Catholic Bulgaria

Theres tons of threads about Vladimir of Kiev converting to a religion other than Orthodoxy, so how about something else to switch it up:

WI Boris I of Bulgaria converts to Catholicism?
 
That's very possible. The Bulgarians and the Byzantines were heated rivals for centuries so it is a reasonable what if. IRL, the Bulgarians were leaning towards the Latin Rite, but were won over to the Greek Rite when the Patriarch of Constantinople unexpectedly threw in a Patriarchate for the Bulgarians. Since a Patriarchate was more prestigious than an Archbishopric, which the Pope was offering, the Bulgarians decided to go with Constantinople instead of Rome.
 
WI Boris I of Bulgaria converts to Catholicism?

Bulgaria becomes more of a flashpoint between Rome and Constantinople than it was in OTL: I suspect that if Emperors attempt to conquer the Bulgars, they'll face stern opposition from the Papacy. The Bulgarians themselves meanwhile will never adopt the quasi-Byzantine culture that they did in OTL in the tenth century, it's very likely "Tsar" will never become the title of Slavic monarchs ITTL. Also, I'd expect the Byzantines to redouble their efforts to convert the Serbs, Croats, Magyars and Pechenegs, to provide themselves with plenty of allies to face off against Catholic Bulgaria. Finally, if the Byzantines have occupied Bulgaria by the time the West starts to get its act together in the later eleventh century, they may face something resembling a First Crusade against them.
 
Part of the problem is that the area the Bulgars conquered had been Byzantine and the peasants were all Orthodox.

Yes, life got crazy, and the population ended up being replaced by Slavs, but the Orthodox had feet on the ground. The Catholics didn't.

If Boris (and the 'Bulgar' rulers) converted to Catholicism, I suspect that would hurt the legitimacy of the government, and make it easier for the Byzantines to take and hold. Or a different barbarian tribe that was Orthodox would take over... (Note that, in the West, none of the Arian Goth and Vandal states survived, whereas the Catholic Franks did.)
 
Uh, the Vandals and Gothic states were conquered by the (Eastern) Roman Empire. Also, the religion of the peasants isn't nearly as important as the religion of the nobles, clergy, along with the tiny minority of merchants. The Lombards ruled in Italy for centuries before converting to Catholicism. The Muslims ruled Egypt for centuries as a minority over Coptic Christians. Religion of the peasants only became in issue during civil war when one side would use it as a rallying cry. Besides, the peasants aren't going to notice too much the differences between the Latin Rite and the Greek Rite. The peasants of England didn't notice too much when Henry and Edward created the Anglican Church.
 
Theres tons of threads about Vladimir of Kiev converting to a religion other than Orthodoxy, so how about something else to switch it up:

WI Boris I of Bulgaria converts to Catholicism?

but having a catholic bulgaria will also result to a catholic romania right?
 

Philip

Donor
The Lombards ruled in Italy for centuries before converting to Catholicism.

That's not really a model of stability. Further, the comparison is flawed. The Germanic Arians that remain Arian did so (in part) to keep the ruling class separate from the Nicene population. They did not try to convert their subjects. (The Vandals did try to convert theirs, but that only brought instability.) It seems highly unlikely that Latin Bulgars are going to leave their Constantinople-favoring population alone.

The Muslims ruled Egypt for centuries as a minority over Coptic Christians.

The analogy does not hold. The Copts were happy to free of Constantinople when the Muslims arrived in Egypt. The Orthodox population of the Balkans will in no way see Catholic Bulgarians as liberators.

Besides, the peasants aren't going to notice too much the differences between the Latin Rite and the Greek Rite.

This is a joke, right? You might want to look into the history of the Eastern Church and the role the 'peasants' played in accepting and rejecting changes in the hierarchy.
 
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