Saint Stephen I (, , , ; Esztergom, c. 975 – Esztergom, 1038-08-15) was a ruling prince of Hungary, the first King of Hungary.

St. Stephen was born "Vajk" in the town of Esztergom. His father was the ruling Magyar Prince Géza; his mother was Sarolt, the daughter of the Transylvanian gyula.

Vajk was baptized at age 10 by Saint Adalbert of Prague as a precondition of accepting the crown from Rome. He was given the baptismal name Stephen (István) in honour of the original early Christian Saint Stephen. As it turned out, this was a fitting choice, as the name Stephen derives from the Greek στεφανος, stephanos, meaning "crowned".

Between 995 and 997, Stephen (still known as "Vajk") was the lord of Nitra (an appanage principality of Géza). Prince , or duke according to different authors.

Stephen married Giselle of Bavaria, the daughter of Henry II the Wrangler and Gisela of Burgundy circa 995, but sources give various years for this event. By this marriage he became the brother-in-law of the future Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. Stephen and Giselle had at least three children: sons St. Imre (also Henry or Emeric) and Ottó, and a daughter Hedvig.

In 997, prince Géza died and a succession struggle ensued. Stephen claimed divine right to rule the Magyars, while Stephen's uncle Koppány, a powerful pagan noble, claimed the traditional right of seniority. Eventually the two met in battle and Stephen was victorious, partly thanks to Stephen's German retinue and military assistance from the noble Poznan and Hunt families. Thus, Stephen became the Sovereign of the Magyars in Transdanubia in 997 and managed to successfully unite virtually all Magyar clans by 1006. According to Hungarian tradition Pope Silvester II sent a magnificent jeweled gold crown to Stephen along with an apostolic cross and a letter of blessing officially recognizing Stephen as the Christian king of Hungary. The date of this coronation is variously given as Christmas Day, 1000 or 1 January 1001.

Stephen intended to retire to a life of holy contemplation and hand the kingdom over to his son Imre, but Imre was wounded in a hunting accident and died in 1031. In Stephen's words of mourning:

By God's secret decision death took him, so that wickedness would not change his soul and false imaginations would not deceive his mind – as the Book of Wisdom teaches about early death.

Stephen mourned for a very long time over the loss of his son, which took a great toll on his health. He eventually recovered, but never regained his original vitality. Having no children left, he could not find anyone among his remaining relatives who was able to rule the country competently and willing to maintain the Christian faith of the nation. Unable to choose an heir, King Stephen died on the Feast of the Assumption in 1038 at Székesfehérvár, where he was then buried. His nobles and his subjects were said to have mourned for three straight years afterwards.

Following Stephen's death, his nephew Peter Urseolo (his appointed heir) and brother-in-law Samuel Aba contended for the crown. Nine years of instability followed until Stephen's cousin Andrew I was crowned King of Hungary, re-establishing the Árpád dynasty in 1047. Hungarian historiography saw Peter and Samuel as members of the Árpád dynasty, and both are counted among the Árpád kings.

Stephen divided Hungary into forty to fifty counties and continued the work of his father Géza by applying the decimal organizational system of his ancestors. He set up ten dioceses in Hungary, ordering every ten villages to erect a church and maintain a priest. He founded the cathedrals of Székesfehérvár and Esztergom, the Nunnery of Veszprém, the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma, and the Monastery of Saint Peter and Paul in Óbuda. In the abbeys and monasteries, schools were established, and they became important centers of culture. Saint Astricus served as Stephen's advisor, and Stephen also had Saint Gerard Sagredo as the tutor for his son Imre.

Stephen discouraged pagan customs and strengthened Christianity with various laws, including ending the use of the old Hungarian runic alphabet and making Latin the official language of the royal court. Stephen donated generously to the churches, visited them often, and supervised their construction. He often disguised himself as a peasant whenever he traveled and freely gave money to any poor people he met (in one account, Stephen was beaten and robbed by a group of beggars to whom he was giving alms, but he forgave them and spared their lives).

Shortly after Stephen's death, healing miracles were said to have occurred at his tomb. Stephen was canonized by Pope Gregory VII as Saint Stephen of Hungary in 1083, along with his son, Saint Imre and Bishop Gerhard (Hungarian: Szent Gellért). Thus Saint Stephen became the first of the canonized confessor kings, a new prototype of saints.

Catholics venerate him as the patron saint of "Hungary, kings, the death of children, masons, stonecutters, and bricklayers." His feast day is generally observed on August 16, except in Hungary where it is observed on August 20, the day on which his sacred relics were transferred to the city of Buda. This day is a public holiday in Hungary.

The king's right hand, known as "The Holy Right", is kept as a relic. His body was mummified after his death, but the tomb was opened and his hand was separated some years later. Except for this, only some bone fragments remained (which are kept in churches throughout Hungary). Catholics honour the first king of their country on annual processions, where the Holy Right is exhibited.

Stephen was also canonised by the Eastern Orthodox Church in 2000, thus became the first saint recognised both by Orthodoxy and Catholicism since the Great Schism.

The Holy Crown, popularly attributed to St. Stephen, was removed from the country in 1945 for safekeeping, and entrusted to the United States government. It was kept in a vault at Fort Knox until 1978, when it was returned to the nation by order of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. It has been enshrined in the Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest since 2000.

:My beloved son, delight of my heart, hope of your posterity, I pray, I command, that at every time and in everything, strengthened by your devotion to me, you may show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the most eminent, be they leaders or rich men or neighbors or fellow countrymen, but also to foreigners and to all who come to you. By fulfilling your duty in this way you will reach the highest state of happiness. Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your heart the example of the Lord who said, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." Be patient with everyone, not only with the powerful, but also with the weak.

:Finally be strong lest prosperity lift you up too much or adversity cast you down. Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next. Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately. Be gentle so that you may never oppose justice. Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone. Be chaste so that you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death.

:All these virtues I have noted above make up the royal crown, and without them no one is fit to rule here on earth or attain to the heavenly kingdom.<i> --Excerpt from Saint Stephen's admonitions to his son Imre.

King Stephen of Hungary has been a popular theme in art, especially from the 19th century on, with its development of nationalism. Paintings such as </i>The Baptism of Vajk (1875) by Gyula Benczúr and many statues representing the king all over Hungary testify to Stephen's importance in Hungarian national thought.

The best known representations of St. Stephen in music are Ludwig van Beethoven's King Stephen Overture, and the 1983 rock opera István, a király (Stephen, the King) by Levente Szörényi and János Bródy. Szörényi's Veled, Uram! (With You, Lord! - 2000) was a sequel to István, a király''.

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* Crown of Saint Stephen

* Stephen I, the First Christian Hungarian King (CryingVoice.com) * His picture on the Hungarian 10,000 forint banknote * a BBC report on Saint Stephen's day celebrations in Hungary *