Francis and the Fifth Crusade

As the Russian Orthodox Patriarch blessed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, I could not help but think of the Crusades (which, by the way, were not just directed at Muslims, but also toward Orthodox Christians).

As a young man, St. Francis attempted to join the fourth crusade but turned back due to a recurring malarial fever. Shortly afterward, he had a profound encounter with a leper and a cross hanging in a broken down chapel (see this post). Fifteen years later, he embarked on a journey to join the fifth crusade, this time as an emissary of peace.

When Francis stepped upon the sandy banks of the Nile in August of 1219 he was devastated by what he saw. 100,000 men were camped outside the walls of Damietta, Egypt on the 5^th crusade. The squalid conditions of the camp, lack of fresh water, and rotting corpses of both Muslims and Christians stinking up the Nile were more disturbing than his experiences as a young man in a Perugian dungeon. What’s more, the sex workers moving from tent to tent, the drunkenness of the crusaders and the butchery committed at the hands of professed Christians was disturbing to Francis.

Less than a week after his arrival, several Muslim spies were caught. The crusaders cut off their lips, noses and ears, gouged out an eye on each man, and sent them back into the fortress at Damietta like a lifted middle finger. The forces under the direction of al-Malik al-Kamil retaliated by catapulting missiles of tar and fire into the camp.

Despite the fact that the Muslim fortress was well fortified, al-Kamil was eager to avoid further casualties. The siege had gone on for a year, people were suffering on both sides of the fortress walls, and he was eager to see this crusade come to an end. He sent messengers offering the Christian attackers the city of Jerusalem, the relics of the true cross, and a large sum of money. Control of Jerusalem was, after all, the chief quest of the crusade.  But consumed by his ego, the commander of this crusade, Cardinal Pelagio, flatly refused. Nothing short of total victory and annihilation would do. Later, al-Malik would add to his offer the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem, the release of all Christian captives, and 20 Muslim noblemen to be held hostage until the reconstruction was complete. Still, Cardinal Pelagio refused.

Francis was disillusioned. This was no holy war. “Allow me to go to the Sultan.” Francis offered. He reasoned if he could just spend some time among their enemies they might decide to follow Jesus as he did. “I wish to convert more by example than word.” And Francis likely thought that if he died trying to convert the Sultan, he’d be a martyr – a version of his youthful desire to become a knight. Al-Malik was the same age as Francis and a deeply devout man. Perhaps he could get through to him: Holy man to holy man. Franciscan brother, Illuminatus, agreed to join Francis in this fool’s errand as translator.

Cardinal Pelagio expected to have Francis and Illuminatus’ heads lobbed over the walls and into camp by nightfall. But if Francis wanted to be martyred in this way, so be it. He consented, and Francis and Brother Illuminatus were allowed into the fortress of Damietta and ushered into the presence of Sultan al-Kamil.

After giving a brief outline of Scripture and issuing a plea to lay down their arms and put their faith in Jesus, the Sultan’s advisors insisted that Francis and his companion be immediately decapitated for attempting to convert them. Al-Malik refused. He told Francis secretly, “I will never condemn you to death-for that would indeed be an evil reward to bestow on you, who conscientiously risked death in order to save my life before God, as you believe.”

Francis and Illuminatus remained in the Sultan’s court as honored guests for a week. Francis and the Sultan found themselves kindred spirits. But when it was clear that the Sultan would not convert, Francis returned to the crusader’s camp, but not before the Sultan reiterated his offers of peace and granted Francis and Illuminatus safe passage to Jerusalem, supplying them generously for the journey. But Cardinal Pelagio was undaunted in his desire for a complete and unilateral victory.

Francis received nothing of what he had set out to accomplish: Conversion of the Sultan, peace between the warring forces, or martyrdom in the attempt. And it profoundly changed him. The Christian forces were in as much need of conversion as the Muslims. In fact, Francis himself experienced a kind of deeper conversion. His quest for martyrdom had been leeched from him upon meeting the Sultan. The gospel need not be presented with belligerence or forcefully. It could be lived and preached with gentleness and reverence, recognizing the divine imprint in those considered heathen.

Francis used to greet everyone with the words, “May the Lord give you peace!” One might say that the central message of Francis’ life was not about poverty but about peace. He urged the brothers that they “must be careful not to be angry or disturbed at the sin of another, for anger and disturbance impede charity in [ourselves] and others.” How could people live in peace if they harbored ill will toward others? Whether it was broken shalom between humans and wolves, humans and each other or humans and God, Francis called everyone to lay down their weapons of superiority, power, and injustice and to pursue peace.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

II Cor. 13:11

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.