1 biography of the brothers Cyril and Methodius. Cyril and Methodius - creators of Slavic writing

At the end of 862, the prince of Great Moravia (the state of the Western Slavs) Rostislav turned to the Byzantine Emperor Michael with a request to send preachers to Moravia who could spread Christianity in the Slavic language (sermons in those parts were read in Latin, unfamiliar and incomprehensible to the people).

The year 863 is considered the year of birth of the Slavic alphabet.

The creators of the Slavic alphabet were the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

Emperor Michael sent the Greeks to Moravia - the scientist Constantine the Philosopher (he received the name Cyril Constantine when he became a monk in 869, and with this name he went down in history) and his older brother Methodius.

The choice was not random. Brothers Constantine and Methodius were born in Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki in Greek) into the family of a military leader and received a good education. Cyril studied in Constantinople at the court of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III, knew Greek, Slavic, Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic well, taught philosophy, for which he received the nickname Philosopher. Methodius was in military service, then for several years he ruled one of the regions inhabited by the Slavs; subsequently retired to a monastery.

In 860, the brothers had already made a trip to the Khazars for missionary and diplomatic purposes.

To be able to preach Christianity in the Slavic language, it was necessary to translate the Holy Scriptures into the Slavic language; however, there was no alphabet capable of conveying Slavic speech at that moment.

Constantine set about creating the Slavic alphabet. Methodius, who also knew the Slavic language well, helped him in his work, since a lot of Slavs lived in Thessalonica (the city was considered half-Greek, half-Slavic). In 863, the Slavic alphabet was created (the Slavic alphabet existed in two versions: the Glagolitic alphabet - from verb - “speech” and the Cyrillic alphabet; until now, scientists do not have a consensus which of these two options was created by Cyril). With the help of Methodius, a number of liturgical books were translated from Greek into Slavic. The Slavs were given the opportunity to read and write in their own language. The Slavs not only acquired their own Slavic alphabet, but also the first Slavic literary language was born, many words of which still live in Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian and other Slavic languages.

After the death of the brothers, their activities were continued by their students, expelled from Moravia in 886,

in South Slavic countries. (In the West, the Slavic alphabet and Slavic literacy did not survive; Western Slavs - Poles, Czechs ... - still use the Latin alphabet). Slavic literacy was firmly established in Bulgaria, from where it spread to the countries of the southern and eastern Slavs (9th century). Writing came to Rus' in the 10th century (988 – the baptism of Rus').

The creation of the Slavic alphabet was and still is of great importance for the development of Slavic writing, Slavic peoples, and Slavic culture.

The Bulgarian Church established the day of remembrance of Cyril and Methodius - May 11 according to the old style (May 24 according to the new style). The Order of Cyril and Methodius was also established in Bulgaria.

May 24 in many Slavic countries, including Russia, is a holiday of Slavic writing and culture.

On May 24, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

The name of these saints is known to everyone from school, and it is to them that all of us, native speakers of the Russian language, owe our language, culture, and writing.

Incredibly, all European science and culture were born within the monastery walls: it was in the monasteries that the first schools were opened, children were taught to read and write, and extensive libraries were collected. It was for the enlightenment of peoples, for the translation of the Gospel, that many written languages ​​were created. This happened with the Slavic language.

The holy brothers Cyril and Methodius came from a noble and pious family who lived in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. Methodius was a warrior and ruled the Bulgarian principality of the Byzantine Empire. This gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language.

Soon, however, he decided to leave his secular lifestyle and became a monk at the monastery on Mount Olympus. From childhood, Constantine showed amazing abilities and received an excellent education together with the young Emperor Michael 3rd at the royal court.

Then he became a monk in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor.

His brother Constantine, who took the name Cyril as a monk, was distinguished by great abilities from an early age and perfectly comprehended all the sciences of his time and many languages.

Soon the emperor sent both brothers to the Khazars to preach the gospel. As the legend says, along the way they stopped in Korsun, where Constantine found the Gospel and the Psalter written in “Russian letters,” and a man speaking Russian, and began to learn to read and speak this language.

When the brothers returned to Constantinople, the emperor again sent them on an educational mission - this time to Moravia. The Moravian prince Rostislav was oppressed by the German bishops, and he asked the emperor to send teachers who could preach in the native language of the Slavs.

The first of the Slavic peoples to turn to Christianity were the Bulgarians. The sister of the Bulgarian prince Bogoris (Boris) was held hostage in Constantinople. She was baptized with the name Theodora and was raised in the spirit of the holy faith. Around 860, she returned to Bulgaria and began to persuade her brother to accept Christianity. Boris was baptized, taking the name Mikhail. Saints Cyril and Methodius were in this country and with their preaching they greatly contributed to the establishment of Christianity in it. From Bulgaria, the Christian faith spread to its neighboring Serbia.

To fulfill the new mission, Constantine and Methodius compiled the Slavic alphabet and translated the main liturgical books (Gospel, Apostle, Psalter) into Slavic. This happened in 863.

In Moravia, the brothers were received with great honor and began to teach Divine services in the Slavic language. This aroused the anger of the German bishops, who performed divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, and they filed a complaint to Rome.

Taking with them the relics of St. Clement (Pope), which they discovered back in Korsun, Constantine and Methodius went to Rome.
Having learned that the brothers were carrying holy relics with them, Pope Adrian greeted them with honor and approved the service in the Slavic language. He ordered the books translated by the brothers to be placed in Roman churches and the liturgy to be performed in the Slavic language.

Saint Methodius fulfilled his brother’s will: returning to Moravia already in the rank of archbishop, he worked here for 15 years. From Moravia, Christianity penetrated into Bohemia during the lifetime of Saint Methodius. The Bohemian prince Borivoj received holy baptism from him. His example was followed by his wife Lyudmila (who later became a martyr) and many others. In the mid-10th century, the Polish prince Mieczyslaw married the Bohemian princess Dabrowka, after which he and his subjects accepted the Christian faith.

Subsequently, these Slavic peoples, through the efforts of Latin preachers and German emperors, were torn away from the Greek Church under the rule of the Pope, with the exception of the Serbs and Bulgarians. But all Slavs, despite the centuries that have passed, still have a living memory of the great Equal-to-the-Apostles enlighteners and the Orthodox faith that they tried to plant among them. The sacred memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius serves as a connecting link for all Slavic peoples.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

May 24 is the day of Slavic literature and culture. It is also the day of veneration of the holy enlighteners Cyril and Methodius, who gave the Slavs the writing and alphabet that we still use today.

Thessalonica brothers

Leo and Mary, who lived in the Greek city of Thessaloniki (now called Thessaloniki), had seven children. The eldest of them is Mikhail, the youngest is Konstantin. It was they who would later become known as the enlighteners Methodius and Cyril, the inventors of the Slavic alphabet. Thessaloniki, or as the Slavs called it Thessaloniki, was a port city, and therefore the brothers grew up surrounded by many languages. Moreover, some researchers believe that Michael and Constantine were bilingual because their father, a local military leader, was of Slavic origin, and their mother was Greek.

Mikhail Solunsky

Both Methodius and Cyril did not immediately become educators. The eldest of the Thessaloniki brothers followed in his father’s footsteps and chose a military career. At the age of twenty, he was appointed governor of Slavinia, one of the Slavic-Bulgarian regions subordinate to Byzantium. But ten years later he decided to radically change his life. Mikhail left both his military-administrative career and the world in order to go to Olympus and become a monk there. When he was tonsured, he took the name Methodius.

Konstantin Solunsky

The youngest of the Thessalonica brothers, Constantine, was twelve years younger than Mikhail. When the eldest had been serving in Slavinia for a long time, Constantine, as a capable young man, was accepted into an elite school at the court of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. There, the future educator studied philosophy, grammar, rhetoric, all the “Hellenic arts,” as well as Slavic, Jewish, Khazar, Arabic, Samaritan, Syriac (Sur) languages.

Library instead of wife

Obviously, Constantine was one of the best students at the court school, and he was guaranteed a brilliant career. In any case, this opinion was held by one of the highest officials in the state and its de facto ruler, logothete Theoktist. Therefore, he invited young Konstantin, who had just completed his studies, to marry his goddaughter, Theoktista. But Constantine refused, and first got a job in a library, then retired to a monastery and, eventually, became a teacher of philosophy in Constantinople. For this he was nicknamed Constantine the Philosopher.

Miracle of Finding Relics

In 860, Constantine and Methodius were sent on an educational mission to the Khazar Khaganate. Along the way, they stopped in Chersonesos, where they expanded their knowledge of the Hebrew language (Konstantin studied the Samaritan letter), and became acquainted with the mysterious “Russian” writings, which researchers consider Surish, that is, Syrian. Here Constantine performed a miracle. Having learned that for half a century parishioners had not been able to venerate the relics of St. Clement (the patron saint of Rome, the Roman bishop exiled to the Inkerman quarries and drowned in the Black Sea), Constantine invited the local priest to hold a service to recover the incorruptible relics. The service was performed, and Constantine, having brought the Chersonesites to the shore, pointed out the place in the shallow waters where, indeed, the remains were found with an anchor chain around the neck. Since Clement was drowned with an anchor tied to his neck, no one doubted the authenticity of the remains found. Subsequently, the relics of St. Clement served the brothers well.

Gospel for the Slavs

Apparently, the invention of the alphabet was not a valuable task in itself for the illuminators. For some reason (perhaps because they themselves were half, and according to some versions, exclusively Slavic), Constantine and Methodius sought to spread Slavic as the language of worship. Therefore, by the year 863, when Patriarch Photius of Constantinople sent the Thessalonica brothers on a mission to Moravia, they not only managed to come up with what later became known as the Cyrillic alphabet, but also translated a number of biblical texts, in particular the Gospel, into Slavic. In Velehrad, the capital of Moravia, worship in the Slavic language very quickly became popular. It is noteworthy that the brothers translated the Bible into the dialect common in Thessalonica, that is, into a language that was very familiar to them. But the Moravians had difficulty understanding the southern dialect and therefore began to treat it as a bookish, sacred language. Soon a group of opponents of the actions of Constantine and Methodius arose, the so-called trilinguals. These people believed that biblical texts should be read exclusively in the canonical languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The inventors of Slavic writing went to Rome for support.

Bishop Methodius of Moravia

In Rome, the enlighteners were received cordially, perhaps largely thanks to the relics of St. Clement, part of which they took with them when leaving Chersonesus, and now brought to the eternal city. The youngest of the brothers died here after a long illness, having become a monk under the name of Kirill before his death. And the eldest was ordained a priest, then appointed bishop of both Moravia and Pannonia. Returning to the Slavic lands, he continued the work of popularizing the Slavic language, but, despite the efforts expended, he could not achieve much success: the political situation in the principalities changed, the ruler Roslav, who supported the brothers, was overthrown, and the new authorities looked at Slavic-language services without enthusiasm. After keeping the bishop in prison for two years, they finally allowed him to preach in Slavonic.

Cyril and Methodius, a story for children about Christian preachers, creators of the Slavic alphabet and the Church Slavonic language, is briefly summarized in this article.

Brief message about Cyril and Methodius

These two brothers were from Thessaloniki. Their father was a successful officer and served in the province under its governor. Cyril was born in 827, and Methodius in 815. The Greek brothers were fluent in both Greek and Slavic.

Life before becoming a monk

At the beginning of their journey, they took different paths. Methodius, whose name in the world was Michael, was a military man and had the rank of strategos of the province of Macedonia. Kirill, who bore the name Konstantin before his tonsure, on the contrary, from an early age was interested in the science and culture of neighboring peoples. He translated the Gospel into Slavic. He also studied dialectics, geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, philosophy and rhetoric in Constantinople. Thanks to his extensive knowledge, Constantine could marry an aristocrat and occupy important positions in the highest echelons of power. But he abandoned all this and became a simple keeper of the library in St. Sophia. Of course, Konstantin did not stay here for long and began teaching at the capital’s university. And Mikhail at that time also abandoned his military career and became the abbot of the monastery on Lesser Olympus. Constantine was familiar with the Emperor of Constantinople and, on his instructions, in 856 he went with scientists to Lesser Olympus. Having met his brother there, they decided to write the alphabet for the Slavs.

Cyril and Methodius, creators of the Slavic alphabet

Their further life is connected with church activities. The prerequisite for the decision to start creating the Slavic alphabet was that in 862, ambassadors of the Moravian prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. The prince asked the emperor of Constantinople to give him scientists who would teach his people the Christian faith in their language. Rostislav argued that his people had long been baptized, but the services were conducted in a foreign dialect. And this is very inconvenient, because not everyone understands it. The emperor, having discussed the request of the Moravian prince with the patriarch, sent the brothers to Moravia. Together with their students, they began to translate. First, the Solun brothers translated Christian books into Bulgarian. These were the Psalter, the Gospel and the Apostle. In Moravia, church leaders taught the local population to read and write for 3 years and conducted services. In addition, they visited Panonia and Transcarpathian Rus', where they also glorified the Christian faith.

One day they had a conflict with German priests who did not want to conduct services in the Slavic language. The Pope in 868 summoned the brothers to him. Here everyone came to a common compromise that the Slavs could conduct services in their native language.

While in Italy, Konstantin becomes very ill. Realizing that death is not far off, he takes the monastic name Cyril. On his deathbed, Kirill asks his brother to continue his educational activities. On February 14, 869 he died

Methodius' educational activities

Returning to Moravia, Methodius (he had already adopted a monastic name) does what his brother asked him to do. But there was a change of priests in the country, and the Germans imprisoned him in a monastery. Pope John VIII, having learned about the incident, forbade German church ministers to conduct liturgies until they released Methodius. In 874 he was released and became archbishop. Often rituals and sermons in the Slavic language had to be carried out secretly. Methodius died on April 4, 885.

After the death of both brothers, he was canonized.

Cyril and Methodius interesting facts

• The age difference between Methodius and Cyril becomes 12 years. In addition to them, there were 5 more sons in the family.
• Kirill himself learned to read at an early age.
• Kirill spoke Slavic, Greek, Arabic, Latin and Hebrew.
• May 24 is a day to honor the memory of the brothers.
• Methodius served in the monastery on Lesser Olympus for 10 years before they met his brother and began their common preaching activities.

We hope that the message about Cyril and Methodius briefly helped you find out information about these Christian preachers. And you can leave your message about Cyril and Methodius using the comment form below.

This is the only state and church holiday in our country. On this day, the church honors the memory of Cyril and Methodius, who invented the Cyrillic alphabet.

The church tradition of honoring the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius arose in the 10th century in Bulgaria as a sign of gratitude for the invention of the Slavic alphabet, which gave many peoples the opportunity to read the Gospel in their native language.

In 1863, when the alphabet turned one thousand years old, the holiday of Slavic writing and culture was celebrated on a grand scale for the first time in Russia. Under Soviet rule, they stopped celebrating the holiday, but the tradition was revived again in 1991.

The creators of the Slavic alphabet, Cyril (Konstantin before becoming a monk) and Methodius (Michael), grew up in the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki (now Thessaloniki, Greece) in a wealthy family with a total of seven children. Ancient Thessaloniki was part of the Slavic (Bulgar) territory and was a multilingual city in which different language dialects coexisted, including Byzantine, Turkish and Slavic. The elder brother, Methodius, became a monk. The younger one, Kirill, excelled in science. He perfectly mastered the Greek and Arabic languages, studied in Constantinople, and was educated by the greatest scientists of his time - Leo Grammar and Photius (the future patriarch). Having completed his studies, Constantine accepted the rank of priest and was appointed custodian of the patriarchal library at the Church of St. Sophia and taught philosophy at the highest school in Constantinople. Cyril's wisdom and strength of faith were so great that he managed to defeat the heretic Aninius in the debate. Soon Constantine had his first students - Clement, Naum and Angelarius, with whom he came to the monastery in 856, where his brother Methodius was the abbot.

In 857, the Byzantine emperor sent brothers to the Khazar Khaganate to preach the gospel. On the way, they stopped in the city of Korsun, where they miraculously found the relics of the Holy Martyr Clement, Pope of Rome. After this, the saints went to the Khazars, where they convinced the Khazar prince and his entourage to accept Christianity and even took 200 Greek captives from captivity.

In the early 860s, the ruler of Moravia, Prince Rostislav, who was oppressed by German bishops, turned to the Byzantine Emperor Michael III with a request to send learned men, missionaries who spoke the Slavic language. All services, holy books and theology there were in Latin, but the Slavs did not understand this language. “Our people profess the Christian faith, but we do not have teachers who could explain the faith to us in our native language. Send us such teachers,” he asked. Michael III responded to the request with consent. He entrusted the translation of liturgical books into a language understandable to the inhabitants of Moravia to Cyril.

However, in order to record the translation, it was necessary to create a written Slavic language and a Slavic alphabet. Realizing the scale of the task, Kirill turned to his older brother for help. They came to the conclusion that neither the Latin nor the Greek alphabets correspond to the sound palette of the Slavic language. In this regard, the brothers decided to remake the Greek alphabet and adapt it to the sound system of the Slavic language. The brothers did a tremendous job of isolating and transforming sounds and drawing letters of the new writing system. Based on the developments, two alphabets were compiled - (named in honor of Cyril) and the Glagolitic alphabet. According to historians, the Cyrillic alphabet was created later than the Glagolitic alphabet and on its basis. Using the Glagolitic alphabet, the Gospel, Psalter, Apostle and other books were translated from Greek. According to the official version, this happened in 863. Thus, we are now celebrating 1155 years since the creation of the Slavic alphabet.

In 864, the brothers presented their work in Moravia, where they were received with great honors. Soon many students were assigned to study with them, and after some time the entire church rite was translated into the Slavic language. This helped teach the Slavs all church services and prayers, in addition, the lives of saints and other church books were translated into Slavic.

The acquisition of its own alphabet led to the fact that Slavic culture made a serious breakthrough in its development: it acquired a tool for recording its own history, for consolidating its own identity back in those days when most modern European languages ​​did not yet exist.

Due to the constant intrigues of the German clergy, Cyril and Methodius twice had to justify themselves to the Roman high priest. In 869, unable to withstand the stress, Cyril died at the age of 42.

When Cyril was in Rome, a vision appeared to him in which the Lord told him about his approaching death. He accepted the schema (the highest level of Orthodox monasticism).

His work was continued by his elder brother Methodius, who was soon ordained to the rank of bishop in Rome. He died in 885, having suffered exile, insults and imprisonment that lasted several years.

Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius were canonized in ancient times. In the Russian Orthodox Church, the memory of the Slavic enlighteners has been honored since the 11th century. The oldest services to saints that have survived to our time date back to the 13th century. The solemn celebration of the memory of saints was established in the Russian Church in 1863.

The Day of Slavic Literature was first celebrated in Bulgaria in 1857, and then in other countries, including Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. In Russia, at the state level, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture was first solemnly celebrated in 1863 (the 1000th anniversary of the creation of the Slavic alphabet was celebrated). In the same year, the Russian Holy Synod decided to celebrate the Day of Remembrance of Saints Cyril and Methodius on May 11 (24 New Style). During the years of Soviet power, the holiday was forgotten and restored only in 1986.

On January 30, 1991, May 24 was declared the Holiday of Slavic Literature and Culture, thereby giving it state status.