Equal-to-the-Apostles
Equal to the Apostles, Tsar Boris (Michael), Tsar of Bulgaria
ок. 835 — †907
Also known as: Борис-Михаил
Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Boris (baptized Michael) of Bulgaria — the baptizer of Bulgaria; he accepted Christianity in 864 from the Patriarch of Constantinople, secured the establishment of an independent Bulgarian archbishopric, and patronized the disciples of Sts. Cyril and Methodius; toward the end of his life he took monastic vows. He died in 907.
Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Boris, baptized Michael, ruled Bulgaria from 852. Seeing the salvation of his pagan people in enlightenment through the Christian faith, in 864 he was baptized together with his family and many boyars by the Patriarch of Constantinople; according to tradition, the sacrament of baptism was performed by St. Methodius. After the baptism, the pagan nobility conspired to kill the tsar who had abandoned the old faith, but the conspiracy was discovered and suppressed by the newly-baptized tsar, after which the Bulgarian people voluntarily accepted Christianity. Tsar Boris secured from Constantinople recognition of the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church, and after the disciples of Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius were expelled from Great Moravia, he received and generously patronized them in Bulgaria (Sts. Clement and Naum of Ohrid), thereby laying the foundations of Slavic literacy and worship in the Balkans. Toward the end of his life he abdicated the throne and took monastic tonsure. He died in 907. His memory is kept on May 2/15, and also within the Synaxis of Bulgarian Saints.