TheChristianization of Moravia refers to the spread of the Christian religion in the lands of medievalMoravia (Great Moravia).

What modern historians designate asGreat Moravia was aSlavic state that existed in Central Europe from around 830 to the early 10th century. The territory of Great Moravia was originally evangelized by missionaries coming from theFrankish Empire orByzantine enclaves in Italy andDalmatia since the early 8th century and sporadically earlier.^[1][2] Thediocese of Passau was charged with establishing a church structure in Moravia.^[3] The first Christian church of the Western and Eastern Slavs known to the written sources was built in 828 byPribina, the ruler and Prince of thePrincipality of Nitra, although probably still a pagan himself, in his possession called Nitrava (todayNitra,Slovakia).^[4][5] The first Moravian ruler known by name,Mojmír I, was baptized in 831 byReginhar, Bishop of Passau.^[6] Due to internal struggles between Moravian rulers, Mojmir was deposed byRastislav in 846; as Mojmir was aligned with Frankish Catholicism, Rastislav asked for support from theByzantine Empire and aligned himself withEastern Orthodoxy.^[3]

Despite the formal endorsement by the elites, the Great Moravian Christianity was described as containing many pagan elements as late as in 852.^[7] The major milestone in the Christianization of Moravia is traditionally attributed to the influence of Byzantine missionary brothers,Saints Cyril and Methodius, who arrived in Moravia in the year 863.^[8] Cyril translated theliturgy and thepericopes into theSlavic language (their translation became the foundation of theOld Church Slavonic language), giving rise to the popularSlavic church, quickly surpassing the previously struggling Roman Catholic missions with their foreign German priests and Latin liturgy.^[3] A few years later, the nearbyDuchy of Bohemia wasalso converted, with its rulerBořivoj I baptised in 867.^[8] (the Christianization of Moravia would also affect Poland, whichwas Christianized a century later, and where Moravian missionaries were among the early evangelizers).^[9] Soon Rastislav succeeded in created a church independent of both the Germans and Constantinople, subordinated directly to theSee of Rome.^[3] Newdiocese of Pannonia was inaugurated, with Methodius as its first archbishop.^[3]

After the death of Rastislav successor,Svatopluk I (who expelled the disciples of Methodius from Moravia in 886 thus effectively ending the existence of Slavonic liturgy in his realm) Moravia was partitioned between its neighbours (Bohemia and Hungary) and the Slavic church went into decline, replaced by the churches better established in those other territories.^[10] Nevertheless, a number of expelled Slavic church clerics and scholars found refuge inBulgaria, where their teachings, liturgical and literacy traditions were successfully incorporated into the earlyBulgarian Orthodox Church and formed in great extent the medievalBulgarian culture.^[10]

• Christianization of the Slavs

• Hanuliak, Milan; Pieta, Karol (2014). "9th century movable material evidence of Christianisation in the eastern parts of Great Moravia".The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe: 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. pp. 138–151.ISBN 978-80-86023-51-9. OS LG 2023-08-18.
• Jaworski, Krzysztof (2014). "Christian Great Moravia and Silesian lands at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries".The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe: 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. pp. 172–181.ISBN 978-80-86023-51-9. OS LG 2023-08-18.
• Kouřil, Pavel (2014). "Archaeological evidence of Christianity in relics of material culture of the 9th and 10th centuries in Moravia with focus on crosses".The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe: 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. pp. 102–113.ISBN 978-80-86023-51-9. OS LG 2023-08-18.
• Měřínský, Zdeněk (2014). "Paganism and the origins of Christianity in Moravia and Silesia".The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe: 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. pp. 48–67.ISBN 978-80-86023-51-9. OS LG 2023-08-18.
• Žemlička, Josef (2014). "The Christianization and State Formation Process in Central Europe".The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe: 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. pp. 22–27.ISBN 978-80-86023-51-9. OS LG 2023-08-18.

• Cyrillus and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs. Christianization of Moravia, Bohemia and Poland., History of the Christian Church, Volume IV: Mediaeval Christianity. A.D. 590–1073.
• Great Moravia, Christanization of

• 863
• Great Moravia
• 9th-century Christianity
• History of Christianity in the Czech Republic
• Christianization of Europe

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata