Cyril and Methodius (Greek: Κύριλλος και Μεθόδιος, Bulgarian: Кирил и Методий, Macedonian: Кирил и Методиј) were two Byzantine Greek,[1] or Slavic ^{[1][page # needed][Quotation from source requested on talk page to verify interpretation of source]} brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century, who became missionaries of Christianity in Khazaria and Great Moravia. Saint Cyril (Greek: Κύριλλος , Church Slavonic: Кирилъ) (827 - February 14, 869) was a Byzantine Greek monk, scholar, theologian, and linguist. ... Saint Methodius (Greek: Μεθόδιος; Church Slavonic Мефодии) (b. ... Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, southern Balkans, the Greek islands, the coasts of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the large urban centres of Near East and... Slavic and Slavonic are used interchangably in English, with the former perferred in US English, and the latter in English. ... Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: ) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia, the largest Region of Greece. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... The Khazars were a Turkic semi-nomadic people from Central Asia who adopted Judaism. ... Great Moravia was an empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. ...

Monument to Sts. Cyril and Methodius on Slavyanskaya Square in Moscow.

They are credited with devising and spreading the Glagolitic alphabet, which was used for Slavonic manuscripts before the development of the Cyrillic, the alphabet derived from Glagolitic, that, with small modifications, is still used in a number of Slavic languages. After their death their pupils became missionaries among other Slavic peoples. Both brothers were glorified in Eastern Orthodoxy as "equal-to-apostles" and were canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. They became the patron saints of Europe in 1980.^[2] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1944x2592, 657 KB) The monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius by Vyacheslav Klykov on the Slavyanskaya Square I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1944x2592, 657 KB) The monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius by Vyacheslav Klykov on the Slavyanskaya Square I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... The monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius Slavyanskaya Square (Russian: ) is the square in the center of Moscow. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. ... Old Church Slavonic (also called Old Slavic[1]) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki) by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (pronounced also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is actually a family of alphabets, subsets of which are used by certain Slavic languages — Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian—as well as many other languages of the former Soviet Union...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... An equal-to-the-apostles is a special title given to some canonized Saints in Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite churches as an outstanding recognition of their service in spreading and assertion of Christianity comparable to that of the original apostles. ... This article is about the process of declaring saints. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... In several forms of Christianity, a patron saint has special affinity for a trade or group. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Early life

Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in their birthplace, Thessaloniki.

Their father, Leon, was a Byzantine military officer (with the rank of drungarios) in the thema of Thessaloniki and their mother his wife, Maria. Their ethnicity is not clear; theories vary from both Greek parents through Greek father and Slavic mother^[1] to purely Bulgarian origin^[3]; the second and third versions are seen as a possible explanation of the fluency of the two brothers in the local Slavic dialect, although historic sources suggest that Slavic was spoken fluently by most Salonikans due to the predominance of Slavs in Macedonia. Cyril's birth name was Constantine (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Konstantínos) and he was probably renamed Cyril (Greek: 'Lordly') just before his death in Rome. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,280 × 960 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,280 × 960 pixels, file size: 1. ... Drungarios A Military rank of the Byzantine Army. ... The themata in 950. ... Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: ) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia, the largest Region of Greece. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ...

The two brothers lost their father at a young age, and their uncle Theoktistos (Greek: Θεόκτιστος) became their protector. Theoktistos was a "Logothetes tou dromou," a powerful Byzantine official, responsible for the postal services and the diplomatic relations of the Empire. He was also responsible, along with the regent Bardas, for initiating a far-reaching educational program within the Empire which culminated in the establishment of the University of Magnaura, where Constantine/Cyril was to teach. Theoktistos Vriennion (Greek: Θεόκτιστος), (d. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with logothete. ... Bardas was the regent (856-866) of Byzantine Emperor Michael III. Bardas was apparently the son of Marinos Mamikonian and the brother of Theodora, the wife of Byzantine Emperor Theophilus. ... The University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the palace hall of Magnavra Byzantine Empire was recognised as a University in 849. ...

Theoktistos invited (843) Cyril to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and helped him continue his studies at the University there. He also arranged the placement of Methodius (Greek: Μεθόδιος Methódios) as an abbot in the famous Greek monastery of Polychron (Μονή Πολυχρονίου) in Constantinople. Events Treaty of Verdun divides the Carolingian empire between the 3 sons of Louis the Pious. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Byzantine redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Early career

The fact that Cyril was a master theologian with a good command of both the Arabic and Hebrew languages made him eligible for his first state mission to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil in order to discuss the principle of the Holy Trinity with the Arab theologian and to tighten the diplomatic relations between the Abbashid Caliphate and the Empire. Arabic redirects here. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Mashriq Dynasties  Maghrib Dynasties  The Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid (Arabic: , ) is the dynastic name generally given to the caliph of Baghdad, the second of the two great Sunni dynasties of the Arab Empire, that overthrew the Umayyad caliphs from all but Spain. ... For main article see: Caliphate The Caliph (pronounced khaleef in Arabic) is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Sharia. ... Al-Mutawakkil Ala Allah Jafar bin al-Mutasim (821–861) (Arabic: المتوكل على الله جعفر بن المعتصم) was an Abbasid caliph who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861. ... This article is about the Christian Trinity. ...

The two brothers' second mission (860) requested by the Byzantine Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius (a professor of Cyril's at the University and his guiding light in earlier years) was a missionary expedition to the Khazar Khagan in order to prevent the expansion of Judaism there. This mission was unsuccessful, as later the Khagan imposed Judaism to his people as the national religion. Events First attack on Constantinople by Swedish Vikings (the Rus, see Varangians). ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... This coin struck during the regency of Theodora shows how Michael was less prominent than his mother, who is represented as ruler alone on the obverse, and even than his sister Thecla, who is depicted together with the young Michael on the reverse of this coin. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... Photius (b. ... The Khazars (Hebrew Kuzari כוזרי Kuzarim כוזרים; Turkish Hazar Hazarlar; Russian Хазарин Хазары; Tatar sing Xäzär Xäzärlär; Crimean Tatar: ; Greek Χαζάροι/Χάζαροι; Persianخزر khazar; Latin Gazari or Cosri) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people from Central Asia, many of whom converted to Judaism. ... Khagan or Great Khan (Old Turkic , alternatively spelled Chagan, Khaghan, Kagan, Qagan, Qaghan), is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a Khaganate (empire, greater than an ordinary Khan, but often referred to as such in... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

After their return to Constantinople, Cyril assumed the role of professor of philosophy at the University while Methodius had been designated as the bishop of the Moni Polychroniou. For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ...

Moravian mission

Saints Cyril and Methodius in Rome

In 862 they were invited by prince Rastislav to propagate Christianity in the Slavic language in Great Moravia, which they did until their deaths, Cyril's in 869 (in Rome) and Methodius' in 885 (in Great Moravia). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 562 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,298 × 1,615 pixels, file size: 4. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 562 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,298 × 1,615 pixels, file size: 4. ... Rastislav (?-870) was the second prince of Great Moravia. ... Great Moravia was an empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. ...

For the purpose of this mission, they devised the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet to be used for Slavonic manuscripts. The Glagolitic alphabet was suited to match the specific features of the Slavic language. Cyrillic is a modification of the Glagolitic alphabet with a closer resemblance to the Greek alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet is still used with small modifications in a number of Slavic languages.^[4] The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. ... ABCs redirects here, for the Alien Big Cats, see British big cats. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (pronounced also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is actually a family of alphabets, subsets of which are used by certain Slavic languages — Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian—as well as many other languages of the former Soviet Union...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup...

They also translated Christian texts for Slavs into the language that is now called Old Church Slavonic and wrote the first Slavic Civil Code, which was used in Great Moravia. The language derived from Old Church Slavonic, known as Church Slavonic, is still used in liturgy by several Eastern Orthodox churches. Old Church Slavonic (also called Old Slavic[1]) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki) by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ... A civil code is a systematic compilation of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. ... Church Slavonic may refer to: Old Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A liturgy is the customary public worship of a religious group, according to their particular traditions. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ...

Saint Cyril's remains are interred in a shrine-chapel within the Basilica di San Clemente in Rome, Italy. The chapel holds a Madonna by Sassoferrato, and it is said^{[citation needed]} that Pope John Paul II used to pray there sometimes for Poland and the Slavic countries. The Basilica of San Clemente is a complex of buildings in Rome centered around a 12th century Roman Catholic church dedicated to Pope Clement I. The site is notable as being an archeological record of Roman architectural, political and religious history from the early Christian era to the Middle Ages. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Sassoferrato (pop. ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   []; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as the 264th Pope of...

Commemoration

Statue of Cyril and Methodius at the foot of Nitra Castle

The saints' feast day is celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on May 24 and by the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church on 14 February as Saints Cyril and Methodius Day. Lutheran Churches commemorate the two saints either on 14 February or 11 May. It is a public holiday in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Macedonia, and Slovakia; it is celebrated in Russia as a holiday associated with the two brothers, who are considered patrons of learning and education. Image File history File links Sts. ... Image File history File links Sts. ... Nitra - City Center Nitra (German: ( ); Hungarian: / Nyitria [archaic]) is a city in western Slovakia (and the fourth largest urban settlement in Slovakia) situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the Nitra River valley. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The... Catholic Church redirects here. ... The Anglican Communion is a world-wide organisation of Anglican Churches. ... Saints Cyril and Methodius, together with the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther. ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ...

In the Czech lands and Slovakia, the two brothers were originally commemorated on March 9, but Pope Pius IX changed this date to July 5. Today, the St. Cyril and Methodius Day, believed to be the date of the arrival of the two brothers to Great Moravia in 863, is a national holiday both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bohemia, Moravia, Austrian Silesia - 1892, then part of Austria-Hungary Bohemia and Moravia-Silesia within Czechoslovakia in 1928 The Czech lands (Czech: České země) is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. ... is the 68th day of the year (69th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Pope Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from his election in June 16, 1846, until his death more than 31 years later in 1878. ... is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Public holidays in the Czech Republic Categories: | | ...

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje in Republic of Macedonia and St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria bear the name of the two saints. The Ss. ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... The main university building The St. ...

St. Cyril Peak and St. Methodius Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica are named for the two brothers. St. ... St. ... Livingston Island (62°36′ S 060°30′ W) is 61 km (38 mi) long and from 3 to 32 km (2 to 20 mi) wide, lying between Greenwich and Snow Islands in the South Shetland Islands. ... Location of the South Shetlands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about 120 kilometres north of the Antarctic Peninsula. ...

Notes

Saints Cyril and Methodius, Bulgarian icon-painter Zahari Zograf, Troyan Monastery, 1848

1. ^ ^{a b} Barford, P. M. (2001). The Early Slavs. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. 
2. ^ John Paul II's Egregiae Virtutis
3. ^ "Bulgarian" version is based primarily on the evidence of the short variant of St. Cyril's biography (so-called "Успение Кириллово" - "Assumption of St. Cyril"), an Old Slavonic text saying that St. Cyril "родомъ сыи блъгаринь" ("being Bulgarian by birth"). Two copies of the text (one belongs to the beginning of the 15th century, another from late 15th - early 16th c.) are published in: Боню Ст. Ангелов, Из старата българска, руска и сръбска литература, София, 1978, pp. 7-10 and 13-16. The "Greek" version argues that only native Greeks could take so high position as their father had, and that only Greeks were able to protect Greek interests so strongly as the brothers did; see: Tachiaos A. E. L'origine de Cyrille et de Méthode. Verité et légende dans les sources slaves. In: Cyrillomethodianum, Thessalonique, 1972-1973, II. This wersion also is not fully satisfactory. Critics say that the range of their father was not so high ("Uspensky's Tacticon" mentions his title of "drungarion" as the 198th out of 210 Byzantine ranges - compare with the "strategon" of Thessaloniki who was the 23th one), and that the brothers share ethnicity-independent patriotism of political and cultural elite of the Byzantine society of their time. See: Б. Н. Флоря, Сказания о начале славянской письменности, Москва, 2000, p. 203-205. The "mixed origin" version tries to be a middle point of view, combining reasonable parts of both extremities.
4. ^ The Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the beginning of the 10th century, and was named so in honor of St. Cyril. Its probable creator is Clement of Ohrid, one of the closest disciples of the two holy brothers. Compared to the earlier Glagolitic alphabet, it uses letters closer to those of the Greek alphabet, but has been adapted for use in some fifty languages.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (450x621, 226 KB) Eastern Orthodox Icon of SS Cyril and Methodius, please notify Feerique 18:36, 21 December 2006 (UTC) before using I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (450x621, 226 KB) Eastern Orthodox Icon of SS Cyril and Methodius, please notify Feerique 18:36, 21 December 2006 (UTC) before using I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... One of the mural self-portraits of Zahari Zograf Zahariy Hristovich Dimitrov (Bulgarian: Захарий Христович Димитров), better known as Zahari Zograf (or Zahariy Zograf; Захари(й) Зограф) is arguably the most famous Bulgarian painter of the Bulgarian National Revival, noted for his church mural paintings and icons and often regarded as the founder of secular art... A 1876 drawing of the monastery The Troyan Monastery is the third largest monastery in Bulgaria. ... This article is about the medieval Bulgarian saint. ... Tablet inscribed with the Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavonic alphabet. ... ABCs redirects here, for the Alien Big Cats, see British big cats. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cyril and Methodius

• Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius
• SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary
• St. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje
• St. Cyril and Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo
• SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library in Sofia

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius was a short-lived secret political society that existed in Kiev, Ukraine, at the time a part of the Russian Empire. ... SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary is a four-year private Polish seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan. ... The Ss. ... Location of the city of Skopje (green) in the Republic of Macedonia Country Municipality Government  - Mayor Trifun Kostovski Area  - Total 1,818 km² (701. ... The main university building The St. ... Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Велико Търново; also transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in central northern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. ... A front view of the library building The SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (Народна библиотека „свети свети Кирил и Методий“) is the national library of Bulgaria, situated in the capital city of Sofia. ... This article is about the capital of Bulgaria. ...

External links

• SLAVORUM APOSTOLI by Pope John Paul II
• Cyril and Methodius - Encyclical epistle, 31 December 1980 by Pope John Paul II
• "Cyril and Methodius, Saints" article in Encyclopædia Britannica.
• ^  The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Cyril and Methodius, Saints.
• 24 May - is the Day of Cyrillic Alphabet and St. Cyril and St. Methody
• Cyril and Methodius in the "Catholic Encyclopedia"
• "Equal to Apostles SS. Cyril and Methodius Teachers of Slavs", by Prof. Nicolai D. Talberg
• GRANDE MUNUS ON SS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS
• Cyril and Methodius at orthodoxwiki