Wpływ średniowiecznej kultury południowosłowiańskiej na wschodnią i zachodnią Słowiańszczyznę

The Orthodox trend in Polish culture has not been fully appreciated yet. Usually, when speaking about the Orthodox Church in Poland, we connect it with religious centers, first of all in Constantinople and then in Moscow.Most scholars seem to forget that Orthodox culture does not stem from these centers only. Exceptionally important centers are still underestimated; these include the Holy Mount of Athos, Bulgaria, and later also Serbia, while in separate cases even East Christian centers such as Palestine, Egypt (Sinai), Syria, Antioch and Cappadocia played their roles. Quite often South Slavic countries not only acted as intermediaries in the transfer of Byzantine culture to Eastern and Western Slavic lands but also participated actively in the process of creating a common Orthodox and Slavic culture.The paper seeks to demonstrate that during the Middle Ages there were seldom direct relations between the eastern regions of Poland and Western Russia (Ruthenia) and Constantinople, they were rather mediated by or with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.This aspect is illustrated by examples from the history of the Orthodox Church, of medieval literature and church architecture, and by examples of the spread of worship of East Slavic saints in the territory of Poland.