Of major importance in the history
and development of Orthodoxy was the conversion of the Slavs and the shifting
of the focus of the Church to the northern regions of Bulgaria,
Serbia, Moravia, Romania, and then Russia. In the middle of the 9th Century, Patriarch Photius initiated
large scale missionary labors in these regions by sending out the two brothers
Constantine (in monasticism Cyril — 1869) and Methodius (885 — both are
commemorated May 11), first to the Khazar State north of the Caucasus (this was
largely unsuccessful) and then to Moravia (Czechoslovakia) in 863.
The Prince of Moravia, Rostislav,
desired that his people hear the Word of God in their own language and the two
brothers were apt missionaries in this respect as they had developed an
alphabet, adapted from the Greek, which later was called Cyrillic (after St.
Cyril). Using a local Macedonian dialect which they had heard near their
birthplace of Thessalonica, the brothers began translating the liturgical
books, Holy Scripture, etc., into this dialect, using the new alphabet which
they had developed. This new liturgical language — Church Slavonic — became of
crucial importance in the extension of the Orthodox faith into the Balkans and
ultimately to Russia. This was so, since, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, which
continued to insist on the use of Latin, the use of Church Slavonic allowed the
new converts to hear the Gospel and the services in a language they could
understand.
The Mission to Moravia was
ultimately doomed to failure because of the jealousy and persecution of German
missionaries working in the same area. The brothers traveled to Rome (where St.
Cyril died)”and placed themselves under the protection of the Pope, but this
was not honored by the Germans in Moravia and after
the death of St. Methodius in 885, his followers were expelled from the
country.
The missionary labors of Cyril and
Methodius were not in vain, however, for their disciples were successful in Serbia, Romania
and Bulgaria. Led by St. Clement of Ochrid (commemorated November 25), the missionaries were
successful and in 869, Tsar Boris of Bulgaria
himself was baptized. The Bulgarian Church grew rapidly and about 926, under
Tsar Simeon, an independent Patriarchate was established there, recognized by
Constantinople in 927 (although later suppressed), and the Bulgarian Church
became the first national Slavic Church.
The missionaries were likewise successful
in Serbia and with the baptism of Prince Mutimir († 891), Serbia
became officially Christian. After a period of vacillation between East and
West, Serbia came under the sway of Constantinople. Under St. Sava († 1237 — commemorated January 12),
the Serbian Church became partially independent with his consecration in 1219
as Archbishop of Serbia, and in 1346 a Serbian Patriarchate was established
with the consecration of Bishop Ioannikios, recognized by Constantinople in
1375.
Missionaries from Bulgaria traveled
to the Romanian lands and by the end of the 9th Century portions of the
Romanian people had been Christianized, adopting the Slavonic Liturgy, but it
was not really until the rise of the Wallachian — Moldavian principalities in
the 14th Century that the Church actually began to thrive. In 1359 a Wallachian
Metropolitan was appointed by Constantinople to the new See of Argesin the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps and in 1401,
the Romanian Metropolitan of Suceava in Moldavia
was recognized by Constantinople.
The missionaries had also penetrated
into Croatia, Dalmatia, Illyria, Bosnia and Montenegro, but these areas were, for the most part, under the influence and
control of the Latin West during this period.