The significance of Tsar Boris and the disciples of Cyril and Methodius for the spiritual and political rise of the Bulgarian state was immense.

The painting “The Baptism of Tsar Boris into the Christian Faith and His Adoption of the Name Michael” depicts the secret ceremony at which Photius, the elderly Patriarch of the Byzantine Church, initiated the Bulgarian ruler into the Orthodox Christian faith.

Because he wished to avoid political unrest and opposition, the Tsar accepted Christianity in secret. It is known that in 864 he sent a delegation of several Bulgarian dignitaries to Byzantium, where they were baptised during their visit.

Since Patriarch Photius was the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church at the time, it was most likely he who performed the baptismal ceremony for the Bulgarian ruler. Emperor Michael became his godfather.