ABSTRACT
A prejudiced opinion of the kind is largely due to ignorance, in Western Europe, of the actual missionary work carried out by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Orthodox missionary work among the Germanic peoples has been largely forgotten. The most important missionary work among the Goths was undertaken by the Arian Church of Asia Minor. The success of Bishop Wulfila's missionary work was due above all to his translation of the Bible into Gothic. During the first spread of Islam, during the time of the Mongol hordes in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and again since the establishment of Turkish rule, these churches were subject to such violent persecution that the once flourishing Christian communities were almost wiped out. The Orthodox religion of the Russian settlers became established not only as a set of religious ideas, but also as a way of life. The Mongols continued to observe the tenets of Great Yasa in their relations toward the Orthodox Church.
