The Responses of Pope Nicholas I to the Questions of the Bulgarians

This publication offers a translation from the Latin into Russian of the letter of Pope Nicholas I in response to questions of the Bulgarian Tsar Boris, sent in 866, who was seeking to go under the jurisdiction of Rome. The text of the letter reflects the unfolding struggle between Rome and Constantinople for jurisdiction in Moravia and Bulgaria in the middle of the 9th century. The translated text is extremely interesting in the context of the study of preaching and the missionary activity of Sts Cyril and Methodius; international politics, including ecclesiastic politics, in the 9th century; the history of theological disputes during the time of Patriarch Photius and the history of the schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.