Boleslaw the Bold

Boleslaw the II was the Duke of Poland from 1058 until 1076 when his coronation as king of Poland was authorized by Pope Gregory the VII. During his reign he established multiple dioceses and many monasteries. This work and the domestic production of coins that fostered economic growth led him to be known as Boleslaw the Generous. With regards to foreign policy he militarily intervened in Hungary, Bohemia, and other neighboring countries to support monarchs or usurpers who were opposed to the Holy Roman Empire as a way to build an alliance against it. For his aggressive foreign policy he was known as Boleslaw the Bold.

The reason why I mention King Boleslaw the Bold is that St. Stanislaus, the saint we celebrate today, was this king’s best friend. St. Stanislaus was the bishop of Krakow at the time and was martyred while celebrating Mass in 1079. Living up to his moniker as the Bold, it was King Boleslaw himself who murdered St. Stanislaus since his own soldiers refused to follow the royal orders to execute him since St. Stanislaus was so widely revered for his holiness. So why would King Boleslaw murder his best friend? It would be helpful to take a step back and understand the nature of their friendship.

Aristotle classifies three kinds of friendship, friendships of utility, those of pleasure and those of virtue. Friendships of utility prioritize mutual advantage and are transactional in nature. Think of the friendliness between the hotel staff and a guest. However, King Boleslaw and St. Stanislaus did not have this kind of friendship. In fact King Boleslaw conspired with his subjects to steal land from St. Stanislaus’ diocese by means of a lawsuit. This lawsuit was resolved against King Boleslaw after a witness who had been dead for over two years rose from the grave to testify on behalf of St. Stanislaus.

Nor was their friendship one centered on pleasure. It is the kind of friendship that is rooted in shared enjoyment and fostered by common hobbies, humor, or recreation. This is probably the type of friendship you understand to be normative of friendship. However, once the shared underlying activity stops then the relationship ends. In these sorts of friendships the other person is incidental to the friendship and the enjoyment and the activity that causes that pleasure are the true core of the friendship. King Boleslaw and St. Stanislaus engaged in no activities that provided them with shared enjoyment. St. Stanislaus focussed on preaching the Word and serving the poor while the king spent his time supporting coups and resisting coups and in his free time kidnapping the wives of nobles for his personal use.

The third kind of friendship for Aristotle is the friendship of virtue. This is the highest and rarest form of virtue and it comes about between individuals who admire each other’s character and actively wish the best for one another. These relationships endure because they are grounded in mutual respect for who the friend is, not what they offer. King Boleslaw and St. Stanislaus actually had this sort of friendship at least to an imperfect degree. King Boleslaw actually was a big supporter of the Church and appreciated the efficacy of St. Stanislaus’ ministry. Pagan rebels had overthrown his Grandfather as king and believed that a Church that was effective at evangelizing was good for his kingdom. The king respected St. Stanislaus so much that the saint served as his advisor for a number of years. For his part St. Stanislaus wanted the king to be a good king. He appreciated the domestic peace and economic prosperity that the King had brought about, but more importantly he cared for the king’s soul. St. Stanislaus criticized the king for the cruelty and pillage that his troops caused. He also reproached the king for ignoring treaties, non-payment of tribute and mistreatment of his soldiers. On these matters King Boleslaw heeded the bishop’s admonitions at least for a time.

St. Stanislaus’ criticism was something the king desperately needed since everyone either feared him or was too impressed by him. Even other churchmen would not criticize him because of all the good he had done for the Church.

The saint also told the king to return the wife of a nobleman he had kidnapped. When Boleslaw persisted in his adultery, St. Stanislaus excommunicated him. King Bolelsaw’s initial response to this was to make a martyr out of his friend. However, it was not his final response. The king’s horrific and sacrilegious murder led to him being deposed. He was forced to flee from Poland and eventually settled in what is now southern Austria at a monastery. He lived there as a simple worker for 8 years atoning for his sins. His grave is still there at the monastery of Ossiach to this day. When the contents were examined they found a body that dated to the 11th century and armor that corresponds to the same time period and that would be found in Poland at the time.

Throughout this week Jesus is facing off with all sorts of people who are trying to kill them. However, they are not his enemies but rather his friends. He is not trying to help them or have a good time with them, rather he is trying to help them grow in wisdom and holiness by getting them to understand that He is the Messiah that they are looking for. Nevertheless it is a contentious relationship that leads to His death just as friendship led to the death of St. Stanislaus.

You too probably know some people in your life, classmates, coworkers, teammates, family that you consider to be enemies or at the very least annoyances that you would rather not bother with. They don’t really have anything they can offer you and you do not enjoy being around them. Those people are a blessing and a gift God has given you. The only way you can be friends with those people is by forming a sort of friendship of virtue. One where you admire and respect whatever positive aspects of character they possess just as St. Stanislaus appreciated the prudent aspects of King Boleslaw’s administration and where you try to grow in those virtues that they themselves value as St. Stanislaus knew that building up the church would help his voice be heard by the king. This is the sort of friendship that is needed in order to help others grow in holiness and an essential part of that is helping others acknowledge their own sins regardless of how unpleasant it is for either party.

On this day may we ask for the intercession of St. Stanislaus to guide us with transforming those who most bother and upset us into friends of virtue.