Talk:Sergius of Valaam

First Swedish Crusade?

Regarding the translation of Sergius' relics from Valaam around 1163, that did not happen around the time of the First Swedish Crusade, but around the major Swedish offensive against Staraya Ladoga in 1164. The conflict is described in the Novgorod Primary Chronicle, excerpt here: http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=23. --Drieakko 10:24, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Date

When there are multiple conflicting traditions on dating, every student of medieval history knows that he should favour the latest dating possible. The late 14th-century date is realistic and is consistent with the missionary activities of such persons as Stephen of Perm in Novgorod's sphere of influence. Nevertheless, I'm in favour of removing the entire dating controversy, because there is nothing reliable about any of the proposed dates, least of all the earliest. --Ghirla^-трёп- 06:23, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Basically all sources of this person are unreliable. Repeating the legends with the note that they are not reliable, is quite sufficient instead of removing all the dubious content. To be noted is also that Finnic peoples were under Orthodox missionary activities already at the beginning of the 11th century, before the Catholic one started, since basic Christian words (bible, priest, cross) in Estonian and Finnish are all Greek (or Russian). Western Catholic mission started latest at the beginning of the 12th century, eventually suppressing the eastern mission among most tribes, but clearly well after Christianity in its eastern form was already well-known. This gives certain credibility to the early dating of Sergius, at least worth mentioning it. --Drieakko 06:35, 1 August 2007 (UTC)