Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, took credit for having assisted in the conversion of the Russians about 864, with the aid of the missionaries. But the new doctrine took no visible root till 955, when the then ruling Queen, Olga, resolved to visit Constantinople. Constantine Porphyrogenitus is said to have received her with great pomp, and her vanity was gratified with titles, banquets, and presents. She openly professed to be baptised along with her retinue of domestics, ministers, and leading merchants. On her return to Kion and Novgorod, she persisted in her new religion, but her family and nation remained obstinate and indifferent. Her example, however, was long appealed to by a few, and the Greek missionaries worked with zeal and led the people to imitate the dome of St. Sophia, with its pictures of saints and martyrs, the pomp of priestly vestments and ceremonies. A little later, in 968, the marriage of King Wolodomor with a Roman bride gave a fresh impulse to Christian zeal; and the god of thunder, the chief Pagan deity, was dragged through the streets, battered with clubs, and thrown into the sea. Other relics of Paganism soon followed, and a broad foundation was laid for the culture of Christian rites. BISHOP OTTO IN POMERANIA (A.D. 1124). Bishop Otto, of Bamberg, was induced in 1124 to set out as a missionary to Pomerania. Amid the difficulties caused by the Pagan superstitions, a mob in Stettin was incited by the native priests to destroy the Christian church and all who were assembled in it. Otto was not alarmed, but by his calm confidence and courage reassured his band of followers. After commending himself and his friends in prayer to God, he went forth in his episcopal robes in the midst of the clergy, who bore before him the crucifix and relics, singing psalms and hymns. The calmness of the bishop confounded the raging multitude for a while. A stout priest, of portly stature and sonorous voice, tried to inflame the fury of the Pagans and incite them to vengeance. But Otto's venerable appearance, at the head of a company of believers, enabled them to proceed without further difficulty in consecrating a church and founding a permanent society of Christian worshippers. NORBERT DENOUNCING CLERICAL VICES (A.D. 1134).