Without doubt, Sts. Cyril and Methodius are one of the most influential people in the history of the Slovak people. With their missionary work in Greater Moravia began the growth of our faith and most Slovaks today, regardless of religious or political opinion, connect to their legacy. The significance of their mission and their immense contribution to the growth of Christianity in Eastern Europe was brought forth by Pope John Paul II, when in 1980, he declared them co-patrons of Europe.

At the beginning of their journey stands the city of Solun (today's Thessalonica). In that very city, which lies in today's Greece and which was then part of the Byzantine Empire, seven children were born to a high official Leo and his wife Maria. Two of those seven would later become the legendary missionaries of the East.
Methodius was born in 815 and studied law and foreign languages. For ten years, after finishing the law school, he was an administrator of a certain Byzantine district, whose population was mostly made of Slavs. Leo's youngest son Constantine (who later accepted the monk name Cyril), born in 827 was also very talented and studied philosophy, literature and the teachings of Christianity. As a seven year old, he had a strange dream. He dreamt that the procurator of the city gathered all women from the city before him and told him to choose one for a wife. Constantine, entranced by the beauty of one, chose Sophia-Wisdom for his life companion.
Byzantine Emperor Michael III
This symbolic dream predestined him for the study of philosophy and sciences and Constantine continued his studies in Constantinopole, in school, where the future Emperor Michael III studied at the time. His friends called him Constantine- "the Philosopher" because of his great passion for Wisdom, which proved to be his mission and the path of his life. Constantine refused all the pleasures of life and in search for the meaning of life, he retreated into a monastery on the mountain of Olymp (in Asia Minor). Here he met his brother Methodius who has abandoned his important post and was also searching for a more spiritual life. Later, around the year 860, they were sent by the Byzantine Emperor Michael III as part of an official message to teach the Christian faith to the tribe of Khazars, who lived in the area between the Black and the Caspian Sea. Thanks to Constantine's diplomatic and philosophical skills and Methodius' knowledge of languages, two hundred Khazars were baptized. As a token of his gratitude, Kagan, the leader of the Khazars, wanted to present them with great gifts, but Constantine refused. Instead, he asked for two hundred Greek slaves, whom he freed shortly after. The leader of Khazars later wrote a letter to the czar, in which he promised the allegiance of his tribe and praised the wisdom of the two Greek brothers.

Meanwhile in the Slavonic countries, civil riots and frequent wars for the rule prevailed over steady kingship. In the eighth century the Slavs started to group themselves into bigger communities. Their first historically proven centre was Nitrava (today's Nitra), where Prince Pribina resided. The first missionaries to the Slavs were the Germans, but they were rare and often times more interested in trading than in preaching faith.
Letters of Kyyiv - the earliest Glagolic document

In 828, Pribina built the first Christian church in that area. But Mojmir, prince of the Old-Moravian principality, drove Pribina from Nitra around 833 and took the trone himself. Pribina fled behind Danube near the Balaton Lake (today's Hungary), he built a new castle Blatnohrad in Pannonia. Mojmir connected the Old-Moravian principality to the Nitrian principality and created a new state - Greater Moravia. The Slavs, however, weren't happy with Mojmir's strong political inclination to Franks (Franks were the Germans who colonized the area and who first introduced Christianity to Slovaks). That is why in 846, after the disintegration of the Frank empire in Verdune, when the German priests sent more and more news of the Slavs' discontent, the king of the Eastern Franks Ludovit Nemec attacked Greater Moravia and placed Rastislav, Mojmir's nephew, in his uncle's place.
Rastislav proved to be a very able ruler. At first he tolerated the Germans, but slowly he strengthened his kingdom from the inside, building castles and fortresses. When Nemec learned this, he attacked, but Rastislav resisted his counter-attacks and in his quest for strengthening the state and removing it from under the German control, he thought of strengthening the ecclestial politics and creating Greater Moravia's own independent Church porvince with its own bishop. This would make the state more able to resist the pressure of Bavorian missionaries, who supported the German rule. So Rastislav sent to the Pope Nicholas I a request for preachers, who would teach the people in their own language, educate local priests and strengthen the true Catholic faith among the Slavs because Christianity in Greater Moravia was weak, often wrongly interpreted and tainted with pagan traditions. He wasn't successful, however, and the Pope refused him because of Rastilsav's relations with Ludovit Nemec. Rastislav, not giving up just yet, tried again and sent out the same request to the Emperor himself. When the Emperor received Rastislav's request, he was certain that the only candidates for this mission were the two Greek brothers, Constantine and Methodius and so he asked them to go. Remembering the words of St. Peter: "Fear God, honour the ceasar", they agreed and began preparing themselves for a long and a harsh mission.

Constantine and Methodius knew very well the hardships of that kind of mission and the setbacks that the German priests experienced. That's why they agreed to devise a new writing for the Slavs, so that they could better recieve and understand the Christian teachings. Using the small letters from the Greek alphabet, Constantine created a new writing - the Glagolic alphabet (from Greek 'glagol' meaning sound). The Glagolic alphabet consisted of 43 letters, mainly Greek and few Hebrew letters, because some Slavonic sounds couldn't be represented by a Greek letter. Working together, Constantine and Methodius translated most of the books of the Bible before they began their journey.

In the memorable year of 863, count Rastislav solemnly bid welcome to Constantine and Methodius and presented to them their first students. Constantine and Methodius got to work immediately. They founded a Slavonic Church school where they taught their pupils grammar, music and most imprtantly the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The arrival of Sts. Cyril and Methodius to Greater Moravia in 863
Together, Constantine and Methodius translated all the books of the Old and New Testament (except for the Book of the Machabees), the breviary, liturgical guidelines, song and psalm books, the Collection of Laws for the people and wrote books about the Slavonic grammar they had created and perfected. Constantine also wrote the famed "Proglas", the versed introduction to the New Testament. They taught their students the liturgical order of rites, morning and evening vespers and the celebration of the Holy Mass. Together with their new helpers, they preached the true faith to the ordinary people and taught them how to read and write in their new language. They also helped promote state regulations and laws and educated people in the social aspects of everyday lives. With the help of Prince Rastislav, they tried to organize a distinct Church hierarchy with its own province that would better resist the German influence.

After four years of work (in the year 867) Constantine and Methodius started on a long journey. Because Constantine wasn't a bishop and Methodius not even a priest, they had to travel to Rome to have their students ordained for priests so that more of them could celebrate the Eucharist and administer sacraments. They were also going to ask the Pope to declare the Slavonic tongue an official liturgical language. On their way to Rome, they stopped at Blatnohrad in Pannonia where Prince Kocel (Prince Pribina's son) received them. The two brothers made a great impression on him and he was very eager to give them fifty of his students so that they, too, would learn the knowledge of the Catholic faith. Kocel also wanted to give them gold and jewellery, but Constantine refused. Instead, like he has done before, he asked for nine hundred slaves, which he immediately released. Then, on the official invitation from Pope Nicholas I they continued their journey to Rome. Before they arrived, Pope Nicholas I died and Pope Hadrian II was elected in his place. He greeted Constantine and Methodius with great respect and reverence. However, all was not well. The two brothers had to defend the Slavonic language against the Germans' who were against having the Slavonic tongue as an official liturgical language (the three official languages then were Greek, Latin and Hebrew). Constantine defended his standing in a brilliant speech:

Pope Hadrian II
"But now brothers, of what use would I be to you if I came to you and spoke languages, but not in the words of revelation or wisdom, prophecy or doctrine? If speechless instruments, flutes of citars, didn't emit different sounds, how would it be known what is being played? And if the war bugle emitted a meaningless sound, who would haste into battle? And so even you, if with your tongue you do not speak recognizable words, who will know what you are saying? You will be talking into the blowing wind! For there are so many different languages on the Earth and not one is without a voice. If I do not recognize the strength and significance of a language, I will be a foreigner to the one that is speaking the language and he will be a foreigner to me!"
(According to a legend by Climent, student of Cyril and Methodius - see 1 Cor 14, 6-11)

Thanks to his diplomatic skills and the urgence of his request, Constantine achieved what he wished for: In 867, Pope Hadrian II approved their proceedings and their Slavonic liturgical rites and in 868 he released a pastoral letter 'Gloria in excelsis Deo', in which he solemnly declared the Slavonic language the fourth official liturgical language. During the following solemn liturgy, he ordained the pupils of Constantine and Methodius as well as Methodius himself and renewed an old Chuch province of Pannonia and established it as an official province for Greater Moravia.

Exhausted after a long and harsh journey, Constantine weakened and his health declined. Seeing that his life is at its end, he entered into a monastery where he wanted to spend the rest of his days. He received the monk name Cyril and with the words "from now I am not a servant to the Ceasar or to anyone else, only to God Almighty", he spent fifty days in the Roman monastery before sickness confined him to bed once more, for the last time. Worried that all he fought for all his life would be wasted, he called his brother (who has also retreated into a monastery) and told him: "Look brother, we were both a team that worked the same furrow. I fall on that arable soil, my day has ended. But you love the Mountain (Monastery on Olymp) very much, still, do not because of it abandon your mission, because how can you be saved faster?"

Early Slavonic cross
from Macany, Slovakia
Methodius promised his brother that he would continue in the mission they both started and Cyril, knowing he has done his share, left the Earth to see his God on February 14, 869. Methodius buried him in the Basilica of St. Climent. During that time, Pope Hadrian received a letter from Prince Kocel, in which he asked the Pope if Methodius could return to work where he started. Pope Hadrian gladly agreed and ordained Methodius to become the archbishop of the Moravian area. The German bishops, however, didn't like this because in Methodius' ordination they saw a threat to their power. And so, they captured Methodius who was returning to Greater Moravia and held him prisoner in Bavoria for three years.

Meanwhile in Greater Moravia, Svatopluk, Ratislav's newphew double-crossed his uncle and came to power. Rastislav was blinded and thrown into a jail, in which he died a couple of years after. His political play, however, was successful and he would have laid down the pillers of a Church hierarchy in Greater Moravia - a deed, which guaranteed both the political and ecclestial independence. Morover, the seed of faith has been deeply sown and firmly rooted in the hearts of the Slavonic people.

In 873, with the help of the new Pope John VIII, Methodious was released from his prison and left to continue in the task he has set out to complete. He returned to Greater Moravia and spent over ten years building, repairing and strengthening the faith among the Slavs. He preached the Good News to neighbouring countries as well: Czechs, Polaks and continued working on translating important liturgical and religious books into the Slavonic language. His co-operation with Prince Svatopluk, however, ceased and in 880 he had to travel to Rome to defend himself against Svatopluk's accusations of his heresy. He cleaned his slate perfectly and was confirmed to be a true archbishop. Yet on Svatopluk's request, the Pope moved the Church province to Nitra and named Wiching, Svatopluk's right hand to be the new archbishop. This move later proved to be very unfortunate. When Methodius saw that his life, too, was coming to an end, he called on his students and from among them, chose his successor, priest Gorazd who would later carry on in the mission. Knowing that the time has come when he was going to be rewarded for his pains, he died on April 6, 885 with words "Into your hands I return my soul" on his lips.

Soon after Methodius' death, deceitful Wiching achieved the ban of Slavonic liturgy and the suspension of Gorazd. Under his influence Svatopluk outcast Gorazd and his companions from Greater Moravia. They continued in teaching the Gospel in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Poland. Slavonic liturgy in Slovakia ceased, but was practised by our neighbours and only revived after many years....

The mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius belongs to the most important in the early Christian era. Its influence on Eastern Europe is still visible today as the Slavonic liturgy remains practically unchanged in the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church. The Glagolic alphabet was soon after Methodius' death revised into the cyrillic alphabet, which is still in use in Russia, Bulgaria and Romania. Almost all Slavonic countries today claim for their own that great mission's legacy.

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, pray for us !


Used sources:

Slovak
Dejepis - Slovensko v stredoveku a na začiatku novoveku, PhDr. Pavel Dvořák, Orbis Pictus Istropolitana, 1997
Dejiny katolíckej cirkvi, Ludwig Hertling S.J., Dobrá kinha, 1983
Literatúra pre 7. ročník základnej školy, Viliam Obert, Jolana Mazáková, Slovenské pedagogické nakladateľstvo, 1984
Svätí Cyril a Metod, Kanadskí Jezuiti, St. Joseph Press, 1963
Štafeta viery, Mons. František Rábek, Vydavateľstvo Reprint, 1997
Úspešný politik knieža Rastislav, Milan Krajniak, http://www.czsk.net/svet/clanky/publicistika/rastpolitik.html
Veľká Morava, Wepman,
http://www.studentske.sk/web.php?sk=Referat_-_Velka_Morava.htm&pred=dejepis

English
Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs, James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Cyril&Methodius.htm

Recommended literature


Translated from Slovak by Michal Bebjak