The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose biography is at least briefly known to everyone who speaks Russian, were great enlighteners. They developed an alphabet for many Slavic peoples, which immortalized their name.
Greek origin
The two brothers were from Thessaloniki. In the Slavic sources, the old traditional name Solun has been preserved. They were born in the family of a successful officer who served with the governor of the province. Cyril was born in 827, and Methodius - in 815.
Due to the fact that these Greeks knew the Slavic language well, some researchers tried to confirm the guess about their Slavic origin. However, no one succeeded in doing so. At the same time, for example, in Bulgaria, enlighteners are considered Bulgarian (they also use the Cyrillic alphabet).
Slavic connoisseurs
The linguistic knowledge of the noble Greeks can be explained by the history of Soluni. In their era, this city was bilingual. There was a local dialect of the Slavic language. The migration of this tribe reached its southern boundary, having buried in the Aegean Sea.
At first, the Slavs were pagans and lived under a tribal system, just like their German neighbors. However, those strangers who settled on the borders of the Byzantine Empire fell into the orbit of its cultural influence. Many of them formed colonies in the Balkans, becoming mercenaries of the ruler of Constantinople. Their presence was strong in Soluni, whence Cyril and Methodius were from. The biography of the brothers at first went in different ways.
Worldly Brothers Career
Methodius (in the world he was called Michael) became a military man and rose to the rank of strategist in one of the provinces in Macedonia. He succeeded thanks to his talents and abilities, as well as the patronage of the influential courtier Feoktista. From an early age, Cyril took up science, and also studied the culture of neighboring peoples. Even before he went to Moravia, thanks to which he became world famous, Constantine (name before being tonsured a monk) began to translate the chapters of the Gospel into Slavic.
In addition to linguistics, Cyril studied geometry, dialectics, arithmetic, astronomy, rhetoric and philosophy from the best specialists in Constantinople. Thanks to his noble birth, he could count on aristocratic marriage and public service in the highest echelons of power. However, the young man did not wish such a fate and became the keeper of the library in the main temple of the country - Hagia Sophia. But there he did not stay long, but soon began to teach at the capital's university. Thanks to brilliant victories in philosophical disputes, he received the nickname of the Philosopher, which is sometimes found in historiographical sources.
Cyril was acquainted with the emperor and even went with his instructions to the Muslim caliph. In 856, he and a group of students arrived at the monastery on Little Olympus, where his brother was the rector. It was there that Cyril and Methodius, whose biography was now associated with the church, decided to create an alphabet for the Slavs.
Translation of Christian books into Slavic
In 862, ambassadors from the Moravian prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. They conveyed to the emperor a message from their ruler. Rostislav asked the Greeks to give him learned people who could teach the Slavs the Christian faith in their own language. The baptism of this tribe took place even before that, but each service was held in a foreign dialect, which was extremely inconvenient. The patriarch and the emperor discussed this request among themselves and decided to ask the Solun brothers to go to Moravia.
Cyril, Methodius and their students set to do a great job. The first language into which the main Christian books were translated was Bulgarian. The biography of Cyril and Methodius, a summary of which is found in every Slavic textbook of history, is known for the colossal work of the brothers on the Psalter, Apostle and Gospel.
Travel to Moravia
The preachers went to Moravia, where they served for three years and taught people literacy. Their efforts also helped to realize the baptism of the Bulgarians, which occurred in 864. They also visited Transcarpathian Russia and Pannonia, where they also glorified the Christian faith in Slavic languages. The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography includes many travels, everywhere found an attentively listening audience.
Even in Moravia, they had a conflict with German priests who were there with a similar missionary mission. The key difference between them was the unwillingness of Catholics to conduct worship in the Slavic language. This position was supported by the Roman Church. This organization believed that God can only be praised in three languages: Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. This tradition has existed for many centuries.
The great split between Catholics and Orthodox has not yet happened, so the Pope still had influence over Greek priests. He called the brothers to Italy. They also wanted to come to Rome to defend their position and prudently Germans in Moravia.
Brothers in rome
The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose biography is also revered by Catholics, arrived at Adrian II in 868. He compromised with the Greeks and agreed that the Slavs could conduct worship in their native languages. The Moravians (ancestors of the Czechs) were baptized by bishops from Rome, and therefore formally were under the jurisdiction of the Pope.
While still in Italy, Constantine became very ill. When he realized that he was going to die soon, the Greek took the schema and received the monastic name Cyril, with whom he became known in historiography and popular memory. Being on his deathbed, he asked his brother not to abandon the general educational work, but to continue his service among the Slavs.
Continuation of the preaching work of Methodius
Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography is inextricable, became revered in Moravia during his lifetime. When the younger brother returned there, it became much easier for him to continue to fulfill his duty than 8 years ago. However, the situation in the country soon changed. The former Prince Rostislav was defeated by Svyatopolk. The new ruler was guided by German patrons. This led to a change in the composition of priests. The Germans again began to lobby for the idea of preaching in Latin. They even imprisoned Methodius in a monastery. When Pope John VIII found out about this, he forbade the Germans to conduct liturgies until they release the preacher.
Such resistance has not yet encountered Cyril and Methodius. Biography, the creation of the Slavic alphabet and everything related to their life is full of dramatic events. In 874, Methodius was finally released and again became archbishop. However, Rome already revoked their permission to worship in the Moravian language. However, the preacher refused to obey the volatile course of the Catholic Church. He began to conduct secret sermons and ceremonies in the Slavic language.
The last chores of Methodius
His perseverance was not in vain. When the Germans again tried to denigrate him in the eyes of the church, Methodius went to Rome and, thanks to his ability as a speaker, was able to defend his point of view before the Pope. He was given a special bull, which again allowed worship in national languages.
The Slavs appreciated the uncompromising struggle waged by Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography was reflected even in ancient folklore. Shortly before his death, his younger brother returned to Byzantium and spent several years in Constantinople. His last great work was the translation into the Slavic language of the "Old Testament" with which faithful students helped him. He died in 885 in Moravia.
The significance of the brothers
The alphabet created by the brothers spread over time in Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Russia. Today, Cyrillic is used by all Eastern Slavs. These are Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. Biography of Cyril and Methodius for children is taught as part of the school curriculum of these countries.
Interestingly, the original alphabet, created by the brothers, eventually became a verb in historiography. Another variant of it, known as the Cyrillic alphabet, appeared a little later thanks to the work of the students of these enlighteners. This scientific debate remains relevant. The problem is that ancient sources that could certainly confirm a specific point of view have not reached us. Theories are built only on secondary documents that appeared later.
Nevertheless, the contribution of the brothers is difficult to overestimate. Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography should be known to every Slav, helped not only spread Christianity, but also strengthen national identity among these peoples. In addition, even assuming that the Cyrillic alphabet was created by the students of the brothers, they still relied on their work. This is especially evident in the case of phonetics. Modern Cyrillic alphabets adopted the sound component of those written symbols that were proposed by the preachers.
Both the Western and Eastern churches recognize the importance of the activities that Cyril and Methodius conducted. A short biography for the children of enlighteners is found in many comprehensive textbooks of history and the Russian language.
Since 1991, our country has been celebrating an annual state holiday dedicated to the brothers from Soluni. It is called the Day of Slavic culture and writing and is also in Belarus. An order of their name was established in Bulgaria. Cyril and Methodius, interesting facts from the biography of which are published in various monographs, still attract the attention of new scholars of languages and history.