Kievan Rus

East & Central Europe

• Poles, Czechs, Hungarians were all converted to Christianity by German Monks

• Eastern Slavic people were converted to Orthodox Christianity by two Byzantine missionary brothers; Cyril & Methodius

• Croats, Serbs, & Bulgarians were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy

St. Cyril and St. Methodius

Early Byzantine Influences:Early Byzantine Influences:Cyrillic AlphabetCyrillic Alphabet

Byzantine missionaries, Cyril and Methodius sent to convert eastern Europe and the Balkans created the script

Kievan Rus

• Oleg, Viking leader, settled in Kiev at the beginning of 10th century & created principality of Kiev

• Oleg successors expanded Kiev until it reached territory between Baltic & Black Seas, & Danube & Volga rivers

• Vikings married Slavic wives & gradually assimilated into the Slavic population

Rulers of the Kievan Rus Vladimir I (980)

(980) Vladimir I – Extremely war-like ruler of Kiev. Invited missionaries from Judaism, Islam and Christianity to offer reasons for conversion.Married the Byzantine emperor’s sister.Brought Christianity and Greco-Roman civilization to Russia.

Vladimir I ChoseEastern Orthodoxy

Early Byzantine Influences:Early Byzantine Influences:Orthodox ChristianityOrthodox Christianity

Expansion of Byzantine culture northward was through conversion of Kiev to Orthodox Christianity

Influenced by Byzantine Politics

• Russia adopted the concept of divinely inspired monarchy with close relations to state-controlled church

• Were unable to adopt the Byzantine trained bureaucracy however

Byzantine Influence on Russia

• Government– Autocracy– Czar (Tsar)

Byzantine Influence on Russia

• Architecture– Onion Dome

St. Basil’s Cathedral Moscow