]] the third day, everyone expected the favors of divine mercy through the merit of the blessed man; suddenly with Christ visiting his masses, the signs of miracles poured forth from heaven throughout the whole of the holy house. Their multitude, which that night were too many to count, brings to mind the answer from the [[Gospel of Matthew|Gospel]] which the [[Redeemer (Christianity)|Savior of the world]] confided to [[John the Baptist|John]], who asked through messengers whether he was [[Jewish messianism|the one who was to come]]: ''the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the lepers are cleansed'', the crippled are set straight, the paralyzed are cured...|Hartvic, ''Life of King Stephen of Hungary''<ref>Hartvic, ''Life of King Stephen of Hungary'' (ch. 24.), pp. 393–394.</ref>}}

Stephen's first legend, the so-called ''Greater Legend'', was written between 1077 and 1083.{{sfn|Berend|2001|p=375}} It provided an idealized portrait of the king,{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=90}} one who dedicated himself and his kingdom to the Virgin Mary.{{sfn|Berend|2001|p=375}} However, Stephen's ''Lesser Legend''{{mdash}}composed around 1100,{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=90}} under King [[Coloman, King of Hungary|Coloman]]{{sfn|Berend|2001|p=375}}{{mdash}}emphasized Stephen's severity.{{sfn|Györffy|1994|p=90}} A third legend, also composed during King Coloman's reign by Bishop Hartvic, was based on the two existing legends.{{sfn|Berend|2001|p=375}} Sanctioned in 1201 by [[Pope Innocent III]], Hartvic's work served as Stephen's official legend.{{sfn|Berend|2001|p=375}} Gábor Klaniczay wrote that Stephen's legends "opened a new chapter in the legends of holy rulers as a genre", suggesting that a monarch can achieve sainthood through actively using his royal powers.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=136}} Stephen was the first triumphant ''[[Miles Christianus|miles Christi]]'' ("Christ's soldier") among the canonized monarchs.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=134}} He was also a "[[Confessor of the Faith|confessor king]]", one who had not suffered martyrdom, whose cult was sanctioned, in contrast with earlier holy monarchs.{{sfn|Klaniczay|2002|p=16}}

Stephen's cult spread beyond the borders of Hungary. Initially, he was primarily venerated in Scheyern and [[Bamberg]], in Bavaria, but his relics were also taken to [[Aachen]], [[Cologne]], [[Montecassino]] and [[Namur]].<ref name='Diós'/> Upon the [[Siege of Buda (1686)|liberation]] of [[Buda]] from the Ottoman Turks, [[Pope Innocent XI]] expanded King Saint Stephen's cult to the entire Catholic Church in 1686,<ref name='Diós'/> and declared 2 September his [[feast day]].{{sfn|Butler|Cumming|Burns|1998|p=160}}<ref name='Diós'/> As the feast of Saint [[Joachim]] was moved, in 1969, from 16 August,<ref>"Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), pp. 98 and 135</ref> the day immediately following the day of Stephen's death, Stephen's feast was moved to that date.<ref>"Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), pp. 100, 137</ref> Stephen is venerated as the patron saint of Hungary,<ref name='Diós'/> and regarded as the protector of kings, masons, stonecutters, stonemasons and bricklayers,{{sfn|Guiley|2001|p=314}} and also of children suffering from severe illnesses.{{sfn|Guiley|2001|p=314}} His canonization was recognized by [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarch]] [[Bartholomew I of Constantinople]] in 2000.<ref name=Uj_Ember>{{cite journal |last=Papp |first=Tamás |title=Az ortodox egyház is szentként tiszteli: Országalapító királyunk és a keleti hagyományok kapcsolatáról [Venerated also by the Orthodox Church: On the connections between our king founding our state and the Oriental traditions] |journal=Új Ember |volume=34–35 |issue=LXI |location=Budapest |date=21 August 2005 |language=hu |url=http://ujember.katolikus.hu/Archivum/2005.08.21/0201.html |issn=1418-1657 |access-date=19 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429044126/http://ujember.katolikus.hu/Archivum/2005.08.21/0201.html |archive-date=29 April 2014 }}</ref> In the calendar of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Stephen's feast is observed on 20 August, the day on which his relics were [[translation (relics)|translated]].<ref name='Diós'/> In addition, a separate feast day (30 May) is dedicated to his "Holy Dexter".<ref name='Diós'/>