Saints Cyril and Methodius

Cyril and Methodius were two brothers born in Thessaloniki in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th century, who became missionaries of Christianity in Khazaria and Great Moravia. After their death their pupils became missionaries among other Slavic peoples.

Related Topics:
Thessaloniki - Byzantine Empire - 9th century - Missionaries - Christianity - Khazaria - Great Moravia - Slavic peoples

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They had a Slavic mother and a Greek father.

Related Topics:
Slavic - Greek

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Some people trying to attribute a single Slavic origin to both brothers provide the main argument that they knew the Slavic language very well without having visited a special Slavic school of higher education. Another justification of the fact that both brothers had such a good knowledge of the Slavic language could be that their Greek father Leon (Greek: ????) was a drungarios of the byzantine Thema of Thessaloniki having under his juristiction the Slavs of Macedonia.

Related Topics:
Slavic - Greek - Drungarios - Thema - Thessaloniki - Macedonia

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Cyril's birth name was Constantinos (Greek: ????????????) and he was renamed Cyril (Greek: ????????) just before his death in Rome on the 14th of February 869.

Related Topics:
Greek - Rome

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The two brothers lost their father at a young age and their uncle Theoctistos (Greek: ??????????) became their protector. Theoctistos was a Logothetes tou dromou, a powerful byzantine official responsible for the postal services and the diplomatic relations of the Empire.

Related Topics:
Greek - Logothetes

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He invited (843) Cyril in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and he helped him continue his studies at the University of the city.

Related Topics:
Constantinople - Byzantine Empire - University

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Theoctistos also arranged the placement of Methodius (Greek: ????????) as the commander of a Slavic administrative region of the Empire.

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The fact that Cyril was a master theologist as well as a good commander of both the Arabic and Hebrew languages made him eligible for his first state mission to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil in order to discuss the principle of the Holy Trinity with the Arab theologists and to tighten the diplomatic relations between the Abbashid Caliphate and the Empire.

Related Topics:
Arabic - Hebrew - Abbasid - Caliph - Al-Mutawakkil - Trinity

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The two brothers' second mission (860) by the Byzantine Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius (a Cyril's professor at the University and his guiding light at earlier years) was a missionary expedition to the Khazars Khagan in order to prevent the expansion of Judaism there. This mission was unsuccesful as later the Khagan imposed Judaism to his people as the national religion.

Related Topics:
Byzantine Emperor - Michael III - Patriarch of Constantinople - Photius - Khazars - Khagan - Judaism

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After their return to Constantinople, Cyril assumed the role of professor of Philosophy in the University while Methodius had been designated as the bishop of the Moni Polychroniou.

Related Topics:
Philosophy - Moni Polychroniou

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In 862 they were invited by prince Rastislav to propagate Christianity in the Slavic language in Great Moravia, which they did until their deaths in 869 (Cyril in Rome) and 885 (Methodius in Great Moravia) respectively. For the purpose of this mission, they have devised the Glagolitic alphabet used for Slavonic manuscripts before the development of the Cyrillic, an alphabet derived from Glagolitic and the Greek alphabet, that with small modifications is still used in a number of Slavic languages. 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 churches. Both brothers are canonized in Eastern Orthodoxy as "equal-to-apostles" and were celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church in 1880. Pope John Paul II promoted them to Patrons of Europe in 1980.

Related Topics:
Rastislav - Glagolitic - Alphabet - Cyrillic - Slavic languages - Old Church Slavonic - Civil Code - Church Slavonic - Liturgy - Eastern Orthodox - Canonized - Equal-to-apostles - Roman Catholic Church - 1880 - Pope John Paul II - Patrons of Europe - 1980

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The common commemoration day for the two apostles in the Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and Anglican Church is on February 14. The Eastern Orthodox Church has a commemoration day for Cyril on February 14 and for both brothers on May 11.

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In the Czech lands and Slovakia, the two brothers were originally commemorated on March 9, but Pope Pius IX changed this date to July 5. Today, the St. Cyril and Methodius Day, believed to be the date of the arrival of the two brothers to Great Moravia in 863, is a national holiday both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Related Topics:
Czech lands - Slovakia - March 9 - Pope Pius IX - July 5 - National holiday both in the Czech Republic - Slovakia

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The SS. Cyril and Methodius Day on May 24, also known as 'Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and the Slavic Alphabet' (local name: ??? ?? ??????????? ??????? ? ???????? ? ??????????? ?????????, "Den na bulgarskata kultura i prosveta i slavyanskata pismenost"), is a national holiday in Bulgaria celebrating Bulgarian culture and the invention of the Slavic (Glagolitic) alphabet by the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Related Topics:
May 24 - National holiday in Bulgaria - Bulgarian culture - Slavic (Glagolitic) alphabet

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For the separate articles on the two brothers, see:

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• Saint Cyril
• Saint Methodius
 
Saints Cyril and Methodius: See also ►