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The Slavs admired Byzantine civilization. Around 900 A.D., two monks or
members of a religious order, began to preach to the Slavs. The monks,
Cyril and Methodius, converted many Slavs to Christianity. The Slavs had
no written language. The monks invented an alphabet for their spoken
language. This alphabet is called the Cyrillic alphabet. Byzantine
Christianity helped bring the people of Eastern Europe together. The Slavs
accepted the Eastern Orthodox Church, the religion of the Byzantines.
However, most of the rest of Europe belonged to the Roman Catholic
Church. This difference isolated the Slavs from the rest of Europe.
King Vladimir I, a Rurik descendant who ruled from 980 to 1015, finally
took the step of converting to Christianity not only in his own name but in
that of all his people. He was eager to avoid the papal influence that came
with Roman Catholicism, which he knew about through the experiences of
the Polish kingdom; Orthodox Christianity gave a valid alternative that still
provided a replacement for animism. Islam was rejected, according to one
account, because Vladimir could not accept a religion that forbade alcoholic
drink. Russian awe at the splendor of religious services in Constantinople
also played a role. Having made his decision, Vladimir proceeded to
organize mass baptisms for his subjects, forcing conversions by military
pressure. Early church leaders were imported from Byzantium, and they
helped train a literate Russian priesthood. As in Byzantium, the king
characteristically controlled major appointments, and a separate Russian
church institution soon developed.
Questions:
1- Why was Kiev a prosperous city?
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2- Why did the Byzantine Empire strongly influence Russia?
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3- Why did King Vladimir reject Roman Catholicism?
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4- Why did King Vladimir reject Islam?
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5- How did King Vladimir “encourage” Russian conversions?
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