Cyril and Methodius: a brief biography, interesting facts from the biography, the creation of the Slavic alphabet. Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius

Cyril (826 - 869) and Methodius (815 - 885) - educators, creators of the Slavic alphabet, saints equal to the apostles, translated Scripture into Slavic language.

Cyril (Constantine - in the world) and Methodius were born in Greece, in the city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) in the family of the Drungarian (military leader) Leo. From 833, Methodius was a military man and served at the imperial court of Theophilus, and in 835-45. was an archon (ruler) of one of the Slavic principalities.

Later, Methodius went to Olympus, to the Bithynia monastery. Kirill was highly gifted since childhood, in the 40s. studied at the Magnaur Imperial School in Constantinople, where his mentors were Leo the Mathematician, the head of the capital's university, and Photius, the future patriarch.

At this time, Cyril's scientific interests turned to philology, apparently under the influence of the Photius circle. The famous Slavic historian B.N. Florya wrote that “it was under the leadership of Photius that Constantine took the first steps towards becoming the greatest philologist of his time.”

After graduating from the Magnaur school, Kirill accepted the priesthood and was appointed librarian at the Cathedral of St. Sophia. But soon he leaves Constantinople due to disagreements with Patriarch Ignatius and retires to the shores of the Bosphorus in a monastery. Six months later he returns and begins teaching philosophy at the school where he studied. Apparently, from then on they began to call him Cyril the Philosopher.

Around 855, Cyril was part of a diplomatic mission to the Arabs, and both brothers in 860-61. were part of the Khazar mission. Traveling, they ended up in Chersonesos, where they found the Psalter and Gospel “written in Russian letters” (Life of St. Cyril, VIII). This information is interpreted in different ways.

Some scientists believe that we are talking about pre-Cyril ancient Russian writing, others think that the hagiographer had in mind a version of the Gothic translation of Ulfilas, and the majority believes that we should read not “Russians”, but “Surskie”, that is, Syriac ones. In Khazaria, Cyril conducts theological debates with Gentiles, including Jews.

These disputes were recorded and information about them is reflected in the life of the saint. From them we can understand Cyril's biblical hermeneutics. For example, he points not only to the continuity between the 2 Testaments, but also to the order of the stages of the Testament and Revelation within the Old Testament. He said that Abraham observed such a rite as circumcision, although it was not commanded to Noah, and at the same time, he could not fulfill the laws of Moses, since they did not yet exist. Likewise, Christians accepted God’s new Testament, and for them the old things passed away (Life of St. Cyril, 10).
In the fall of 861, having returned from Khazaria, Methodius became abbot at the Polychron monastery, and Cyril continued his scientific and theological lessons at the Church of the 12 Apostles (Constantinople). 2 years later, Prince of Moravia Rostislav asked to send the brothers to Great Moravia to teach the people its “right Christian faith.” The Gospel had already been preached there, but it had not taken deep root.

In preparation for this mission, the brothers created the alphabet for the Slavs. For a long time historians and philologists debated whether it was Cyrillic or Glagolitic. As a result, priority was given to the Glagolitic alphabet, based on the Greek minuscule letter (the letter Ш was created on the basis of the Hebrew letter shin). Only later, towards the end of the 9th century, was the Glagolitic alphabet replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in many South Slavic lands (for example, Minuscules; Church Slavonic editions of the Bible).
Using their new alphabet, Cyril and Methodius began to translate the Gospel of Aprakos, it was chosen based on the needs of the service. L.P. Zhukovskaya in her textual study proved that Kirill first translated the short, Sunday Aprakos.

Its most ancient lists have survived to this day in the Slavic edition of the 11th century. (for example, the Assemanian Gospel), together with the chosen Apostle (the earliest, the Eninsky list, also dates back to the 11th century). In the preface written for the translation of the Gospel into Slavic, Kirill refers to the translation experience of a number of Syrian authors who were considered unbelievers, which speaks not only of his knowledge of Semitic languages, but also of his broad views. Methodius and their students, after the death of Cyril, brought short translations to complete ones.

The translation work begun by the brothers in Constantinople was continued in Moravia by them in 864-67. The Slavic translation of the Bible is based on Lucian’s (also called the Syriac, or Constantinople) review of Scripture, this was also noted by Evseev.

This is also evidenced by the contents of the Slavic collection of Proverbs. The brothers did not compile new books, but only made translations of similar Greek collections of Profitologies, which originate from the Lucian version. The Cyrillomethodian Paremiynik not only recreates the Constantinople type of Profitology, but, as Evseev says, “is a copy of the text of the very center of Byzantineism - the reading of the Great Church of Constantinople.”

As a result, in more than 3 years, the brothers not only completed a collection of Slavic texts of Scripture, including the Psalter, but, at the same time, founded a fairly developed form of the language of the medieval Slavs. They worked in difficult political conditions. Moreover, the German bishops, who were afraid of curtailing their rights in Moravia, put forward the so-called “trilingual doctrine”, according to which “only three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin, were chosen from above, in which it is proper to give praise to God.” Therefore, they tried in every possible way to discredit the work of Cyril and Methodius.

A synod of bishops was even convened in Venice, which defended the “trilinguals.” But Kirill successfully repelled all attacks. Pope Adrian II was on his side, he received the brothers in Rome with honor. They brought here the relics of the Pope of Rome, the Hieromartyr Clement, from Chersonesos.

After Cyril died in Rome (his grave is there), Methodius continued the work. He became Archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia. He translated most of the biblical canon in 870 with 3 disciples in 8 months. True, this translation has not reached us in full, but one can judge its composition from the list of sacred books that Methodius cites in the Slavic Nomocanon.

Traces of translations by Methodius and his assistants remained in later Glagolitic Croatian manuscripts (the Book of Ruth, according to A.V. Mikhailov, is the best translation of the Methodius group, or, for example, the translation of the Song of Songs). In the translation of Methodius, according to Evseev, the proverbial texts were reproduced completely and unchanged; other parts were translated with the same lexical and grammatical properties as the proverb.

Rome had to defend the apostolic activity of Methodius from the opposition of the Latin clergy. Pope John VIII wrote: “Our brother Methodius is holy and faithful, and does the apostolic work, and in his hands from God and the apostolic throne are all the Slavic lands.”

But there was a gradual intensification of the struggle between Byzantium and Rome for influence on the Slavic lands. Methodius was in prison for 3 years. Nearing death, he bequeathed his department to the Moravian native Gorazd. In their recent years he had more hopes of help from Constantinople than from Rome. And in fact, after the death of Methodius, the German Viching, his opponent, gained an advantage. Methodius was accused of violating the promise to maintain worship on Latin, and his disciples were expelled from Moravia.

But, nevertheless, the works of the Thessaloniki brothers were not forgotten. The Slavic Bible was read by many peoples, and it soon reached Rus'.

The Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of St. Cyril on February 14, and on April 6 - St. Methodius, two brothers - on May 11.

Great Moravia, religious sermons were distributed in Latin. For the people this language was incomprehensible. Therefore, the prince of the state, Rostislav, turned to Michael, the emperor of Byzantium. He asked to send preachers to his state who would spread Christianity in the Slavic language. And Emperor Michael sent two Greeks - Constantine the Philosopher, who later received the name Cyril, and Methodius, his elder brother.

Cyril and Methodius were born and raised in the city of Thessaloniki in Byzantium. There were seven children in the family, Methodius was the eldest, and Konstantin (Kirill) the youngest. Their father was a military leader. From childhood they knew one of the Slavic languages, since in the vicinity of the city there lived a Slavic population that was quite large in number. Methodius was in military service, after service he ruled the Byzantine principality, which was inhabited by the Slavs. And soon, after 10 years of rule, he went to a monastery and became a monk. Cyril, since he showed great interest in linguistics, studied science at the court of the Byzantine emperor from the best scientists of that time. He knew several languages - Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Slavic, Greek, and also taught philosophy - hence his nickname Philosopher. And the name Cyril was received by Constantine when he became a monk in 869 after his severe and prolonged illness.

Already in 860, the brothers traveled twice for missionary purposes to the Khazars, then Emperor Michael III sent Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia. And the Moravian prince Rostislav called on the brothers for help, as he sought to limit the growing influence on the part of the German clergy. He wanted Christianity to be preached in the Slavic language, and not in Latin.

The Holy Scriptures had to be translated from Greek so that Christianity could be preached in the Slavic language. But there was one catch - there was no alphabet that could convey Slavic speech. And then the brothers began to create the alphabet. Special Contribution contributed by Methodius - he knew the Slavic language perfectly. And thus, in 863, the Slavic alphabet appeared. And Methodius soon translated many liturgical books, including the Gospel, Psalter and Apostle, into the Slavic language. The Slavs had their own alphabet and language, and now they could write and read freely. Thus, Cyril and Methodius, the creators of the Slavic alphabet, made a huge contribution to the culture of the Slavic people, because many words from the Slavic language still live in the Ukrainian, Russian and Bulgarian languages. Konstantin (Kirill) created the Glagolitic alphabet, which reflected the phonetic features of the language. But until now, scientists cannot agree on whether the Glagolitic alphabet or the Cyrillic alphabet were created by Methodius.

But among the Western Slavs - Poles and Czechs - the Slavic alphabet and literacy did not take root, and they still use the Latin alphabet. After the death of Cyril, Methodius continued their activities. And when he died, their students were expelled from Moravia in 886 and Slavic writing was banned there, but they continued to spread Slavic literacy in the countries of the eastern and southern Slavs. Bulgaria and Croatia became their refuge.

These events took place in the 9th century, and writing appeared in Rus' only in the 10th century. And there is an opinion that in Bulgaria, based on the “glagolitic” alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet was created by the disciples of Methodius, in honor of Cyril.

In Russian Orthodoxy, Cyril and Methodius are called Saints. February 14 is the day of memory of Cyril, and April 6 is Methodius. The dates were not chosen by chance; Saints Cyril and Methodius died on these days.

More than a hundred years before the baptism of Rus', almost at the same time as the founding of the Russian state, a great thing happened in the history of the Christian Church - for the first time the word of God was heard in churches in the Slavic language.

In the city of Thessaloniki (now Thessaloniki), in Macedonia, inhabited mostly by Slavs, lived a noble Greek dignitary named Leo. Of his seven sons, two, Methodius and Constantine (Cyril in monasticism), had the lot to accomplish a great feat for the benefit of the Slavs. The youngest of the brothers, Konstantin, already from childhood amazed everyone with his brilliant abilities and passion for learning. He received a good home education and then completed his education in Byzantium under the guidance of the best teachers. Here the passion for science developed in him with full force, and he assimilated all the bookish wisdom available to him... Fame, honors, riches - all sorts of worldly blessings awaited the gifted young man, but he did not succumb to any temptations - he preferred the modest title of priest and the position of librarian to all the temptations of the world at Church of Hagia Sophia, where he could continue his favorite activities - study the sacred books, delve into their spirit. His deep knowledge and abilities earned him the high academic title of philosopher.

Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers Cyril and Methodius. Ancient fresco in the Cathedral of St. Sofia, Ohrid (Bulgaria). OK. 1045

His elder brother, Methodius, first took a different path - he entered military service and for several years was the ruler of a region inhabited by Slavs; But worldly life did not satisfy him, and he became a monk at the monastery on Mount Olympus. The brothers did not have to calm down, however, one in peaceful book studies, and the other in a quiet monastic cell. Constantine more than once had to take part in disputes on issues of faith, defending it with the power of his mind and knowledge; then he and his brother, at the request of the king, had to go to the land Khazars, preach the faith of Christ and defend it against Jews and Muslims. Upon returning from there, Methodius baptized Bulgarian Prince Boris and Bulgarians.

Probably, even earlier than this, the brothers decided to translate sacred and liturgical books for the Macedonian Slavs into their language, with which they could have become quite comfortable since childhood, in their native city.

For this, Konstantin compiled the Slavic alphabet (alphabet) - he took all 24 greek letters, and since there are more sounds in the Slavic language than in Greek, he added the missing letters from the Armenian, Hebrew and other alphabets; I came up with some myself. All the letters in the first Slavic alphabet totaled 38. More important than the invention of the alphabet was the translation of the most important sacred and liturgical books: translating from such a language rich in words and phrases as Greek into the language of the completely uneducated Macedonian Slavs was a very difficult task. It was necessary to come up with suitable phrases, create new words in order to convey concepts new to the Slavs... All this required not only a thorough knowledge of the language, but also great talent.

The work of translation was not yet completed when, at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav Constantine and Methodius were to go to Moravia. There and in neighboring Pannonia they had already begun to spread Christian teaching Latin (Catholic) preachers from Southern Germany, but things went very slowly, since the services were performed in Latin, which was completely incomprehensible to the people. Western clergy, subordinate to the Pope, held a strange prejudice: that worship can only be performed in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, because the inscription on the Cross of the Lord was in these three languages; the eastern clergy accepted the word of God in all languages. That is why the Moravian prince, caring about the true enlightenment of his people with the teachings of Christ, turned to the Byzantine emperor Mikhail with a request to send knowledgeable people to Moravia who would teach the people the faith in an understandable language.

The Tale of Bygone Years. Issue 6. Enlightenment of the Slavs. Cyril and Methodius. Video

The emperor entrusted this important matter to Constantine and Methodius. They arrived in Moravia and zealously set to work: they built churches, began to perform divine services in the Slavic language, started and taught searching. Christianity, not only in appearance, but in spirit, began to quickly spread among the people. This aroused strong hostility in the Latin clergy: slander, denunciations, complaints - everything was used in order to destroy the cause of the Slavic apostles. They were even forced to go to Rome to justify themselves to the pope himself. The Pope carefully examined the case, completely acquitted them and blessed their labors. Constantine, exhausted by work and struggle, no longer went to Moravia, but became a monk under the name of Cyril; he soon died (February 14, 868) and was buried in Rome.

All the thoughts, all the concerns of Saint Cyril before his death were about his great work.

“We, brother,” he said to Methodius, “drew the same furrow with you, and now I am falling, ending my days.” You love our native Olympus (monastery) too much, but for its sake, see, do not leave our service - with it you can quickly be saved.

The Pope elevated Methodius to the rank of Bishop of Moravia; but at that time severe unrest and strife began there. Prince Rostislav was expelled by his nephew Svyatopolk.

The Latin clergy strained all its forces against Methodius; but despite everything - slander, insults and persecution - he continued his holy work, enlightening the Slavs with the faith of Christ in a language and alphabet they understood, with book teaching.

Around 871, he baptized Borivoj, Prince of the Czech Republic, and established Slavic worship here too.

After his death, the Latin clergy managed to oust Slavic worship from the Czech Republic and Moravia. The disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius were expelled from here, fled to Bulgaria and here they continued the holy feat of the first teachers of the Slavs - they translated church and instructive books from Greek, the works of the “church fathers”... The book wealth grew and grew and our ancestors inherited a great legacy.

The creators of the Slavic alphabet are Cyril and Methodius. Bulgarian icon 1848

Church Slavonic writing especially flourished in Bulgaria under the Tsar Simeone, at the beginning of the 10th century: many books were translated, not only necessary for worship, but also the works of various church writers and preachers.

At first, ready-made church books came to us from Bulgaria, and then, when literate people appeared among the Russians, the books began to be copied here, and then translated. Thus, along with Christianity, literacy appeared in Rus'.

And Methodius were born in the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki, Slavic. "Thessaloniki"). Their father, named Leo, “of good birth and rich,” was a drungari, that is, an officer, under the strategos (military and civil governor) of the theme of Thessalonica. Their grandfather (it is not clear by father or mother) was a major nobleman in Constantinople, but then, apparently, fell out of favor and ended his days in obscurity in Thessalonica. The family had seven sons, including Methodius (researchers do not know whether this was a baptismal name or given upon tonsure) is the eldest, and Konstantin (Kirill) is the youngest of them.

According to the most widespread version in science, Cyril and Methodius were of Greek origin. In the 19th century, some Slavic scholars (Mikhail Pogodin, Hermengild Irechek) defended their Slavic origin, based on their excellent command of the Slavic language - a circumstance that modern scholars consider insufficient for judging ethnicity. The Bulgarian tradition calls the brothers Bulgarians (to which, until the twentieth century, the Macedonian Slavs were also counted), relying in particular on the prologue “Life of Cyril” (in a later edition), where it is said that he “was born in the Soloun city”; This idea is readily supported by modern Bulgarian scientists.

Thessalonica, where the brothers were born, was a bilingual city. In addition to the Greek language, they sounded the Slavic Thessalonica dialect, which was spoken by the tribes surrounding Thessaloniki: Dragovites, Sagudates, Vayunits, Smolyans and which, according to the research of modern linguists, formed the basis of the translation language of Cyril and Methodius, and with them the entire Church Slavonic language . An analysis of the language of translations of Cyril and Methodius shows that they spoke Slavic as their native language. The latter, however, does not yet speak in favor of their Slavic origin and apparently did not distinguish them from other inhabitants of Thessalonica, since the “Life of Methodius” ascribes to Emperor Michael III the following words addressed to the saints: “You are a villager, and all villagers are purely Slovenian.” are talking."

Years of study and teaching

Both brothers received an excellent education. Methodius, with the support of his family friend and patron, the great logothete (head of the state treasury) eunuch Theoktistus, made a good military-administrative career, culminating in the post of strategist of Slavinia, a Byzantine province located in Macedonia. Then, however, he took monastic vows.

Kirill, unlike his brother, initially followed the spiritual and scientific path. According to the “Life”, compiled among his immediate disciples, from the very beginning of his teaching in Thessalonica, he amazed those around him with his abilities and memory. Once in his youth, while hunting, he lost his beloved hawk, and this made such an impression on him that he abandoned all fun and, having drawn a cross on the wall of his room, delved into the study of the works of Gregory the Theologian, to whom he wrote a special poetic praise. Under the patronage of the logothete Theoktistus, he headed to Constantinople, where, according to his life, he studied with the emperor (but the young Michael was much more younger than Konstantin, perhaps in reality he was supposed to help train the child emperor). Among his teachers are the greatest scientists of that time, the future Patriarch Photius I and Leo the Mathematician. There he (according to the author of the “Life” allegedly at three months) studied “Homer and geometry, and Leo and Photius, dialectic and all the philosophical sciences in addition: rhetoric, and arithmetic, and astronomy, and music, and all other Hellenic arts”. Subsequently, he also mastered Aramaic and Hebrew. At the end of his studies, he refused to begin a very promising secular career by concluding an advantageous marriage with the goddaughter of the logothete (along with which, to begin with, “archontia” was promised, that is, the control of one of the semi-autonomous Slavic regions of Macedonia, and in the future the post of strategist), and therefore was sent along the path church ministry(since Constantine was only 15 years old at that time, he had to go through several more preliminary steps in the church hierarchy before becoming a priest) and entered service as, in the words of his life, “a scribe to the patriarch in St. Sophia.” The “reader of the patriarch” (the patriarch was Photius, Constantine’s teacher) can be understood as a chartophylax (the head of the office of the patriarch, literally “keeper of the archive”), or maybe a bibliophilax - the patriarchal librarian; B. Florya prefers the second option, since the young deacon did not have any administrative experience for such a responsible position as the patriarch's secretary. However, at some point he unexpectedly abandoned his post and hid in the monastery. After 6 months, he was found by the patriarch’s envoys and begged to return to Constantinople, where he began teaching philosophy at the same Magnavra University where he had recently studied (since then the nickname Constantine the Philosopher has been established for him). If you believe the Life of Constantine, then he defeated the famous leader of the iconoclasts, the former Patriarch John the Grammar (in the Life he appears under the contemptuous nickname “Annius”); however, modern researchers almost unanimously consider this episode to be fictitious.

Khazar mission

Finding the relics of St. Clement, Pope

Konstantin-Kirill played a leading role in this event, which he himself later described in “The Homily for the Finding of the Relics of Clement, Pope of Rome,” which came down in a Slavic translation. At the same time, the acquisition itself took place with the participation of high-ranking representatives of the Constantinople clergy and the local bishop. E. V. Ukhanova believes that both the acquisition of the relics and their subsequent transfer by Constantine-Cyril to Rome (see below) were not only acts of piety, but also political acts of the Constantinople court, aimed at reconciling Constantinople with the Roman throne in two moments when this seemed possible: during the election of Photius as patriarch (before his famous break with Pope Nicholas I) and after the removal of Photius by the new emperor Basil the Macedonian.

Moravian Mission

If you ask the Slavic literati, saying: “Who created the letters for you or translated the books?”, then everyone knows and, answering, they say: “St. Constantine the Philosopher, named Cyril - he created the letters for us and translated the books, and Methodius, his brother. Because those who saw them are still alive.” And if you ask: “at what time?”, then they know and say: “that in the time of Michael, king of Greece, and Boris, prince of Bulgaria, and Rostislav, prince of Moravia, and Kocel, prince of Blaten, in the year from the creation of the whole world.” .

If you ask the Slovenian boukar, saying: “Who created the letters, or the books?” - Then they all say and answer: “St. Constantine the Philosopher, called Kiril, created for us letters lay down the books, and Methodius his brother. The point is, those who are still alive will have seen them.” And if you ask: “at what time?” then they lead and say: “As in the times of Michael, the Tsar of Grichsk, and Boris, the Prince of Bulgaria, and Rastitsa, the Prince of Moravia, and Kotsel, the Prince of Blatnsk, in the year from the creation of the whole world.”

Thus, the creation of the Slavic alphabet can be dated back to 863 after the Nativity of Christ, according to the Alexandrian chronology used at that time by Bulgarian chroniclers.

Experts have still not come to a consensus as to which of the two Slavic alphabets - Glagolitic or Cyrillic - was the author of Konstantin. Chernorizets Khrabr, however, mentions that Cyril's alphabet had 38 characters, which indicates the Glagolitic alphabet.

Rome trip

Before his death, fearing that Methodius would return to the monastery on Olympus, he said to his brother:

“Here, brother, you and I were like two oxen in harness, plowing one furrow, and I was near the forest<, дойдя борозду,>I fall, finishing my day. And although you love the mountain very much, you cannot leave your teaching for the sake of the mountain, for how else can you better achieve salvation?”

Original text (old Slavic)
“Behold, brother, I am the wife of Bakhov, weighing down the reins alone, and I am falling in the forest, having ended my days. And if you love the mountain as great, then do not destroy the mountain for the sake of leaving your teaching, otherwise you may be saved.”

The Pope ordained Methodius as Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia.

Return of Methodius to Pannonia

In 879, German bishops organized a new trial against Methodius. However, Methodius brilliantly justified himself in Rome and even received a papal bull allowing worship in the Slavic language.

In 881, Methodius, at the invitation of Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, came to Constantinople. There he spent three years, after which he and his students returned to Moravia (Velegrad). With the help of three students, he translated into Slavic Old Testament and patristic books.

In 885, Methodius became seriously ill. Before his death, he appointed his student Gorazda as his successor. On April 4, Palm Sunday, he asked to be taken to church, where he read a sermon. On the same day he died. Methodius' funeral service took place in three languages - Slavic, Greek and Latin.

After death

After the death of Methodius, his opponents managed to achieve a ban Slavic writing in Moravia. Many students were executed, some moved to Bulgaria (Gorazd-Ohridski and Kliment-Ohridski) and Croatia.

Pope Adrian II wrote to Prince Rostislav in Prague that if anyone begins to treat books written in Slavic with contempt, then let him be excommunicated and brought before the court of the Church, for such people are “wolves.” And Pope John VIII in 880 wrote to Prince Svyatopolk, ordering that sermons be delivered in Slavic.

Disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius

The above-mentioned disciples are revered in the Balkans as the seventh saints.

Heritage

Cyril and Methodius developed a special alphabet for writing texts in the Slavic language - Glagolitic. Currently, the viewpoint of V. A. Istrin prevails among historians, but is not generally recognized, according to which the Cyrillic alphabet was created on the basis Greek alphabet disciple of the holy brothers Clement of Ohrid (which is also mentioned in his Life). Using the created alphabet, the brothers translated the Holy Scriptures and a number of liturgical books from Greek.

It should be noted that even if the Cyrillic letterforms were developed by Clement, he relied on the work of isolating the sounds of the Slavic language done by Cyril and Methodius, and it is precisely this work that is main part any work to create a new written language. Modern scientists note high level this work, which gave designations for almost all scientifically distinguished Slavic sounds, to which we apparently owe to the outstanding linguistic abilities of Konstantin-Kirill, noted in the sources.

Sometimes it is argued about the existence of Slavic writing before Cyril and Methodius, based on a passage from the life of Cyril, which talks about books written in “Russian letters”:

"And the Philosopher found here<в Корсуни>The Gospel and the Psalter, written in Russian letters, and I found a man, the speaker speech. And he talked with him and understood the meaning of the language, correlating the differences between vowels and consonants with his language. And offering up prayer to God, he soon began to read and speak. And many were amazed at this, praising God.”
Original text (old Slavic)
“You will find that Gospel and Psalter, written in Russian letters, and you will find a person who speaks with that conversation. And having talked with him, I received the power of speech, applying different writings, vowel and consonant, to my conversation. And holding a prayer to God, he soon began to clean and say. And I am amazed at him, praising God.”

However, it does not follow from the passage that the “Russian language” mentioned there is Slavic; on the contrary, the fact that Konstantin-Kirill’s mastery of it is perceived as a miracle directly indicates that it was not a Slavic language. It should be remembered that in the time of Cyril and Methodius and much later, the Slavs easily understood each other and believed that they spoke a single Slavic language, which is also agreed by some modern linguists who believe that the unity of the Proto-Slavic language can be spoken of until the 12th century . Most researchers believe that the fragment either speaks of the Gospel in the Gothic language (an idea first expressed by Safarik), or that the manuscript contains an error and that instead of “Russian” it should be considered “Suric”, that is, “Syrian”. In support, they point out that the author makes a special distinction between vowels and consonants: as is known, in Aramaic writing, vowel sounds are indicated by superscripts. It is also significant that the entire fragment is given in the context of a story about Constantine’s study of the Hebrew language and Samaritan writing, which he began in Korsun, preparing for the debate in Khazaria. Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov) also points out that in the same life it is repeatedly emphasized that Constantine was the creator of Slavic letters and before him there were no Slavic letters - that is, the author of the life does not consider the described “Russian” letters to be Slavic.

Reverence

They are revered as saints in both the East and the West.

Widespread veneration of Cyril and Methodius began in the mid-19th century, when the names of the Slavic first teachers became a symbol of self-determination of cultures Slavic peoples. The first celebration of the day of memory of Cyril and Methodius took place on May 11, 1858 in Plovdiv, and the Greeks did not participate in the celebrations. The celebration itself had the character of a symbolic act of confrontation with the Greek hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which was then subordinate to the Bulgarian Church.

First practical steps The restoration of church veneration of the Slavic first teachers was undertaken by Bishop Anthony of Smolensk (Amphitheaters), who in the summer of 1861 addressed the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod with a report in which he drew attention to the fact that in the Menaions on May 11 there is no service to Cyril and Methodius, and in the Monthly Book for them there is neither troparion nor kontakion. That is, in the liturgical practice of countries that used liturgical books printed in Russia (in Serbia, Bulgaria and Russia), the Slavic first teachers did not commit special service. Such a service had to be compiled and put into liturgical use. The initiative was supported by Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov).

Two years after these celebrations, the “Cyril and Methodius Collection” was published, published under the editorship of M. P. Pogodin, which included the publication of a significant number of primary sources related to the activities of Cyril and Methodius, including ancient services to the Slavic first teachers. Articles were also posted here that emphasized the political aspect of the Cyril and Methodius celebrations.

The holiday in honor of Cyril and Methodius is a public holiday in Russia (since 1991), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Republic of Macedonia. In Russia, Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia the holiday is celebrated on May 24; in Russia and Bulgaria it is called , in Macedonia it is the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia the holiday is celebrated on July 5th.

In Bulgaria there is the Order of Cyril and Methodius. Also in Bulgaria, back in the communist period, a public holiday was established - the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture (coinciding with the day of the church commemoration of Cyril and Methodius), which is widely celebrated today.

In mid-July 1869, in the centuries-old forest across the Tsemes River, Czech settlers who arrived in Novorossiysk founded the village of Mefodievka, which was named in honor of St. Methodius.

To the cinema

Cyril and Methodius - Apostles of the Slavs (2013)

Notes

Duychev, Ivan. Bulgarian Middle Ages. - Sofia: Science and Art, 1972. - P. 96.
THE LIFE OF CONSTANTINE-KIRILL
“I had a great and famous grandfather, who sat near the Tsar, and he willingly rejected the glory given to him, was quickly expelled, and came to another land, impoverished. And give birth to that one,” the life quotes the words of Constantine himself - see THE LIFE OF CONSTANTINE-KIRILL
Tahiaos, Anthony Emilius-N. Holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, enlighteners of the Slavs. Sergiev Posad, 2005. P. 11.
Cyril and Methodius, Equal to the Apostles, Slovenian teachers
Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05, s.v. "Cyril and Methodius, Saints"; Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica Incorporated, Warren E. Preece - 1972, p.846
// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Cyril and Methodius// New encyclopedic dictionary. Volume 21. 1914
E. M. VERESCHAGIN From the history of the emergence of the first literary language of the Slavs. Translation technique of Cyril and Methodius)
Cyril and Methodius Encyclopedia., Sofia., BAN publication (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), 1985
S. B. Bernstein. Slavic languages. Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary. - M., 1990. - P. 460-461

Cyril and Methodius are saints, equal to the apostles, Slavic educators, creators of the Slavic alphabet, preachers of Christianity, the first translators of liturgical books from Greek into Slavic. Cyril was born around 827, died on February 14, 869. Before taking monasticism at the beginning of 869, he bore the name Constantine. His elder brother Methodius was born around 820 and died on April 6, 885. Both brothers were originally from Thessalonica (Thessaloniki), their father was a military leader. In 863, Cyril and Methodius were sent by the Byzantine emperor to Moravia in order to preach Christianity in the Slavic language and assist the Moravian prince Rostislav in the fight against the German princes. Before leaving, Cyril created the Slavic alphabet and, with the help of Methodius, translated several liturgical books from Greek into Slavic: selected readings from the Gospel, apostolic epistles. Psalms, etc. There is no consensus in science on the question of which alphabet Cyril created - Glagolitic or Cyrillic, but the first assumption is more likely. In 866 or 867, Cyril and Methodius, at the call of Pope Nicholas I, headed to Rome, and on the way they visited the Principality of Blaten in Pannonia, where they also distributed Slavic literacy and introduced worship in the Slavic language. After arriving in Rome, Kirill became seriously ill and died. Methodius was ordained archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia and in 870 returned from Rome to Pannonia. In mid-884, Methodius returned to Moravia and worked on translating the Bible into Slavic. With their activities, Cyril and Methodius laid the foundation for Slavic writing and literature. This activity was continued in the South Slavic countries by their students who were expelled from Moravia in 886 and moved to Bulgaria.

CYRIL AND MEFODIUS - EDUCATION OF THE SLAVIC PEOPLES

In 863, ambassadors from Great Moravia from Prince Rostislav arrived in Byzantium to Emperor Michael III with a request to send them a bishop and a person who could explain the Christian faith in the Slavic language. The Moravian prince Rostislav sought the independence of the Slavic church and had already made a similar request to Rome, but was refused. Michael III and Photius, just as in Rome, reacted to Rostislav's request formally and, having sent missionaries to Moravia, did not ordain any of them as bishops. Thus, Constantine, Methodius and their associates could only conduct educational activities, but did not have the right to ordain their students to the priesthood and deaconship. This mission could not have been crowned with success and had great significance if Constantine had not brought the Moravians a perfectly developed and convenient alphabet for transmitting Slavic speech, as well as a translation into Slavic of the main liturgical books. Of course, the language of the translations brought by the brothers was phonetically and morphologically different from the living one. spoken language, spoken by the Moravians, but the language of the liturgical books was initially perceived as a written, bookish, sacred, model language. It was much more understandable than Latin, and a certain dissimilarity to the language used in everyday life gave it greatness.

Constantine and Methodius read the Gospel in Slavic at services, and the people reached out to their brothers and to Christianity. Constantine and Methodius diligently taught their students the Slavic alphabet, divine services, and continued their translation activities. Churches where services were conducted in Latin were emptying, and the Roman Catholic priesthood was losing influence and income in Moravia. Since Constantine was a simple priest, and Methodius a monk, they did not have the right to appoint their students to church positions themselves. To solve the problem, the brothers had to go to Byzantium or Rome.

In Rome, Constantine handed over the relics of St. Clement to the newly ordained Pope Adrian II, so he received Constantine and Methodius very solemnly, with honor, took under his care the divine service in the Slavic language, ordered to put Slavic books in one of the Roman churches and perform a divine service over them. The pope ordained Methodius as a priest, and his disciples as presbyters and deacons, and in a letter to princes Rostislav and Kotsel he legitimized the Slavic translation of the Holy Scriptures and the celebration of worship in the Slavic language.

The brothers spent almost two years in Rome. One of the reasons for this is Konstantin’s increasingly deteriorating health. At the beginning of 869, he accepted the schema and the new monastic name Cyril, and died on February 14. By order of Pope Adrian II, Cyril was buried in Rome, in the Church of St. Clement.

After the death of Cyril, Pope Adrian ordained Methodius as Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia. Returning to Pannonia, Methodius began vigorous activity to spread Slavic worship and writing. However, after the removal of Rostislav, Methodius did not have strong political support left. In 871, German authorities arrested Methodius and put him on trial, accusing the archbishop of invading the domain of the Bavarian clergy. Methodius was imprisoned in a monastery in Swabia (Germany), where he spent two and a half years. Only thanks to the direct intervention of Pope John VIII, who replaced the deceased Adrian II, in 873 Methodius was released and restored to all rights, but Slavic worship became not the main one, but only an additional one: the service was conducted in Latin, and sermons could be delivered in Slavic.

After the death of Methodius, opponents of Slavic worship in Moravia became more active, and the worship itself, based on the authority of Methodius, was first oppressed and then completely extinguished. Some of the students fled to the south, some were sold into slavery in Venice, and some were killed. The closest disciples of Methodius Gorazd, Clement, Naum, Angellarius and Lawrence were imprisoned in iron, kept in prison, and then expelled from the country. The works and translations of Constantine and Methodius were destroyed. This is precisely why their works have not survived to this day, although there is quite a lot of information about their work. In 890, Pope Stephen VI anathematized Slavic books and Slavic worship, finally banning it.

The work begun by Constantine and Methodius was nevertheless continued by his disciples. Clement, Naum and Angellarius settled in Bulgaria and were the founders of Bulgarian literature. Orthodox Prince Boris-Mikhail, a friend of Methodius, supported his students. A new center of Slavic writing emerges in Ohrid (the territory of modern Macedonia). However, Bulgaria is under strong cultural influence from Byzantium, and one of Constantine's students (most likely Clement) creates a writing system similar to Greek writing. This happens at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century, during the reign of Tsar Simeon. It is this system that receives the name Cyrillic in memory of the person who first attempted to create an alphabet suitable for recording Slavic speech.

QUESTION ABOUT THE INDEPENDENCE OF SLAVIC ABCs

The question of the independence of the Slavic alphabets is caused by the very nature of the outlines of the letters of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabet and their sources. What were the Slavic alphabet - the new writing system or just a variety of Greco-Byzantine writing? When deciding this issue, the following factors must be taken into account:

In the history of writing, there was not a single letter-sound system that arose completely independently, without the influence of previous writing systems. So, Phoenician letter arose on the basis of ancient Egyptian (although the principle of writing was changed), ancient Greek - on the basis of Phoenician, Latin, Slavic - on the basis of Greek, French, German - on the basis of Latin, etc.

Consequently, we can only talk about the degree of independence of the writing system. In this case, it is much more important how accurately the modified and adapted original writing corresponds to the sound system of the language that it intends to serve. It was in this regard that the creators of Slavic writing showed great philological flair and a deep understanding of phonetics Old Slavonic language, as well as great graphic taste.

THE ONLY STATE-CHURCH HOLIDAY

PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE RSFSR

RESOLUTION

ABOUT THE DAY OF SLAVIC WRITING AND CULTURE

Attaching great importance to the cultural and historical revival of the peoples of Russia and taking into account the international practice of celebrating the day of the Slavic educators Cyril and Methodius, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR decides:

Chairman

Supreme Council of the RSFSR

In 863, 1150 years ago, the Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius began their Moravian mission to create our written language. It is spoken about in the main Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”: “And the Slavs were glad that they heard about the greatness of God in their language.”

And the second anniversary. In 1863, 150 years ago, the Russian Holy Synod determined: in connection with the celebration of the millennium of the Moravian mission of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers, to establish an annual celebration in honor of the Venerables Methodius and Cyril on May 11 (24 AD).

In 1986, on the initiative of writers, especially the late Vitaly Maslov, the first Writing Festival was held in Murmansk, and the next year it was widely celebrated in Vologda. Finally, on January 30, 1991, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted a resolution on the annual holding of Days of Slavic Culture and Literature. Readers do not need to be reminded that May 24 is also the name day of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.

Logically, it seems that the only state-church holiday in Russia has every reason to acquire not only a national significance, as in Bulgaria, but also pan-Slavic significance.