Saints Cyril and Methodius

Saints Cyril and Methodius

"Saints Cyril and Methodius holding the Cyrillic alphabet," a mural by Bulgarian icon-painter Z. Zograf, 1848, Troyan Monastery
Bishops and Confessors; Equals to the Apostles; Patrons of Europe; Apostles to the Slavs
Born 826 or 827 and 815
Thessaloniki, Byzantine Empire (present-day Greece)
Died 14 February 869(869-02-14) and 6 April 885(885-04-06)
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Macedonian Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
Anglican Communion
Lutheran Church
Feast 14 February (present Roman Catholic calendar); 5 July (Roman Catholic calendar 1880-1886); 7 July (Roman Catholic calendar 1887-1969)
11 May[1] (Eastern Orthodox Church)
5 July (Czech Republic and Slovakia), 24 May in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia
Attributes brothers depicted together; Eastern bishops holding up a church; Eastern bishops holding an icon of the Last Judgment[2] Often, Cyril is depicted wearing a monastic habit and Methodius vested as a bishop with omophorion.
Patronage Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic (including Bohemia, and Moravia), Ecumenism, unity of the Eastern and Western Churches, Europe, Slovakia[2]

Saints Cyril and Methodius (Greek: Κύριλλος καὶ Μεθόδιος, Old Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи[more]) were two Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they received the title "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe the Old Church Slavonic language.[21] After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. Both brothers are venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as saints with the title of "Equals to the Apostles". In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patrons of Europe, together with Saint Benedict of Nursia.[6]

Contents

Early career

Early life

The two brothers were born in Thessaloniki - Cyril in 827-828 and Methodius in 815-820. Cyril was reputedly the youngest of seven brothers, according to the "Vita Cyrilli" ("The Life of Cyril"). Their father was Leo, a droungarios of the Byzantine theme of Thessaloniki, and their mother was Maria, who may have been a Slav.[22]

The two brothers lost their father when Cyril was only fourteen, and the powerful minister Theoktistos became their protector. Theoktistos was at the time logothetes tou dromou, one of the chief ministers of the Empire. He was also responsible, along with the regent Bardas, for initiating a far-reaching educational program within the Empire which culminated in the establishment of the University of Magnaura, where Cyril was to teach.

Missions in Middle East

Cyril's mastery of theology and command of both Arabic and Hebrew made him eligible for his first state mission. He was sent to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil to discuss the principle of the Holy Trinity with the Arab theologians, and to improve relations between the Caliphate and the Empire.

Cyril also took an active role in relations with the other two monotheistic religions, Islam and Judaism. He penned fiercely anti-Jewish polemics, perhaps connected with his mission to the Khazar Khaganate, a state located near the Sea of Azov ruled by a Jewish king who allowed Jews, Muslims, and Christians to live peaceably side by side. He also undertook a mission to the Arabs with whom, according to the "Vita", he held discussions. He is said to have learned the Hebrew, Samaritan and Arabic languages during this period.

The second mission (860) requested by the Byzantine Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius (a professor of Cyril's at the University and his guiding light in earlier years) was a missionary expedition to the Khazar Khagan in order to prevent the expansion of Judaism there. This mission was unsuccessful, as later the Khagan imposed Judaism to his people as the national religion. It has been claimed that Methodius also accompanied Cyril on the mission to the Khazars, but this is probably a later invention. The account of his life presented in the Latin "Legenda" claims that he also learned the Khazar language while in Chersonesos, in Taurica (today Crimea).

After his return to Constantinople, Cyril assumed the role of professor of philosophy at the University while his brother had by this time become a significant player in Byzantine political and administrative affairs, and an abbot of his monastery.

Mission to the Slavs

Great Moravia

Cyril and Methodius, painting by Jan Matejko, 1885.
The monument in Kiev
The monument in Khanty-Mansiysk
The monument in Ohrid

In 862, both brothers were to enter upon the work which gives them their historical importance. That year the Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia requested that the Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch Photius send missionaries to evangelize his Slavic subjects. His motives in doing so were probably more political than religious. Rastislav had become king with the support of the Frankish ruler Louis the German, but subsequently sought to assert his independence from the Franks. It is a common misconception that Cyril and Methodius were the first to bring Christianity to Moravia, but the letter from Rastislav to Michael III states clearly that Rastislav's people "had already rejected paganism and adhere to the Christian law."[23] Rastislav is said to have expelled missionaries of the Roman Church and instead turned to Constantinople for ecclesiastical assistance and, presumably, a degree of political support.[23] The Emperor quickly chose to send Cyril, accompanied by his brother Methodius, stating "You two are from Thessaloniki, and all Thessalonians speak pure Slavonic".[24] The request provided a convenient opportunity to expand Byzantine influence, and the task was entrusted to Cyril and Methodius. Their first work seems to have been the training of assistants. In 863, they began the task of translating the Bible into the language now known as Old Church Slavonic and travelled to Great Moravia to promote it. They enjoyed considerable success in this endeavour. However, they came into conflict with German ecclesiastics who opposed their efforts to create a specifically Slavic liturgy.

For the purpose of this mission, they devised the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet to be used for Slavonic manuscripts. The Glagolitic alphabet was suited to match the specific features of the Slavic language and its descendant alphabet, the Cyrillic Alphabet, is still used by many languages today.[23]

They also translated Christian texts for Slavs into the language that is now called Old Church Slavonic and wrote the first Slavic Civil Code, which was used in Great Moravia. The language derived from Old Church Slavonic, known as Church Slavonic, is still used in liturgy by several Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.

It is impossible to determine with certainty what portions of the Bible the brothers translated. The New Testament and the Psalms seem to have been the first, followed by other lessons from the Old Testament. The "Translatio" speaks only of a version of the Gospels by Cyril, and the "Vita Methodii" only of the "evangelium Slovenicum," though other liturgical selections may also have been translated.

Nor is it known for sure which liturgy, that of Rome or that of Constantinople, they took as a source. They may well have used the Roman alphabet, as suggested by liturgical fragments which adhere closely to the Latin type. This view is confirmed by the "Prague Fragments" and by certain Old Glagolitic liturgical fragments brought from Jerusalem to Kiev and there discovered by Saresnewsky—probably the oldest document for the Slavonic tongue; these adhere closely to the Latin type, as is shown by the words "Mass," "Preface," and the name of one Felicitas. In any case, the circumstances were such that the brothers could hope for no permanent success without obtaining the authorization of Rome.

Journey to Rome

Saints Cyril and Methodius in Rome, fresco in San Clemente

In 867, Pope Nicholas I invited the brothers to Rome. Their evangelizing mission in Moravia had by this time become the focus of a dispute with Theotmar, the Archbishop of Salzburg and bishop of Passau, who claimed ecclesiastical control of the same territory and wished to see it use the Latin liturgy exclusively. Travelling with the relics of Saint Clement and a retinue of disciples, and passing through Pannonia (the Balaton Principality), where they were well received by Prince Koceľ (Kocelj, Kozel), they finally arrived in Rome in 868 where they were warmly received. This was partly due to their bringing with them the relics of Saint Clement; while the rivalry with Constantinople, as to the jurisdiction over the territory of the Slavs would incline Rome to value the brothers and their influence.[23]

The brothers were praised for their learning and cultivated for their influence in Constantinople. Anastasius would later call Cyril "the teacher of the Apostolic See." Their project in Moravia found support from Pope Adrian II, who formally authorized the use of the new Slavic liturgy. The ordination of the brothers' Slav disciples was performed by Formosus and Gauderic, two prominent bishops, and the newly made priests officiated in their own tongue at the altars of some of the principal churches. Feeling his end approaching, Cyril put on the monastic habit and died fifty days later (14 February 869). There is practically no basis for the assertion of the Translatio (ix.) that he was made a bishop; and the name of Cyril seems to have been given to him only after his death.

Methodius alone

Statue of Saint Methodius at the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc in Moravia in the Czech Republic

Methodius now continued the work among the Slavs alone; not at first in Great Moravia, but in Pannonia (in the Balaton Principality), owing to the political circumstances of the former country, where Rastislav had been taken captive by his nephew Svatopluk, then delivered over to Carloman, and condemned in a diet of the empire at the end of 870.

Friendly relations, on the other hand, had been established with Koceľ on the journey to Rome. This activity in Pannonia, however, made a conflict inevitable with the German episcopate, and especially with the bishop of Salzburg, to whose jurisdiction Pannonia had belonged for seventy-five years. In 865 Bishop Adalwin is found exercising all Episcopal rights there, and the administration under him was in the hands of the archpriest Riehbald. The latter was obliged to retire to Salzburg, but his superior was naturally disinclined to abandon his claims. Methodius sought support from Rome; the Vita asserts that Koceľ sent him thither with an honorable escort to receive Episcopal consecration.

The letter given as Adrian's in chap. viii., with its approval of the Slavonic mass, is a pure invention. It is noteworthy that the pope named Methodius archbishop of Sirmium with jurisdiction of Great Moravia and Pannonia, but , thus superseding the claims of Salzburg by an older title. The statement of the "Vita" that Methodius was made bishop in 870 and not raised to the dignity of an archbishop until 873 is contradicted by the brief of Pope John VIII, written in June, 879, according to which Adrian consecrated him archbishop; John includes in his jurisdiction not only Great Moravia and Pannonia, but Serbia as well. The assumed seat of Methodius as archbishop was in Nitra. Nitra is also assumed to be the place of Methodius death.

Methodius’ final years

Monument to SS. Cyril and Methodius on Slavyanskaya Square in Moscow.

The archiepiscopal claims of Methodius were considered such an injury to the rights of Salzburg that he was forced to answer for them at a synod held at Regensburg in the presence of King Louis. The assembly, after a heated discussion, declared the deposition of the intruder, and ordered him to be sent to Germany, where he was kept a prisoner for two and a half years. In spite of the strong representations of the Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum, written in 871 to influence the pope, though not avowing this purpose, Rome declared emphatically for Methodius, and sent a bishop, Paul of Ancons, to reinstate him and punish his enemies, after which both parties were commanded to appear in Rome with the legate.

Saint Cyril and Methodius by Stanislav Dospevski, famous Bulgarian painter

The papal will prevailed, and Methodius secured his freedom and his archiepiscopal authority over both Great Moravia and Pannonia, though the use of Slavonic for the mass was still denied to him. His authority was restricted in Pannonia when after Koceľ's death the principality was administered by German nobles; but Svatopluk now ruled with practical independence in Great Moravia, and expelled the German clergy. This apparently secured an undisturbed field of operation for Methodius; and the Vita (x.) depicts the next few years (873–879) as a period of fruitful progress. Methodius seems to have disregarded, wholly or in part, the prohibition of the Slavonic liturgy; and when Frankish clerics again found their way into the country, and the archbishop's strictness had displeased the licentious Svatopluk, this was made a cause of complaint against him at Rome, coupled with charges regarding the Filioque.

Methodius vindicated his orthodoxy at Rome, the more easily as the creed was still recited there without the Filioque, and promised to obey in regard to the liturgy. The other party was conciliated by giving him a Swabian, Wiching, as his coadjutor. When relations were strained between the two, John VIII steadfastly supported Methodius; but after his death (December 882) the archbishop's position became insecure, and his need of support induced Goetz to accept the statement of the Vita (xiii.) that he went to visit the Eastern emperor.

It was not, however, until after Methodius' death, which is placed, though not with certainty, on 8 April 885, that the animosity erupted into an open conflict. Gorazd, whom Methodius had designated as his successor, was not recognised by Pope Stephen V. The same Pope forbade the use of the Slavic liturgy and placed the infamous Wiching as Methodius' successor. The latter exiled the disciples of the two brothers from Great Moravia in 885. They fled to the First Bulgarian Empire, where they were welcomed and commissioned to establish theological schools. There they devised the Cyrillic Alphabet on the basis of the Glagolitic Alphabet. Cyrillic gradually replaced Glagolitic as the alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) language, which became the official language of the Bulgarian Empire and later spread to the Eastern Slav lands of Kievan Rus'. Cyrillic eventually spread throughout most of the Slavic world to become the standard alphabet in the Orthodox Slavic countries. Hence, Cyril and Methodius' efforts also paved the way for the spread of Christianity throughout Eastern Europe.

Invention of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic

The Baška tablet an early example of the Glagolitic from Croatia.

The Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets, based primarily on the Greek uncial writing of the 9th century , are the oldest known Slavic alphabets and were created by the two brothers and their students, in order to translate the Bible and other texts into the Slavic languages.[5] The early Glagolitic alphabet was then used in Great Moravia between 863 (with the arrival of Cyril and Methodius) and 885 (with the expulsion of their students) for government and religious documents and books, and at the Great Moravian Academy (Veľkomoravské učilište) founded by Cyril, where followers of Cyril and Methodius were educated, by Methodius himself among others. The alphabet has been traditionally attributed to Cyril. That fact has been confirmed explicitly by the papal letter Industriae tuae (880) approving the use of Old Church Slavonic, which says that the alphabet was "invented by Constantine the Philosopher". The term invention need not exclude the possibility of the brothers having made use of earlier letters, but implies only that before that time the Slavic languages had no distinct script of their own.

The early Cyrillic alphabet was a simplification of the Glagolitic alphabet which more closely resembled the Greek alphabet. It has been attributed to Saint Clement of Ohrid, a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

After the death of Cyril, Clement accompanied Methodius from Rome to Pannonia and Great Moravia. After the death of Methodius himself in 885, Clement headed the struggle against the German clergy in Great Moravia along with Gorazd. After spending some time in jail, he was expelled from Great Moravia and in 885 or 886 reached the borders of Bulgarian Empire together with Naum of Preslav, Angelarius and possibly Gorazd (according to other sources, Gorazd was already dead by that time). The four of them were afterwards sent to the Bulgarian capital of Pliska where they were commissioned by tsar Boris I of Bulgaria to teach and instruct the future clergy of the state into the Slavonic language.

After the adoption of Christianity in 865, religious ceremonies in Bulgaria were conducted in Greek by clergy sent from the Byzantine Empire. Fearing growing Byzantine influence and weakening of the state, Boris viewed the adoption of the Old Slavonic language as a way to preserve the political independence and stability of Bulgaria. With a view thereto, Boris made arrangements for the establishment of two literary schools (academies) where theology was to be taught in the Slavonic language. The first of the schools was to be founded in the capital, Pliska, and the second in the region of Kutmichevitsa (present-day western Republic of Macedonia and eastern Albania).

While Naum of Preslav stayed in Pliska working on the foundation of the Pliska Literary School, Clement was commissioned by Boris I to organise the teaching of theology to future clergymen in Old Church Slavonic in Kutmichevitza. For a period of seven years — between 886 and 893 — Clement taught some 3,500 disciples in the Slavonic language and the Glagolitic alphabet. In 893 he was ordained archbishop of Drembica (Velika), also in Kutmichevica. Upon his death in 916 he was buried in his monastery, Saint Panteleimon, in Ohrid.

Saint Clement of Ohrid was one of the most prolific and important writers in Old Bulgarian (the Bulgarian redaction of Old Church Slavonic). He is credited with the Panonic Hagiography of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius. Clement also translated the Flower Triode containing church songs sung from Easter to Pentecost and is believed to be the author of the Holy Service and the Life of St Clement, the Roman Pope, as well as of the oldest service dedicated to St. Cyril and St. Methodius.

The invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is also usually ascribed to him although the alphabet is most likely to have been developed at the Preslav Literary School at the beginning of the 10th century (for more information, see Cyrillic alphabet).

The first modern Bulgarian university, Sofia University, was named after Clement upon its foundation in 1888. The Macedonian National and University Library, founded on November 23, 1944, bears the name "St. Clement of Ohrid".[9] The University in Bitola (Republic of Macedonia), established in 1979, is also named after Clement.

The Bulgarian scientific base St. Kliment Ohridski on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Saint Clement of Ohrid.

In November 2008, the Macedonian Orthodox Church donated part of Saint Clement of Ohrid relics to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as a sign of good will.

Commemoration

Saints Cyril and Methodius Day

Statue of Cyril and Methodius at the foot of Nitra Castle, Slovakia.
A statue of the saints on the campus of the university bearing their name in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Cross Procession in Khanty-Mansiysk on Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in May 2006

The Canonization process was much more relaxed in the decades following Cyril's death than today. Cyril was regarded by his disciples as a saint following his death. His cult spread among the nations he evangelized and subsequently to the wider Christian Church, resulting is the renown of his holiness, along with that of his brother Methodius. Indeed, there were calls for Cyril's canonization by the crowds lining the Roman streets during his funeral procession. Their first appearance in a papal document is Grande Munus by Leo XIII in 1880. The two brothers are known as the "Apostles of the Slavs" and are still highly regarded by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Sts Cyril and Methodius' feast day is currently celebrated on 14 February in the Roman Catholic Church (to coincide with the date of St Cyril's death); on 11 May in the Eastern Orthodox Church (though note that for Eastern Orthodox Churches still on the Julian Calendar or 'old calendar' this is 24 May according to the Gregorian calendar); and on 7 July according to the old sanctoral calendar that existed before the revisions of the Second Vatican Council. The two brothers were declared "Patrons of Europe" in 1980 (see Egregiae Virtutis). St. Cyril Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Cyril.

"Saints Cyril and Methodius Day" is a holiday, usually celebrated on 11 May (24 May) in countries which observe Eastern Orthodox tradition, and on 5 July in countries that observe Roman Catholic tradition. It commemorates the creation of the Slavic Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets by the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius. There is evidence that the Cyrillic alphabet was not created by Cyril and Methodius but by their pupil, Clement of Ohrid, but the alphabet bears Cyril's name nonetheless, and the evidence is still not enough to disprove that.) The celebration also commemorates the introduction of literacy and the preaching of the gospels in the Slavonic language by the brothers.

According to old Bulgarian chronicles, the day of the holy brothers used to be celebrated ecclesiastically as early as XI Century. The first recorded secular celebration of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Day as the "Day of the Bulgarian script", as it is traditionally accepted by Bulgarian science, was held in the town of Plovdiv on 11 May 1851, when a local Bulgarian school was named "Saints Cyril and Methodius," both acts on initiative of the prominent Bulgarian enlightener Nayden Gerov,[25] although an Armenian traveller mentioned his visit at "celebration of the Bulgarian script" in the town of Shumen on 22 May 1803.[26]

Nowadays, the day is celebrated as a public holiday in the following countries:

Opening the monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius in Saratov during Slavonic Literature and Culture Day

The saints' feast day is celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on 11 May and by the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion on 14 February as "Saints Cyril and Methodius Day". The Lutheran Churches commemorate the two saints either on 14 February or 11 May. It is a public holiday in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Macedonia, and Slovakia; it is celebrated in Russia as a holiday associated with the two brothers, who are considered patrons of learning and education.

In the Czech lands and Slovakia, the two brothers were originally commemorated on 9 March, but Pope Pius IX changed this date to 5 July for several reasons.[28] Today, "Sts Cyril and Methodius Day" is a national holiday in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Other commemoration

SS. Cyril and Methodius, stained glass window at the Cathedral of Maribor, Slovenia.

The national library of Bulgaria in Sofia, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje in the Republic of Macedonia, St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria and in Trnava, Slovakia bear the name of the two saints. In the United States, SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, bears their name.

St. Cyril Peak and St. Methodius Peak in the Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands in Antarctica are named for the two brothers.

Saint Cyril's remains are interred in a shrine-chapel within the Basilica di San Clemente in Rome, Italy. The chapel holds a Madonna by Sassoferrato.

The Basilica of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Danville, Pennsylvania (the only Roman Catholic basilica dedicated to SS. Cyril & Methodius in the world) is the Motherhouse chapel of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, a Roman Catholic women's religious community of pontifical rite dedicated to apostolic works of ecumenism, education, evangelization, and elder care.

See also

Notes

a.^ New Church Slavonic: Кѷрі́ллъ и҆ Меѳо́дїй (Kỳrill” i Methodij)
  • Belarusian: Кірыла і Мяфодзій (Kiryła i Miafodzij) or Кірыла і Мятода (Kiryła i Miatoda)
  • Bulgarian: Кирил и Методий (Kiril i Metodiy)
  • Croatian: Ćiril i Metod
  • Macedonian: Кирил и Методиј (Kiril i Metodij)
  • Russian: Кирилл и Мефодий (Kirill i Mefodij), pre-1918 spelling: Кириллъ и Меѳодій (Kirill” i Methodij)
  • Serbian: Ћирило и Методије (Ćirilo i Metodije)
  • Ukrainian: Кирило і Мефодій (Kyrylo i Mefodij)

References

  1. ↑ In the 21st century this date in the Julian Calendar corresponds to 24 May in the Gregorian Calendar
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jones, Terry. "Methodius". Patron Saints Index. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintm10.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-18. 
  3. ↑ Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05, s.v. "Cyril and Methodius, Saints"; Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica Incorporated, Warren E. Preece - 1972, p.846, s.v., "Cyril and Methodius, Saints" and "Eastern Orthodoxy, Missions ancient and modern"; Encyclopedia of World Cultures, David H. Levinson, 1991, p.239, s.v., "Social Science"; Eric M. Meyers, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, p.151, 1997; Lunt, Slavic Review, June, 1964, p. 216; Roman Jakobson, Crucial problems of Cyrillo-Methodian Studies; Leonid Ivan Strakhovsky, A Handbook of Slavic Studies, p.98; V.Bogdanovich , History of the ancient Serbian literature, Belgrade, 1980, p.119
  4. ↑ The Columbia Encyclopaedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05, O.Ed. Saints Cyril and Methodius "Cyril and Methodius, Saints) 869 and 884, respectively, “Greek missionaries, brothers, called Apostles to the Slavs and fathers of Slavonic literature."
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Encyclopedia Britannica, Major alphabets of the world, Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets, 2008, O.Ed. "The two early Slavic alphabets, the Cyrillic and the Glagolitic, were invented by St. Cyril, or Constantine (c. 827–869), and St. Methodius (c. 825–884). These men were Greeks from Thessaloniki who became apostles to the southern Slavs, whom they converted to Christianity."
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Egregiae Virtutis". http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_31121980_egregiae-virtutis_lt.html. Retrieved 2009-04-26.  Apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II, 31 December 1980 (Latin)
  7. ↑ Hastings, Adrian (1997). The construction of nationhood: ethnicity, religion, and nationalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 126. ISBN 0-521-62544-0. ". the activity of the brothers Constantine (later renamed Cyril) and Methodius, aristocratic Greek priests who were sent from Constantinople." 
  8. ↑ Fletcher, R. A. (1999). The barbarian conversion: from paganism to Christianity. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. pp. 327. ISBN 0-520-21859-0. 
  9. ↑ Cizevskij, Dmitrij; Zenkovsky, Serge A.; Porter, Richard E.. Comparative History of Slavic Literatures. Vanderbilt University Press. pp. vi. ISBN 0-8265-1371-9. ""Two Greek brothers from Salonika, Constantine who later became a monk and took the name Cyril and Methodius." 
  10. ↑ Banac, Ivo (1984). The national question in Yugoslavia: origins history, politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 61. ISBN 978-0-8014-9493-2. "Matters were complicated when Saints Cyril and Methodius, two Greek brothers from Salonika. undertook to apply the Slavic idioms from the hinterland of their native city to the codification of a liturgical language, which was to further the evangelization of all Slavic peoples." 
  11. ↑ Rusinko, Elaine (2003). Straddling borders: literature and identity in Subcarpathian Rus'. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 25. ISBN 0-8020-3711-9. "Similar disputes surround the introduction of Christianity, which brought with it a written language and a literary culture. Traditionally, Rusyns have traced their Christian faith to the missionary activity of Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius the two Greek brothers who were sent to Moravia in 863 by Emperor Michael III of Byzantium" 
  12. ↑ Roberts, Andrew Michael (2005). From Good King Wenceslas to the Good Soldier Švejk: a dictionary of Czech popular culture. Budapest: Central European University Press. pp. 76. ISBN 963-7326-26-X. "Despite a love-hate relationship with the Church, Czechs were and remain a Catholic people. They were Christianized in the ninth century by the Greek brothers -‘ Cyril and Methodius." 
  13. ↑ Pittaway, Mark. The Fluid Borders of Europe (Europe: Culture and Identities in a Contested Continent). Open University Worldwide. pp. 190. ISBN 0-7492-9610-0. "As the Slav tribes fell under the influence of Byzantium a conidcrab1c numbcr of them were baptized but they were first converted to Christianity in mass by the Greek brothers, Cyril and Meihodius, who translated part of the gospels into Slavonic languages about the year 870 and their mission was carried to Ochrid by their followers, Clement and Gorazd and Natum" 
  14. ↑ Subtelny, Orest (2000). Ukraine: a history. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 50. ISBN 0-8020-8390-0. "Christianity’s impact on how the populace of Rus’ expressed itself intellectually was equally decisive. A written language based on an alphabet originally devised by Sts Cyril and Methodius, Greek missionaries to the Slavs, came into use soon after 988" 
  15. ↑ The illustrated guide to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. pp. 14. ISBN 0-19-521462-5. "In Eastern Europe, the first translations of the Bible into the Slavoruic languages were made by the Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius in the 860s" 
  16. ↑ Goldberg, Eric (2006). Struggle for empire: kingship and conflict under Louis the German, 817-876. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. pp. 271. ISBN 978-0-8014-3890-5. "But there was little the Bavarian churchmen could do as long as the Greek missionaries enjoyed Ratislav’s protection." 
  17. ↑ Popovic, Tanya (1988). Prince Marko: the hero of South Slavic epics. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. pp. 186. ISBN 978-0-8156-2444-8. "The older Glagolitic alphabet was developed by Konstantin (later called St. Cyril) and his brother St. Methodius. These two Greek missionaries came from the vicinity of Salonica" 
  18. ↑ Ackermann, Alice (2000). Making peace prevail: preventing violent conflict in Macedonia. New York: Syracuse University Press. pp. 54. ISBN 978-0-8156-2812-5. "Macedonia became part of the Eastern Roman Empire; from the sixth century, Slavic peoples began to move into the region. In the ninth century, two Greek missionaries, Cyril and Methodius, undertook the conversion of the Slays to Christianity, and also developed the first written Slavic language, Church Slavonic or Old Buigarian." 
  19. ↑ Fabijancic, Tony (2003). Croatia: travels in undiscovered country. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press. pp. 86. ISBN 0-88864-397-7. "It’s considered a cradle of Croatian language and literacy, where the Glagolitic alphabet was fostered after having been introduced by followers of Greek missionaries Cyril and Metbodius for the Slavic liturgy. (Glagolitic is from glagol, common Slavonic for “word.”" 
  20. ↑ Smalley, William Allen (1991). Translation as mission: Bible translation in the modern missionary movement. Macon, Ga.: Mercer. pp. 25. ISBN 978-0-86554-389-8. "The most important instance where translation and the beginning church did coincide closely was in Slavonic under the brothers Cyril, Methodius, with the Bible completed by A.D. 880 This was a missionary translation but unusual again (from a modern point of view) because not a translation into the dialect spoken where the missionaries were The brothers were Greeks who had been brought up in Macedonia," 
  21. ↑ Liturgy of the Hours, Volume III, 14 February.
  22. ↑ Kazhdan, Alexander P. (1991). The Oxford dictionary of Byzantium. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 507. ISBN 0-19-504652-8. "Constantine (Cyril) and his brother Methodius were the sons of the droungarios Leo and Maria, who may have been a Slav." 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Vizantiiskoe missionerstvo, Ivanov S. A., Iazyki slavianskoi kul'tury, Moskva 2003, p. 147
  24. ↑ Todd B. Krause; Jonathan Slocum. "Old Church Slavonic Online Lesson 3". Linguistics Research Center at UT Austin. http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/ocsol-3-X.html. Retrieved 2010-01-25. 
  25. ↑ "История на България", Том 6 Българско Възраждане 1856-1878, Издателство на Българската академия на науките, София, 1987, стр. 106 (in Bulgarian; in English: "History of Bulgaria", Volume 6 Bulgarian Revival 1856-1878, Publishing house of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1987, page 106).
  26. ↑ Jubilee speech of the Academician Ivan Yuhnovski, Head of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, held on 23 May 2003, published in Information Bulletin of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 3(62), Sofia, 27 June 2003 (in Bulgarian).
  27. ↑ Announcement about the eleventh session of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia on 24 October 2006 from the official site of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia (in Macedonian).
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Votruba, Martin. "Holiday date". Slovak Studies Program. University of Pittsburgh. http://www.pitt.edu/~votruba/qsonhist/cmholiday.html. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 

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