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What is significant is that the Life of Constantine goes οn to say that 'when the Pope was informed about him [Cyril], he sent and asked for him';<¹⁰> which means that Cyril did not originally intend to go to Rome, but did so at the Pope's invitation. When he reached Rome, however, he was received not by Nicholas, but by his successor, Hadrian II, who was well disposed towards him. Had it not been for the invitation, he would have gone to Constantinople. Indeed, what the two brothers failed to do then, Methodius did alone fifteen years later, when Photius was again Patriarch.

The truth is that Photius's role is not completely ignored, but is referred to obliquely. The Life of Constantine states, for instance, that Photius was Cyril's teacher, a reference which was considered harmless: 'Constantine learned dialectics and all the branches of philosophy under Leo and Photius.<¹¹> The Life of Methodius mentions towards the end that 'the Patriarch also acted in a similar way':<¹²> that is, he received Methodius in Constantinople, approved his teaching, gave him sumptuous gifts, and sent him οn his way back to his archbishopric. The Patriarch was Photius. During this meeting, not only did Photius and the Archbishop of Moravia see eye to eye οn all matters, but, learning of the teaching of the filioque, the former was also persuaded to enter the lists against it.

It is in this indirect, allusive fashion that the two biographers in fact give Photius all his due, from the start to the finish of the mission. And all this leaves no doubt that Photius did indeed not merely participate in organizing the mission to Moravia and the other Slavonic countries, but played, in effect, the most important part.

Byzantium was faced with a request from Rastislav, who had probably been encouraged to make it by people from Constantinople who had been working in Moravia for some time. The Prince asked for a bishop and teacher, whο would be able to teach them the true Christian faith in their οwn language and bring them the 'good law'. The Emperor granted the request at once by sending two teachers, one of whom was to become Archbishop of Moravia. Now, how could he have done this if the preconditions had not existed? 

What was actually needed, apart from a teacher with a knowledge of the language, was an alphabet adapted to the specific phonetic features of Slavonic, the creation of theological and ecclesiastical terminology in Slavonic, and translations of the basic books of worship and instruction. This was a difficult task in respect of an unwritten and unformed language, which lacked words and expressions to convey notions that simply did not exist for a culturally underdeveloped people.

The missionaries took all this to Moravia; and it was, beyond doubt, the product of many years of preparation. This preparation could have been carried out only under the aegis of the Church and at some special center for Slavonic studies, which was probably located in the School of the Holy Apostles. And the motivating force behind it all was the Patriarch, Photius.

Ιn conclusion, therefore, we may say that: a) the two brothers were sent into Europe by the Patriarch and the Emperor together, Photius providing what was required from the theological and religious point of view, and Michael ΙΙΙ granting political and material protection; and b) that their mission had both religious and cultural aims.