Anselm of Meissen was a priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 of the Teutonic Order and the first actual Bishop of Warmia (Varmia, Ermland, or Ermeland).

As his name suggests, Anselm originated from Meißen. He became a priest in or before 1245.

In Prussia, which was still mainly inhabited by heathen Old Prussians

Old Prussians

The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...

, the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia had been created in 1243 by the papal legate

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

 William of Modena

William of Modena

William of Modena , also known as William of Sabina, Guglielmo de Chartreaux, Guglielmo de Savoy, Guillelmus, was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat. He was frequently appointed a legate, or papal ambassador by the popes Honorius III and Gregory IX, especially in Livonia in the 1220s and in...

, along with bishoprics of Culm, Pomesania

Bishopric of Pomesania

The Bishopric of Pomesania was a diocese in the Prussian regions of Pomesania and Pogesania. It was founded as a Roman Catholic diocese in 1243 by the papal legate William of Modena. The bishops, whose seat was Riesenburg , possessed one-third of the bishopric's territory...

, and Samland

Bishopric of Samland

The Bishopric of Samland was a bishopric in Samland in medieval Prussia. It was founded as a Roman Catholic diocese in 1243 by papal legate William of Modena. Its seat was Königsberg, until 1523 the episcopal residence was in Fischhausen. The bishopric became Lutheran in the 16th century during...

. These four dioceses came under the rule of the appointed Archbishop of Prussia

Archbishop of Riga

The Archbishopric of Riga was an archbishopric in Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as the bishopric of Livonia at Üxküll, then after moving to Riga it became the bishopric of Riga in 1202 and was elevated to an archbishopric in 1255.- Archbishops of Riga :The...

. Several bishops at that time, including Anselm, were priests of the Teutonic Order which undertook the ongoing Prussian Crusade

Prussian Crusade

The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianize the pagan Old Prussians. Invited after earlier unsuccessful expeditions against the Prussians by Polish princes, the Teutonic Knights began campaigning...

 in the East.

Heinrich of Strateich, the first elected Bishop of Warmia, was unable to claim his office. On 28. August 1250 in Valenciennes

Valenciennes

Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...

 (Flanders), Anselm of Meissen was consacred by Petrus de Collemed (Pietro of Albano), and at least since 27. April 1251, Anselm was present in Warmia.

The bishop ruled one-third of his exempt bishopric also as a secular ruler for his support. His status as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire was confirmed in the Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV. The other part was governed by the Order, with the bishop having clerical jurisdiction there. The borders were drawn in 1254. This was confirmed by the Golden Bull of 1356

Golden Bull of 1356

The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...

. The chapter with 16 canons had the right to elect independently the bishop. It resided at Braunsberg (Braniewo), with the St. Andreas church having become the bishops cathedral in 1260. Following attacks by heathen Old Prussians

Old Prussians

The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...

 in 1262, the see was eventually moved to Frauenburg

Frombork

Frombork is a town in northern Poland, on the Vistula Lagoon, in Braniewo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It had a population of 2,528 as of 2005....

 in 1280 by Anselm's successor, Heinrich Fleming.

In 1261, Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...

 appointed Anselm as legate to Bohemia and Moravia, Riga, Gnesen and Salzburg

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of Vienna....

. Anselm recruited Germans from lower Germany, Moravia and Silesia to settle in Prussia. During the Prussian uprising, he remained in Silesia, and also performed duties there, in Reichenbach, Breslau and in Olmütz (Olomouc

Olomouc

Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...

).

Anselm died in 1278 in Elbing, where he was buried in the St. Anna chapel in the castle of Elbing.

Literature

• Catholic Encyclopedia
  Catholic Encyclopedia
  The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
  
   (1913) article on Ermland