Letter 8

From: Alcuin of York, scholar and court theologian To: Charlemagne, King of the Franks Date: ~796 AD Context: Alcuin writes to Charlemagne on the theological and practical problems with using force in the conversion of pagans, arguing for a principled approach based on persuasion and formation. To the most devout King Charles, from his servant Alcuin, On the question you raised about the use of force in the conversion of the Saxons and the Avars, I want to be as direct as I know how to be: forced baptism is not Christian mission. It is political management dressed in the clothes of religion. I do not say this to be difficult or to undermine the missionary work that is happening in these territories. I say it because I believe it is true and because the consequences of building the church on a foundation of coerced compliance rather than genuine faith are consequences that the church will pay for a very long time. The argument for forced baptism is always the same: even if the initial conversion is not genuine, subsequent generations will be formed in the faith and the conversion will become real over time. There is something to this argument. But it depends entirely on the quality of the formation provided, and if the force is applied but the formation is not, the subsequent generations will be nominally Christian and actually alienated from the faith they nominally hold. The path I recommend: be generous in the resources committed to genuine mission — schools, clergy, churches, scriptures in the vernacular where possible. Be patient in the timeline. Accept that genuine conversion of a people takes generations, not years. Trust that the truth of the gospel, presented clearly and lived faithfully, will do its own work. Your faithful counselor, Alcuin