After his father's death (before 972), Géza followed him as Grand Prince of the Magyars. Shortly afterwards, a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Sankt Gallen, Bruno, who had been ordained Bishop of the Magyars, arrived to his court where he baptised Géza. His Christian name was Stephen (Hungarian: István).
Although Géza probably never became a convinced Christian, during his rule Christianity began to spread among the Magyars. According to Thietmar of Merseburg, Géza continued to worship pagan gods; a chronicle claims that when he was questioned about this he stated he is rich enough to sacrifice to both the old gods and the new one.
In 973, twelve illustrious Magyar envoys, whom probably Géza had assigned, participated in the Diet held by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Kristó, Gyula - Makk, Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó, Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel, Pál és Makk, Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
References
^ His name was possibly "Gyeücsa" or "Gyécsa" in Old Hungarian.
^ The Gesta Hungarorum mentions that Géza's father married a woman "of the territories of the Cumans", but the Cumans had not crossed the Volga River before the 11th century.
