The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose biography is at least briefly known to everyone who speaks Russian, were great educators. They developed an alphabet for many Slavic peoples, which immortalized their name.
Greek origin
The two brothers were from Thessaloniki. In Slavic sources, the old traditional name Solun has been preserved. They were born into the family of a successful officer who served under the governor of the province. Cyril was born in 827, and Methodius in 815.
Due to the fact that these Greeks knew the Slavic language very well, some researchers tried to confirm the guess about their Slavic origin. However, no one has been able to do this. At the same time, for example in Bulgaria, enlighteners are considered Bulgarians (they also use the Cyrillic alphabet).
Experts in the Slavic language
Linguistic knowledge of noble Greeks can be explained by the story of Thessalonica. In their era, this city was bilingual. There was a local dialect of the Slavic language. The migration of this tribe reached its southern border, buried inAegean Sea.
At first, the Slavs were pagans and lived under a tribal system, just like their German neighbors. However, those outsiders who settled on the borders of the Byzantine Empire fell into the orbit of its cultural influence. Many of them formed colonies in the Balkans, becoming mercenaries of the ruler of Constantinople. Their presence was also strong in Thessalonica, from where Cyril and Methodius were born. The biography of the brothers initially went different ways.
Worldly career of brothers
Methodius (in the world his name was Michael) became a military man and rose to the rank of strategist of one of the provinces in Macedonia. He succeeded thanks to his talents and abilities, as well as the patronage of the influential courtier Feoktist. Cyril took up science from an early age, and also studied the culture of neighboring peoples. Even before he went to Moravia, thanks to which he became world famous, Konstantin (name before being tonsured a monk) began to translate chapters of the Gospel into Slavonic.
In addition to linguistics, Cyril studied geometry, dialectics, arithmetic, astronomy, rhetoric and philosophy from the best specialists in Constantinople. Due to his noble origin, he could count on an aristocratic marriage and public service in the highest echelons of power. However, the young man did not wish such a fate and became the custodian of the library in the main temple of the country - Hagia Sophia. But even there he did not stay long, and soon began to teach at the capital's university. Thanks to brilliant victories in philosophical disputes, hereceived the nickname of the Philosopher, which is sometimes found in historiographical sources.
Kirill was familiar with the emperor and even went with his instructions to the Muslim caliph. In 856, he arrived with a group of students at the monastery on the Small Olympus, where his brother was the abbot. It was there that Cyril and Methodius, whose biography was now associated with the church, decided to create an alphabet for the Slavs.
Translation of Christian books into Slavonic
In 862, ambassadors from the Moravian prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. They gave the emperor a message from their ruler. Rostislav asked the Greeks to give him learned people who could teach the Slavs the Christian faith in their own language. The baptism of this tribe took place even before that, but every divine service was held in a foreign dialect, which was extremely inconvenient. The patriarch and the emperor discussed this request among themselves and decided to ask the brothers of Thessalonica to go to Moravia.
Cyril, Methodius and their students set to work. The first language into which the main Christian books were translated was Bulgarian. The biography of Cyril and Methodius, a summary of which is in every Slavic history textbook, is known for the colossal work of the brothers on the Ps alter, the Apostle and the Gospel.
Travel to Moravia
The preachers went to Moravia, where they served for three years and taught people to read and write. Their efforts also helpedthe baptism of the Bulgarians, which took place in 864. They also visited Transcarpathian Rus and Panonnia, where they also glorified the Christian faith in Slavic languages. The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography includes many travels, found an attentively listening audience everywhere.
Even in Moravia, they had a conflict with German priests who were there with a similar missionary mission. The key difference between them was the unwillingness of Catholics to worship in the Slavic language. This position was supported by the Roman Church. This organization believed that it was possible to praise God only in three languages: Latin, Greek and Hebrew. This tradition has existed for many centuries.
The Great Schism between Catholics and Orthodox has not happened yet, so the Pope still had influence on the Greek priests. He called the brothers to Italy. They also wanted to come to Rome to defend their position and to reason with the Germans in Moravia.
Brothers in Rome
The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose biography is also revered by Catholics, came to Adrian II in 868. He came to a compromise with the Greeks and agreed that the Slavs could conduct worship in their native languages. The Moravians (ancestors of the Czechs) were baptized by bishops from Rome, so they were formally under the jurisdiction of the Pope.
While still in Italy, Konstantin fell seriously ill. When he realized that he would soon die, the Greek took the schema and received the monastic name Cyril, with which he became known in historiography and popular memory. On his deathbed, he asked his brothernot to abandon the common educational work, but to continue their service among the Slavs.
Continuation of the preaching activity of Methodius
Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography is inseparable, became revered in Moravia during their lifetime. When the younger brother returned there, it became much easier for him to continue his duty than 8 years ago. However, soon the situation in the country changed. The former prince Rostislav was defeated by Svyatopolk. The new ruler was guided by German patrons. This led to a change in the composition of the priests. The Germans again began to lobby for the idea of preaching in Latin. They even imprisoned Methodius in a monastery. When Pope John VIII found out about this, he forbade the Germans to hold liturgies until they released the preacher.
Cyril and Methodius have never faced such resistance. Biography, the creation of the Slavic alphabet and everything connected with their life is full of dramatic events. In 874, Methodius was finally released and again became an archbishop. However, Rome has already withdrawn its permission to worship in the Moravian language. However, the preacher refused to submit to the changing course of the Catholic Church. He began to conduct secret sermons and rituals in the Slavic language.
Last troubles of Methodius
His persistence paid off. When the Germans again tried to denigrate him in the eyes of the church, Methodius went to Rome and, thanks to his abilities as an oratorwas able to defend his point of view before the Pope. He was given a special bull, which again allowed worship in the national languages.
The Slavs appreciated the uncompromising struggle waged by Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography was reflected even in ancient folklore. Shortly before his death, the younger brother returned to Byzantium and spent several years in Constantinople. His last great work was the translation into Slavic of the "Old Testament", with which he was helped by faithful students. He died in 885 in Moravia.
The significance of the brothers' activities
The alphabet created by the brothers eventually spread to Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Russia. Today Cyrillic is used by all Eastern Slavs. These are Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The biography of Cyril and Methodius for children is taught as part of the school curriculum in these countries.
It is interesting that the original alphabet, created by the brothers, eventually became Glagolitic in historiography. Another version of it, known as Cyrillic, appeared a little later thanks to the work of the students of these enlighteners. This scientific debate remains relevant. The problem is that no ancient sources have come down to us that could certainly confirm any particular point of view. Theories are built only on secondary documents that appeared later.
However, the contribution of the brothers is difficult to overestimate. Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography should be known to every Slav, helpednot only to spread Christianity, but also to strengthen national identity among these peoples. In addition, even if we assume that the Cyrillic alphabet was created by the students of the brothers, they still relied on their work. This is especially evident in the case of phonetics. Modern Cyrillic alphabets have adopted the sound component from those written symbols that were proposed by the preachers.
Both the Western and Eastern Churches recognize the importance of the work carried out by Cyril and Methodius. A short biography for the children of the enlighteners is in many general education textbooks on history and the Russian language.
In our country since 1991, an annual public holiday dedicated to the brothers from Thessalonica has been celebrated. It is called the Day of Slavic Culture and Literature and also exists in Belarus. In Bulgaria, an order named after them was established. Cyril and Methodius, interesting facts from whose biographies are published in various monographs, still attract the attention of new researchers of languages and history.
