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The Conversion of Russia

Institute of Catholic Culture

When Saint Vladimir the Great, Prince of Kiev, sent his ambassadors to find a religion for his people, they visited the Muslims of Bulgaria and welcomed Jewish envoys, but only when beholding the beauty of the Divine Liturgy at Constantinople did they proclaim: “We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty.”