From which empire did Russia receive its Orthodox Christian tradition?

• A. Byzantine Empire
• B. Ottoman Empire
• C. Roman Empire
• D. Persian Empire

Answer: (A)

Orthodox Christianity in Russia came from Byzantium. The eastern Roman Empire, centered in Constantinople, was the hub of Orthodox worship, theology, and church structure, and its influence spread into Rus' through the Christianizing mission of Byzantine missionaries and rulers. In 988, Kyiv’s rulers accepted Christianity in a form tied to Byzantine practices, embedding Byzantine liturgy, saints, and doctrinal patterns into Russian worship. The Russian church joined the broader Orthodox communion under the guidance of Constantinople, keeping its Greek-influenced rituals, iconography, and administrative style. Even after Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire, Russia’s spiritual lineage remained traced to Byzantium, not to the Ottoman leadership. The other options don’t fit because the Ottoman, Roman (in a Western sense), and Persian empires did not transmit the distinctive Orthodox tradition that shaped early Russian Christianity.