Ecclesiastical Relations of the Lower Danube and the South-Western Crimea in the Early Byzantine Period

P. 37–42.

Vinogradov A.

This paper is dedicated to the little-
studied problem of ecclesiastical relations
between the Lower Danube and the south-western
Crimea in the early Byzantine period. Based on
the analysis of various sources, two clear types of
ecclesiastical links between these regions have been
identified. The first is the role of the ecclesiastical
province of Scythia at the early stage of the formation
of the bishopric of Chersonesus, as well as in
the further development of the local legend about
the origin of the Church of Cherson in the Lives of
the Bishops of Cherson. The second is the borrowing
of Wulfila’s script from the Lower Danube by
the Goths of the Crimea: at first, apparently, in the
Bosporus, and then in the south-western Crimea.
In none of these cases was the influence of the
Lower Danube and Scythia direct, both regions
being involved in imperial projects and paradigms.
However, this did not prevent the emergence of the
idea of their unity, including for the Church.

Keywords: goths, chersonesos

Publication based on the results of: Language, literature and culture in historical and social perspective (2025)

In book

A Danubio ad Gothiam. La christianisation du nord-ouest de la mer Noire dans l’Antiquité tardive – The Christianization of the North-Western Black Sea during Late Antiquity

Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2025.