*) "Know, son," he says, "that all northern peoples have, as if by nature, an insatiable greed for wealth, as a result of which they constantly ask for things and for an insignificant matter demand a great reward. Therefore, if ever either the Khazars, or the Turks, or the Russians, or any other northern and Scythian peoples, as often happens, will ask about sending them imperial garments, crowns, or vestments, then you must make an excuse like this: 'these vestments and crowns were not made by human hand and were not invented by the human mind, but were given by God through an angel to Constantine the Great, so that they would be kept in the holy church of God, and it is permitted to use them only publicly and on a great feast of Jesus Christ, so that nothing of them may be given to anyone.' Finally, one should not enter into marriage alliances with these peoples." De administr. Imperio. 13. Stritter, Memoriae populorum 1, 624.
A. D. VORONOV,
Novia and Western, then without a doubt they could not stop St. Olga was also not stopped from religious relations with the West by other Slavic princes, such as, for example. Boris the Bulgarian. St. Olga, of course, looked at the Western Empire only as a Christian Empire and, without a doubt, was still unfamiliar with the spirit and direction that distinguished the Western Church and its missionaries. Olga could have sent an embassy specifically to Emperor Otto, and not to the pope: the embassy could also be important for political rapprochement with the empire, the charm of which attracted many Slavic princes, and on the other hand, all missionary activity of the West was then concentrated in the hands of the emperor, and not the pope, and in the 10th century, bishops and missionaries were sent and appointed not by the pope, but emperor. We consider it not superfluous to add that, according to some Western chronicles, Russian ambassadors are mentioned at the Diet of Emperor Otto II in 973, therefore much earlier than Vladimir became a direct neighbor of the Czech Republic.
In expressing this, we did not, however, think of rising above the assumptions that in our science are caused and justified by modern criticism of our ancient chronicle. The difficulty of rejecting the testimony of Western chroniclers is the main strength of this assumption. For our purpose, the result of the embassy is incomparably more important than the embassy itself. Whether it was really sent by Olga or was the work of Russian immigrants, be that as it may, there is no doubt that it was received by Emperor Otto very favorably (Epi&ne). An unexpected request from the ruler of the people, who inspired fear in Byzantium, from the Christian princess, who evaded the Byzantine Empire and asked for a bishop and presbyters from the German Empire, could not help but flatter the ambition of the German emperor and could give hope for acquiring a strong ally in the Russian people, not superfluous for the empire. The emperor was very happy (pshiiiiit daiiziz) 2) at this occasion and willingly granted the Russians’ request. On his instructions, the Archbishop of Bremen
') Batvgii appaim. Region II), 65. ') Ava. 8yaho ai av. 959.
ABOUT LATIN SERMONS IN KIEVAN Rus'.