In 863, Byzantine brothers Cyril and Methodius arrived in Great Moravia at Prince Rastislav’s request, bringing the newly created Glagolitic alphabet and translating scriptures into Old Church Slavonic. Their Slavic liturgy challenged German bishops who insisted on Latin, leading to Methodius’s three-year exile for heresy. Pope Hadrian II approved their work in 867, ordaining Methodius as bishop, and their disciples later spread the mission across Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia. By 893, Slavonic became Bulgaria’s official church language, establishing a cultural foundation that shaped millions of Slavic Christians and earned the brothers recognition as Apostles to the Slavs and co-patrons of Europe.
The brother-missionaries Cyril and Methodius reshaped the religious and cultural landscape of medieval Europe when they brought Christianity to the Slavic peoples in a language those communities could understand. In 862, Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia requested missionaries from Emperor Michael III and Patriarch Photius, seeking both evangelization and independence from Frankish influence. The brothers were selected because they spoke Slavic fluently, having grown up in Thessalonica, and they began their mission by developing an alphabet that would make the language writable. Their work built on earlier models of missionary activity rooted in the biblical emphasis on reaching nations with the message in their own language, reflecting themes of covenantal outreach to peoples beyond Israel and the spread of God’s promises to all nations covenant promises.
Two brothers transformed medieval Christianity by bringing the faith to Slavic peoples in their own language through a revolutionary new alphabet.
In 863, Cyril and Methodius completed the Glagolitic alphabet and translated the Gospels, Psalter, and essential liturgical books into Old Church Slavonic. They created a Slavic liturgy, departing from the established norms of Latin, Greek, or Hebrew. This approach proved successful where others had failed, as worshippers could participate in services using their native tongue. The brothers trained local disciples for the diaconate and priesthood, introducing literacy alongside religious instruction. They had already demonstrated their effectiveness by baptizing over 200 Khazars in an earlier mission.
However, German bishops opposed this innovation vigorously. They insisted on Latin liturgy and viewed Moravia as their missionary territory under the Latin Rite. East Frankish missionaries promoted uniformity, and Bavarian bishops later accused Methodius of heresy, leading to his three-year exile under Emperor Louis the German. Political tensions intensified after Prince Rastislav’s capture in 870.
The brothers journeyed to Rome carrying relics of St. Clement, seeking papal support. Pope Hadrian II approved the Slavic liturgy in 867, ordained Methodius as bishop, and allowed Slavic disciples to become priests. The Slavic Liturgy was celebrated in four Roman churches, confirming their jurisdiction. After Cyril died in Rome, Methodius continued alone for sixteen years as papal legate for the Slavic peoples. Among the ordained disciples, Clement of Ohrid later taught approximately 3,500 students in Old Church Slavonic and Glagolitic over the period from 886 to 893. Pope John VIII eventually secured his release from exile and restored his authority.
Despite persecution following Methodius’s death, his disciples spread throughout Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia. Bulgarians adopted Slavonic as their church and state language in 893. The Cyrillic alphabet evolved from the brothers’ Glagolitic work, and they were named Apostles to the Slavs and co-patrons of Europe. The 19th century witnessed a revival of their veneration as symbols of Slavic cultural self-determination, with the first Memory Day celebrated in Plovdiv in 1858.
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