THE CONFRONTATION OF THE BAVARIAN AND CYRILLO-METHODIAN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN THE LAND OF THE MOJMIR DYNASTY OF THE SECOND HALF OF THEIX th CENTURY

Abstract

On the border of VIII–IX^th centuries the missionary activity of monks of the Bavarian dioceses of Salzburg, Passau and Regensburg in the lands of the Eastern mark and, in particular, on the territory of the Middle Danube, in the later possessions of the Moravian Mojmir dynasty, became so grandiose. Because of this reason it was necessary for the Carolingians administratively to divide the territories of their ecclesiastical jurisdiction and vectors of missionary activities. The Bavarian monastic mission has spread into the lands of the Mojmir dynasty – to the Great Moravia, where the church jurisdiction of the Passau episcopate was established. However, activity of the Passau missionaries soon faced with resistance of the ruling elite of Moravia, personified by the prince Rastislav, who was striving for the political and church independence from the Eastern Frankish kingdom. Therefore, Rastislav found an alternative source of clergy in the Eastern Roman Empire. That’s way according to the latest thesis the article is devoted to the problem of church-religious antagonism of two evangelistic missions – the Bavarian, represented by the clergy of several Bavarian eparchies of Salzburg, Pa­ssau and Regensburg on the one side and the Cyril-Methodian mission, personified by the Thessalonian missionaries-brothers Cyril and Methodius on the other side in the possessions of the Mojmir dynasty and their Danubian provinces. The article reveals the period of the greatest flourishing of the Great Moravia of the 860s – 880s.

By the way of analysis of a wide range of chronicles and annals of the XI–XV^th centuries, the hagio­graphies of St. Cyril, Methodius and St. Naum, the codes of laws of the VIII–IX^th centuries, credential material from the chancellery of the Carolingians, obituaries, and also the epistolary texts of several Roman pontiffs, the author highlights the diplomatic, church-dogmatic and church-legal aspects of the religious confrontation of the mentioned missions on the background of military-political contradictions between the rulers of Eastern Frankish kingdom and the Great Moravia. The author emphasizes, that Thessalonian brothers, invited by Rastislav, had launched their missionary and educational activity in Moravian lands on the background of the military-political and religious confrontation between the Carolingians and the Mojmiroviches.

Some diplomatic aspects of the conflict are investigated in the article. The author consider that exactly under the direct patronage of the Popes Hadrianus II and Iohannes VIII and thanks to their diplomatic activity Cyril and Methodius, in spite of the resistance of the Bavarian episcopate, organized the holy liturgy in the Slavic language in the territory of Moravia and Pannonia and secured the establishment of a separate archbishopric for these territories. Considerable attention is also paid to the problem of possible cooperation between representatives of the Bavarian clergy and followers of archbishop Methodius, as well as to the problem of contradiction of the church-legal nature.

The author comes to conclusion that the problem of religious confrontation between the Bavarian mission and the mission of St. Cyril and Methodius broke out not only in the diplomatic and church-dogmatic areas (discussions about the formulation of Filioque and the problem of choosing of language for the liturgy), but also acquired a bright legal coloration, especially in the last stages of the outlined mission.

Exactly the severity of secular and church punishments of the Cyril-Methodian mission along with the constant pressure of the Bavarian clergy, became determinative in changing of the vector of religious policy by the Moravian prince Svatopluk and his further recognition of the church jurisdiction of the Episcopate of Passau.

Keywords: The Archbishopric of Salzburg, the Bishopric of Passau, the Diocese of Regensburg, Cyril, Methodius, Wiching, Great Moravia, Christian mission.