Page "Christian of Oliva" Paragraph 2

Christian was born about 1180 in the Duchy of Pomerania, possibly in the area of Chociwel ( according to Johannes Voigt ).

Probably as a juvenile he joined the Cistercian Order at newly established Kołbacz ( Kolbatz ) Abbey and in 1209 entered Oliwa Abbey near Gdańsk, founded in 1178 by the Samboride dukes of Pomerelia.

At this time the Piast duke Konrad I of Masovia with the consent of Pope Innocent III had started the first of several unsuccessful Prussian Crusades into the adjacent Chełmno Land and Christian acted as a missionary among the Prussians east of the Vistula River.

In 1215 he is recorded as abbot of Łekno Abbey near Gniezno in Greater Poland, most but not all authors identify him with Godfrey of Łękno.