Saints Cyril and Methodius Day: Know about Saints Cyril and Methodius

Saints Cyril and Methodius Day is celebrated on 5 July in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, who follow the Roman Catholic feast days.

In Bulgaria, this day is known as ‘Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Literature Day’, ‘Alphabet Day’ or ‘Culture and Literacy Day’ and is celebrated following the Orthodox calendar on 24 May.

Who were Saints Cyril and Methodius?

Cyril and Methodius were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and evangelists. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the “Apostles to the Slavs”.

They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. After their demises, their students proceeded with their missionary work among different Slavs.

The two siblings are worshiped in the Orthodox Church as saints with the title of “equal-to-apostles”.

In 1880, Pope Leo XIII brought their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, Pope John Paul II proclaimed them co-patron saints of Europe, along with Benedict of Nursia.

The two siblings were born in Thessalonica (situated in present-day Greece) – Cyril in around 827–828 and Methodius around 815–820.

Cyril was reputedly the most youthful of seven siblings; he was born Constantine however was given the name Cyril after becoming a priest in Rome shortly before his passing, as indicated by the Vita Cyrilli (“The Life of Cyril”).

Methodius was born Michael and was given the name Methodius after becoming a priest at Mysian Olympus (present-day Uludağ), in northwest Turkey. Their dad was Leo, a droungarios of the Byzantine theme of Thessalonica, and their mom was Maria.

The specific ethnic roots of the siblings are unknown, there is a discussion concerning whether Cyril and Methodius were of Slavic or Byzantine Greek origin or both.

The two brothers lost their dad when Cyril was fourteen, and the incredible priest Theoktistos, who was logothetes tou dromou, one of the chief ministers of the Empire, became their defender.

He was additionally responsible, alongside the regent Bardas, for starting a broad educational program within the Empire which finished in the foundation of the University of Magnaura, where Cyril was to teach.

Cyril was appointed as a priest at some point after his education, while his sibling Methodius stayed a minister until 867/868.

Saints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine brothers born in Thessalonica in the ninth century. Part of a prominent Christian family, their dad was Greek and their mom was Bulgarian.

In 860 Cyril and Methodius went as ministers to what in particular is today Ukraine, spreading Christianity among the Slavic people groups of Bulgaria, Great Moravia, and Pannonia.

They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet. In line with the Moravian prince Rastislav, they started to translate religious books from Greek into Old Bulgarian.

Their alphabet is viewed as the antecedent to Cyrillic, which was named after Cyril. Today a large portion of the Slavic nations, including Russia, despite everything use an extension of that alphabet.

For a mind-blowing life, Cyril was known as Constantine, just embracing his religious name of Cyril while on his demise bed.