Christianization of Bulgaria
Khan Boris I was baptized by clergy from Constantinople, taking the name Michael, and made Christianity the religion of Bulgaria; after bargaining between Rome and Constantinople he won an autonomous Bulgarian church.
- Date
- 864year known
- Place
- Pliskatoday: Pliska, Shumen Province, Bulgaria · Balkans and Anatolia
- Participants
- Boris I of Bulgaria, First Bulgarian Empire, Byzantine Empire
- Threads
- Early medieval Europe (500–1000)
- Also known as
- Baptism of Bulgaria; Baptism of Boris I; Крещение Бориса
Pressed by famine and a Byzantine invasion, Boris agreed in 864 to accept Christianity from Constantinople in exchange for peace and territory. In the late autumn a mission sent by Patriarch Photios baptized the khan, his family and his nobles at Pliska; his godfather was Emperor Michael III, whose name he took. A revolt of the pagan aristocracy in 865–866 was crushed, and members of 52 noble families were executed.
Wishing for a church of his own, Boris sent 115 questions to Pope Nicholas I in 866 and briefly admitted Latin clergy, but in 870 a council in Constantinople assigned Bulgaria to the Byzantine Church with an archbishop of its own. From 886 Boris welcomed the disciples of Methodius, and in 893 Slavonic replaced Greek as the language of the Bulgarian church and state.
Connections
Consequences
- Golden Age of Bulgaria under Simeon I893 – 27 May 927 · Balkans and AnatoliaThe Council of Preslav completed the conversion begun by Boris
Related events
- First Christianization of the Rus’between 860 and 867 · Eastern EuropePatriarch Photios’ missions of the 860s reached both the Bulgarians and the Rus’
- Mission of Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia863 – 6 April 885 · Western and Central EuropeBoth missions of the 860s were part of the rivalry of Rome and Constantinople for the Slavs
Same participants
- Second Arab siege of Constantinoplebetween 15 July and 15 August 717 – 15 August 718 · Balkans and Anatoliavia First Bulgarian Empire
- Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basinbetween 894 and 895 – 907 · Western and Central Europevia First Bulgarian Empire
Adjacent events in the thread
- Treaty of VerdunAugust 843 · Western and Central Europe
- Great Heathen Army in England865–878 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Great Heathen Army in England865–878
- Mission of Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia863 – 6 April 885
Eastern Europe
- First Christianization of the Rus’between 860 and 867
- Calling of the Varangians862
- Askold and Dir rule in Kyiv862–882
- The Khazar rulers adopt Judaismbetween 740 and 861
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Christianization of Bulgaria
- Wikipedia (English): Boris I of Bulgaria
- Wikipedia (Russian): Крещение Болгарии
- Wikipedia (Russian): Борис I
- Fine J. V. A. The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. — Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1983.
- Wikidata: Q1281955