International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

LIFE AND WORKS OF PHOTIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE
Conveners: 
Filippo Ronconi
, 
Marcello Garzaniti
Marcello Garzaniti
, 
The Photian Missionary Project
Filippo Ronconi
, 
Les lunettes de Photius : un savant byzantin et ses livres entre ‘ancienne’ et ‘nouvelle’ histoire
Alessandra Bucossi
, 
Prolegomena to the Edition of the So-Called 
Contra Veteris Romae Asseclas
(PG 102, 392–400)
Juan Signes Codoñer
,
 
Towards a Classification of the Works of Photius
Bastien Kindt
, 
« e-Photios Myriobiblos », une version digitale de la 
Bibliothèque
de Photios
Federico Montinaro
, 
On Photios and Anastasius the Librarian: 
The ‘Heresy of the Two Souls’ and the Two Tales of the Council of Constantinople of 867
Jacques Schamp
, 
Un programme philosophique pour un cercle de lecture
Silvia Ronchey, 
Presentazione dell’edizione italiana della 
Biblioteca
di Fozio curata da L. Canfora
Silvia Tessari
, 
Photius as Hymnographer. A Problematic Identity behind the Name

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Marcello Garzaniti
University of Florence, Florence, Italy; 
[e-mail]
The Photian Missionary Project
In the second half of the 9
th
century the Byzantine empire followed carefully the evolving 
geopolitical situation. In the Middle East, Constantinople was committed to defending the rights 
of Christian communities under the yoke of Islam in an intense polemic with Islam, while in the 
West was going slow, but inexorable the muslim conquest of Sicily. On the international chessboard, 
the Byzantine curia was aware of the important role of the peoples of the steppes, beginning with 
the Khazars, who not only controlled the Volga basin, but were trying to expand their influence as 
far as the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula. In Byzantium there was great concern about the 
Carpathian and Balkan inland, opened to Central Europe and to the Danube area, which marked 
the old boundaries of the Roman empire. There the Carolingian Empire was proceeding with 
determination its work of colonization and christianization, particularly along the river Danube. 
Meanwhile, the Roman papacy had resumed the initiative beyond the Adriatic and the Holy See 
planned to take again control of Illyricum, converting the barbaric peoples and reorganizing the 
Roman church in the territory.
After coming to the patriarchal throne in 858, Photius, supported by the imperial curia, drew up 
a complex missionary plan, which was to have a universal character, ecumenical in the etymological 
sense of the word, and was to restore Constantinople, the Second Rome, to its historical role. In this 
project the conversion of the Slavs to Christianity would counterbalance the Germanic peoples’ 
adherence to Western Christianity. A leading role in this project was to be played by Photius’s “close 
friend” Constantine-Cyril. The constitution of the Macedonian
 
theme and the administration of 
sclaviniae
prepared this project. Since Constantine-Cyrill’s brother Methodius had held the office of 
archon in a 
sclavinia
for a long time, he was inevitably involved in the process of Christianizing the 
Slavs in the Byzantine Empire.
An exposition of Photius’s theological reflection with missionary purpose can be found in 
the Letter addressed to khan Boris, written between 864 and 866. After a brief introduction on the 
“salvation of the soul”, the Letter contains an exposition of the Nicene creed and the history of the 
seven councils. In the second part the patriarch offers some reflections on moral and some advice 
on good governance.
In the circle of Photios few years later was composed the Soterios, a Greek anthology, which 
has a structure similar to the Letter, but with a much more complex articulation. In our opinion this 
work is a key witness to the theological reflection at the basis of the Byzantine missionary project. 
The Slavic version of Soterios, whose oldest witness is the 
Izbornik 1073
, dates back to the age of 
Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria but may be connected to Cyrillo-Methodian mission, in particular to the 
activity of Methodius, Archbishop of Moravia. The work is not a simple catechesis addressed to 
neophytes, but a collection of complex theological texts that come from the most classic tradition 
of patristic thought, and could represent an extraordinarily useful tool for the formation of the 
missionary clergy.

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