Biography of Cyril and Methodius. Holy brothers equal to the apostles cyril and methodius
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More than a hundred years before the baptism of Rus, almost at the same time as the founding of the Russian state, a great deed was accomplished in the history of the Christian church - for the first time the word of God was heard in churches in the Slavic language.
In the city of Soluni (now - Thessaloniki), in Macedonia, inhabited for the most part by Slavs, there lived a noble Greek dignitary named Leo. Of his seven sons, two of him, Methodius and Constantine (in the monastic life of Cyril), had to accomplish a great feat for the benefit of the Slavs. The youngest of the brothers, Constantine, amazed everyone from childhood with his brilliant abilities and passion for learning. He received a good education at home, and then finished his education in Byzantium under the guidance of the best teachers. Then a passion for science developed in him with full force, and he assimilated all the book wisdom available to him ... Glory, honors, riches - all worldly blessings awaited the gifted young man, but he did not succumb to any temptations - he preferred the modest title of priest and the position of librarian to all the temptations of the world at Hagia Sophia Church, where he could continue his favorite activities - to study the holy books, to delve into their spirit. His deep knowledge and abilities earned him the high academic title of a philosopher.
Holy Brothers Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius. Ancient fresco in St. Sofia, Ohrid (Bulgaria). OK. 1045 BC
His elder brother, Methodius, first went the other way - he entered the military service and for several years was the ruler of the region inhabited by the Slavs; but worldly life did not satisfy him, and he took monastic vows at the monastery on Mount Olympus. The brothers, however, did not have to calm down, one in peaceful book studies, and the other in a quiet monastic cell. Constantine more than once had to take part in disputes over issues of faith, to defend it with the power of his mind and knowledge; then he had to go with his brother at the request of the king to the land khazar, preach the faith of Christ and defend it against Jews and Muslims. Upon his return from there, Methodius baptized Bulgarian prince Boris and Bulgarians.
Probably, even earlier than this, the brothers decided to translate sacred and liturgical books for the Macedonian Slavs into their language, with which they could quite get used to from childhood, in their hometown.
For this, Constantine compiled the Slavic alphabet (alphabet) - he took all 24 Greek letters, and since there are more sounds in the Slavic language than in Greek, he added the missing letters from the Armenian, Hebrew and other alphabets; some he invented himself. All the letters in the first Slavic alphabet were 38. More important than the invention of the alphabet was the translation of the most important sacred and liturgical books: translating from such a language as rich in words and phrases as Greek into the language of completely uneducated Macedonian Slavs was a very difficult matter. I had to come up with suitable phrases, create new words in order to convey new concepts for the Slavs ... All this required not only a thorough knowledge of the language, but also great talent.
The work of translation was not yet finished when, at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav Constantine and Methodius were to go to Moravia. There and in neighboring Pannonia, Latin (Catholic) preachers from southern Germany had already begun to spread the Christian teaching earlier, but things went very slowly, since the service was performed in Latin, which was completely incomprehensible to the people. Western clergy, subordinate to the pope, there was a strange prejudice: as if worship could only be performed in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, because the inscription on the Cross of the Lord was in these three languages; the eastern clergy allowed the word of God in all languages. That is why the Moravian prince, taking care of the true enlightenment of his people with the teaching of Christ, turned to the Byzantine emperor Michael with a request to send knowledgeable people to Moravia who would teach the people the faith in an understandable language.
The Tale of Bygone Years. Issue 6. Enlightenment of the Slavs. Cyril and Methodius. Video
The emperor entrusted this important matter to Constantine and Methodius. They arrived in Moravia and zealously set to work: they built churches, began to perform divine services in the Slavic language, started and taught seeking. Christianity, not only in appearance, but in spirit, began to spread rapidly among the people. This aroused strong enmity in the Latin clergy: slander, denunciations, complaints - everything went into effect, just to ruin the cause of the Slavic apostles. They were even forced to go to Rome - to make excuses to the Pope himself. The Pope carefully examined the case, fully justified them and blessed their labors. Constantine, exhausted by work and struggle, did not go to Moravia, he took monastic vows under the name of Cyril; he died soon (February 14, 868) and was buried in Rome.
All thoughts, all the cares of Saint Cyril before his death were about his great work.
“We, brother,” he said to Methodius, “pulled one furrow with you, and here I am falling, ending my days. You love our native Olympus (monastery) too much, but for the sake of it, look, do not leave our ministry - you can soon be saved to them.
The Pope elevated Methodius to the rank of bishop of Moravia; but there, at that time, heavy troubles and strife began. Prince Rostislav was expelled by his nephew Svyatopolk.
The Latin clergy strained all their forces against Methodius; but in spite of everything - slander, insults and persecution - he continued his holy work, enlightened the Slavs with the Christ faith in the language and alphabet they understood, with book teaching.
Around 871 he baptized Borivoj, the prince of Bohemia, and here he approved the Slavic worship.
After his death, the Latin clergy managed to oust the Slavic services from Bohemia and Moravia. The disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius were expelled from here, fled to Bulgaria and then continued the holy feat of the first teachers of the Slavs - they translated church and instructive books, the works of the “church fathers” from Greek ...
The creators of the Slavic alphabet Cyril and Methodius. Bulgarian icon 1848
Church Slavonic writing flourished especially in Bulgaria under the tsar Simeone, at the beginning of the 10th century: many books were translated, not only necessary for worship, but also the works of various church writers and preachers.
First, ready-made church books came to us from Bulgaria, and then, when literate people appeared among the Russians, the books began to be copied with us, and then translated. Thus, literacy also appeared in Russia with Christianity.
The origin of solunski x brothers.
The creators of SlavyanskThe brothers Cyril (before the adoption of monasticism Constantine) (827-869) and Methodius (815-885) came from the Byzantine city of Soluni, in which a large Slavic population lived.Today it is the city of Thessaloniki in Macedonia. The brothers' father wasrich and "kind",deceit is the military leader's assistant. NationallySince the father of Constantine and Methodius was Bulgarian, and the mother was Greek, therefore, from childhood, the brothers' native languages were Greek and Slavic.
Constantine and Methodius before taking monasticism.
Konstantin began attending school at the age of eightage. He was distinguished by abilities, modesty, patience. He studied diligently, mastered the Greek language, counting, mastered horse riding and military techniques. Buthis favorite pastime was reading books. We can say that knowledge, books have become the meaning of his whole life for him.
To continue his education, Constantine went to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. He was taken as a teaching companion to the son of Emperor Michael III. Under the guidance of the best mentors - including Photius, the future famous Patriarch of Constantinople - Constantine studied ancient literature, rhetoric, grammar, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. He knew Hebrew, Slavic, Greek, Latin and Arabic well. Interest in science, perseverance in learning, hard work - all this made him one of the most educated people of Byzantium. It is no coincidence that he was nicknamed the Philosopher for his great wisdom.
At the end of his studies, abandoning a lucrative marriage, as well as an administrative career offered by the emperor, Constantine became patriarchal librarian at the Hagia Sophia. But, neglecting the benefits of his position, he soon retired to one of the monasteries on the Black Sea coast. For some time he lived in seclusion, and upon his return he began to teach philosophy at the university.
The wisdom and power of faith of a still very young Constantine were so great that he managed to defeat the leader of the heretics-iconoclasts Annius in the debate. After this victory, Constantine was sent by the emperor to a dispute to debate the Holy Trinity with the Muslims and also won.
Around 850, Emperor Michael III and Patriarch Photius sent Constantine to Bulgaria, where he converted many Bulgarians to Christianity on the Bregalnitsa River.
After that, Constantine retired to his brother Methodius on Olympus, spending time in unceasing prayer and reading the works of the holy fathers.
Methodius was 12 years older than his brother. He entered military service early. For 10 years he was the ruler of one of the regions inhabited by the Slavs. About 852 he became a monk
It was in this monastery that a group of like-minded people formed around Constantine and Methodius and the idea of creating the Slavic alphabet arose.
Khazar mission.
In 860, the emperor summoned Constantine and Methodius from the monastery and sent them to the Khazars to preach the gospel.
According to the life, the embassy was sent in response to the request of the kagan, who promised, if persuaded, to accept Christianity. During his stay in Korsun, Constantine, preparing for the polemic, studied the Hebrew language and Samaritan writing.
D confused Constantine with a Muslim imam and a Jewish rabbi, which took place in the presence of the kagan, according to the "Life" ended in victory for Constantine. The kagan did not change his faith, but at the request of Constantine, he released all the Greek captives - more than 200 people.
The brothers returned to Byzantium. Constantine remained in the capital, while Methodius went to the monastery where he had served before.
Bulgarian mission.
Soon Constantine, who knew well not only Greek, Arabic and Latin, but also the language of the Slavs, was sent to Bulgaria with an educational mission. But the enlightenment of the Slavs turned out to be impossible without books in their native language. Therefore, Konstantin set about creating the Slavic alphabet. Methodius began to help him. May 24, 863 year they announced the invention of the Slavic alphabet.
Having invented the alphabet, the brothers began to translate the main liturgical books (the Gospel, the Apostle, the Psalter, etc.) from Greek into the Slavic language.
With their educational activities, Constantine and Methodius contributed to the establishment of the Christian faith in Bulgaria. And from Bulgaria the Christian faith and writing spread to neighboring Serbia.
Moravian mission.
In the same year 863, the Moravian prince Rostislav, oppressed by the German bishops, turned to the Byzantine emperor Michael III with a request to help him introduce church services in Moravia in the Slavic language. Rostislav needed this because the Western Slavs were under the yoke of the Roman Catholic Church, and they were allowed to conduct services only in Latin, and to use exclusively German in public affairs. These restrictions, of course, were an obstacle to the national self-identification of the Western Slavs.
Rostislav asked to send clergymen to Moravia who could preach in the native language of the Slavs. "Our land is baptized, but we do not have a teacher who would instruct and teach us, and interpret the holy books ... send us teachers who could tell us about the words of the book and their meaning."
The emperor summoned Constantine and told him: "You must go there, for no one can do this better than you." Constantine, with fasting and prayer, began a new feat. Methodius, at the request of his brother, went with him.
In the same year 863, the brothers arrived in Moravia with the created alphabet.
They were received with great honor, and until the spring of 867 taught the Moravians to read, write and conduct worship in the Slavic language. The activities of Constantine and Methodius aroused the anger of the German bishops who performed divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, and they rebelled against the holy brothers, claiming that a church service could be conducted only in one of three languages: Hebrew, Greek, or Latin. The German bishops perceived Cyril and Methodius as heretics and filed a complaint with Rome. The Thessalonian brothers had to go to the Pope. They hoped to find support in the struggle against the German clergy, which hindered the spread of Slavic writing.
Travel to Rome.
On the way to Rome, Constantine and Methodius visited another Slavic country - Pannonia, where Blatenskoe was located.
After Constantine handed over to Pope Adrian II the relics of Saint Clement that he had found in his Chersonesus journey, he approved the divine service in the Slavic language and ordered that the translated books be placed in Roman churches. At the behest of the Pope, Formosus (Bishop of Porto) and Gauderic (Bishop Velletri) ordained three brothers who had traveled with Constantine and Methodius as priests, and Methodius was ordained bishop.
As you can see, the Solunsk brothers were able to obtain permission to conduct services in the Slavic language from the Pope himself.
Intense struggle, years of wandering, excessive work undermined the vitality of Constantine.
In Rome, he fell ill, and in a miraculous vision, notified by the Lord about the approach of death, he accepted a schema with the name Cyril. 50 days after accepting the schema, on February 14, 869, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril died at the age of 42 and was buried in Rome in the church of St. Clement.
Departing to God, Saint Cyril commanded his brother Methodius to continue their common work - the enlightenment of the Slavic peoples with the light of true faith. Before his death, he said to Methodius: “You and I are like two oxen; from a heavy burden one fell, the other must continue on his way. "
Saint Methodius begged the Pope to allow him to take away his brother's body for burial in his native land, but the Pope ordered the relics of Saint Cyril to be placed in the Church of Saint Clement, where miracles began to be performed from them.
Educational activity of Methodius after the death of Cyril.
After the death of Cyril, the Pope, following the request of the Slavic prince Kotsel, sent Methodius to Pannonia, ordaining him Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia. In Pannonia, Saint Methodius, together with his disciples, continued to disseminate divine services, writing, and books in the Slavic language.
Methodius steadfastly endured the attacks of the Latin Church: according to the slander of the Latin bishops, he was imprisoned for two and a half years, in severe frost he was dragged through the snow. But the enlightener did not renounce his service to the Slavs, and in 874 he was freed by John VIII and restored to the rights of the bishopric. Pope John VIII forbade Methodius to celebrate the Liturgy in the Slavic language, but Methodius, having visited Rome in 880, achieved the abolition of the ban and continued his ministry.
In 882-884, Methodius lived in Byzantium. In the middle of 884 he returned to Moravia and was engaged in the translation of the Bible into the Slavic language.
Foreseeing the approach of death, Saint Methodius pointed to one of his disciples, Gorazd, as a worthy successor to himself. The saint predicted the day of his death and died on April 6 (19), 885 at the age of about 70 years. He was buried in the Cathedral Church of Velehrad.
The Solunsk brothers devoted their whole life to teaching, knowledge, and serving the Slavs. They did not attach much importance to wealth, honor, fame or career.
On May 24, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saints 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 was born within the monastery walls: it was at the monasteries that the first schools were opened, children were taught to read and write, and vast libraries were collected. It was for the enlightenment of the peoples, for the translation of the Gospel, that many scripts were created. So it 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 Thessalonia. Methodius was a warrior and ruled over the Bulgarian principality of the Byzantine Empire. This gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language.
Soon, however, he decided to leave the secular way of life and became a monk at the monastery on Mount Olympus. From childhood, Constantine expressed amazing abilities and received an excellent education together with the juvenile emperor Michael III 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 from an early age with great abilities 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, on the way they stopped in Korsun, where Konstantin found the Gospel and the Psalter, written in "Russian letters", and a person who spoke 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 Bulgarians were the first of the Slavic peoples to convert to Christianity. In Constantinople, the sister of the Bulgarian prince Bogoris (Boris) was held hostage. She was baptized with the name of Theodora and was brought up 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 Michael. Saints Cyril and Methodius were in this country and by their preaching greatly contributed to the establishment of Christianity in it. From Bulgaria the Christian faith spread to neighboring Serbia.
To fulfill the new mission, Constantine and Methodius compiled the Slavic alphabet and translated the main liturgical books (the Gospel, the Apostle, the Psalter) into the Slavic language. 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 were conducting services in the Moravian churches in Latin, and they filed a complaint with Rome.
Taking with them the relics of St. Clement (Pope), discovered by them in Korsun, Constantine and Methodius set off for Rome.
Having learned that the brothers were carrying holy relics with them, Pope Adrian greeted them with honor and approved the divine service in the Slavic language. He ordered the books translated by the brothers to be placed in Roman churches and to celebrate the liturgy in the Slavic language.
Saint Methodius fulfilled his brother's will: having returned 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 Borivoi received holy baptism from him. His example was followed by his wife Lyudmila (who later became a martyr) and many others. In the middle of the 10th century, the Polish prince Mechislav married the Bohemian princess Dombrovka, after which he and his subjects adopted 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 authority of the Pope, with the exception of the Serbs and Bulgarians. But among all the Slavs, despite the past centuries, the memory of the great Equal-to-the-Apostles enlighteners and the Orthodox faith that they tried to plant among them is still alive. The sacred memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius serves as a connecting link for all Slavic peoples.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Primary Teachers and Slavic Enlighteners, brothers Cyril and Methodius came from a noble and pious family who lived in the Greek city of Soluni. Saint Methodius was the eldest of the seven brothers, Saint Constantine (Cyril is his monastic name) - the youngest.
Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius
Saint Methodius was at first in a military rank and was a ruler in one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to the Byzantine Empire, apparently Bulgarian, which gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language. After staying there for about 10 years, Saint Methodius then accepted monasticism in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus (Asia Minor). Saint Constantine from an early age was distinguished by great ability and studied together with the young emperor Michael under the best teachers of Constantinople, including Photius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople. Saint Constantine perfectly comprehended all the sciences of his time and many languages, he especially diligently studied the works of Saint Gregory the Theologian. For his intelligence and outstanding knowledge, Saint Constantine received the nickname Philosopher (wise). At the end of his studies, Saint Constantine was ordained a priest and was appointed curator of the patriarchal library at the Church of Saint Sophia, but soon left the capital and secretly went to a monastery. Found there and returned to Constantinople, he was identified as a teacher of philosophy in the highest school of Constantinople. The wisdom and power of faith of a still very young Constantine were so great that he managed to defeat the leader of the heretics-iconoclasts Annius in the debate. After this victory, Constantine was sent by the emperor to a dispute to debate the Holy Trinity with the Saracens (Muslims) and also won. Returning, Saint Constantine withdrew to his brother Saint Methodius on Olympus, spending time in unceasing prayer and reading the works of the holy fathers.
Soon the emperor summoned both holy brothers from the monastery and sent them to the Khazars to preach the gospel. On the way, they stopped for a while in the city of Korsun, preparing for a sermon. There the holy brothers miraculously acquired the relics of the Holy Martyr Clement, Pope of Rome (Comm. 25 November). In the same place in Korsun Saint Constantine found the Gospel and the Psalter, written in "Russian letters," and a person who spoke Russian, and began to learn from this person to read and speak his language. After that, the holy brothers went to the Khazars, where they won a debate with Jews and Muslims, preaching the Gospel teaching. On the way home, the brothers again visited Korsun and, taking the relics of St. Clement there, returned to Constantinople. Saint Constantine remained in the capital, and Saint Methodius received abbess at the small monastery of Polychron, not far from Mount Olympus, where he had asceticised before. Soon, ambassadors from the Moravian prince Rostislav, oppressed by the German bishops, came to the emperor with a request to send teachers to Moravia who could preach in the native language of the Slavs. The emperor summoned Saint Constantine and said to him: "You must go there, for no one can do this better than you." Saint Constantine, with fasting and prayer, began a new feat. With the help of his brother Saint Methodius and the disciples of Gorazd, Clement, Sava, Naum and Angelar, he compiled the Slavic alphabet and translated into the Slavic language books without which Divine services could not be performed: the Gospel, the Apostle, the Psalter and selected services. This was in 863.
After completing the translation, the holy brothers set off for Moravia, where they were received with great honor, and began to teach Divine services in the Slavic language. This aroused the anger of the German bishops who celebrated Divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, and they rebelled against the holy brothers, claiming that Divine services can be performed only in one of three languages: Hebrew, Greek or Latin. Saint Constantine answered them: “You recognize only three languages worthy to glorify God with them. But David cries out: Sing to the Lord, all the earth, praise the Lord, all the nations, let every breath praise the Lord! And the Holy Gospel says: Come teach all languages ... ". The German bishops were put to shame, but they became even more embittered and filed a complaint with Rome. The holy brothers were called to Rome to resolve this issue. Taking with them the relics of Saint Clement, Pope of Rome, Saints Constantine and Methodius set off for Rome. Having learned that the holy brothers were carrying holy relics with them, Pope Adrian with the clergy went out to meet them. The holy brothers were greeted with honor, the Pope approved the divine service in the Slavic language, and ordered the books translated by the brothers to be put in Roman churches and the liturgy to be performed in the Slavic language.
While in Rome, Saint Constantine fell ill and, in a miraculous vision, announced by the Lord about the approach of death, he accepted the schema with the name Cyril. 50 days after accepting the schema, on February 14, 869, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril died at the age of 42. Departing to God, Saint Cyril commanded his brother Saint Methodius to continue their common work - the enlightenment of the Slavic peoples with the light of true faith. Saint Methodius begged the Pope of Rome to allow him to take away his brother's body for burial in his native land, but the Pope gave orders to put the relics of Saint Cyril in the church of Saint Clement, where miracles began to be performed from them.
After the death of Saint Cyril, the Pope, following the request of the Slavic prince Kotsel, sent Saint Methodius to Pannonia, ordaining him Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia, to the ancient throne of Saint Apostle Andronicus. In Pannonia, Saint Methodius, together with his disciples, continued to disseminate Divine services, writing, and books in the Slavic language. This again angered the German bishops. They achieved the arrest and trial of Saint Methodius, who was exiled to imprisonment in Swabia, where he endured many sufferings for two and a half years. Released by order of Pope John VIII and restored to the rights of archbishop, Methodius continued evangelical preaching among the Slavs and baptized the Czech prince Borivoj and his wife Lyudmila (Comm. 16 September), as well as one of the Polish princes. For the third time, the German bishops raised a persecution against the saint, for rejecting the Roman teaching on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son. Saint Methodius was summoned to Rome, but justified himself before the Pope, preserving the purity of Orthodox teaching, and was again returned to the capital of Moravia, Velehrad.
The holy Slovenian teachers strove for solitude and prayer, but in life they constantly found themselves at the forefront - both when they defended Christian truths before Muslims, and when they took upon themselves a great educational work. Their success sometimes looked like a defeat, but as a result, it is to them that we owe the acquisition of "the gift of the most valuable and greatest of all silver, and gold, and precious stones, and all transitory wealth." This gift is.
Brothers of Thessalonica
The Russian language was baptized back in the days when our ancestors did not consider themselves Christians - in the ninth century. In the west of Europe, the heirs of Charlemagne divided the Frankish empire, in the East Muslim states were strengthened, crowding out Byzantium, and in the young Slavic principalities the Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, the true founders of our culture, preached and worked.
The history of the activities of the holy brothers has been studied with every possible thoroughness: the surviving written sources have been repeatedly commented on, and pundits argue about the details of biographies and acceptable interpretations of the information that has come down. And how could it be otherwise when it comes to the creators of the Slavic alphabet? And yet, to this day, the images of Cyril and Methodius are lost behind the abundance of ideological constructions and just fictions. The Khazar dictionary of Milorad Pavich, in which the enlighteners of the Slavs are embedded in a multifaceted theosophical mystification, is not the worst option.
Cyril - the youngest both in age and in hierarchical ranks - until the end of his life was just a layman and took monastic tonsure with the name Cyril only on his deathbed. While Methodius, the elder brother, held large positions, was the ruler of a separate area of the Byzantine Empire, the abbot of the monastery and ended his life as an archbishop. And yet, traditionally, Cyril takes the honorable first place, and the alphabet is named after him - the Cyrillic alphabet. All his life he bore a different name - Constantine, and also a respectful nickname - Philosopher.
Constantine was an extremely gifted person. "The speed of his abilities was not inferior to diligence" - the life, compiled shortly after his death, repeatedly emphasizes the depth and breadth of his knowledge. Translating into the language of modern realities, Constantine the Philosopher was a very young and promising professor at the University of Constantinople in the capital. At the age of 24 (!), He received the first important state task - to defend the truth of Christianity in the face of other Muslims.
Missionary politician
This medieval inseparability of spiritual, religious tasks and state affairs looks bizarre these days. But for her, you can find some analogy in the modern world order. And today the superpowers, the newest empires, base their influence not only on military and economic strength. There is always an ideological component, an ideology "exported" to other countries. For the Soviet Union, this was communism. For the United States, liberal democracy. Someone accepts the exported ideas peacefully, somewhere they have to resort to bombing.
For Byzantium, the doctrine was Christianity. Strengthening and spreading Orthodoxy was perceived by the imperial power as a primary state task. Therefore, as a modern researcher of the Cyril and Methodius heritage of A.-E. Tachiaos, "a diplomat who entered into negotiations with enemies or 'barbarians', was always accompanied by a missionary." Constantine was such a missionary. That is why it is so difficult to separate his educational activity from his political one. Just before his death, he symbolically resigned from his civil service, taking monasticism.
“I am no longer a servant of either the king or anyone else on earth; only to God Almighty I was and will be forever ", - will write now Cyril.
Life tells about his Arab and Khazar mission, tricky questions and witty and deep answers. Muslims asked him about the Trinity, how Christians can worship "many gods" and why instead of not resisting evil, they strengthen the army. Khazar Jews disputed the Incarnation and blamed Christians for non-observance of Old Testament precepts. Constantine's answers - bright, imaginative and short - if they did not convince all opponents, then, in any case, delivered a polemical victory, leading the audience to admiration.
"Nobody else"
The Khazar mission was preceded by events that greatly changed the internal structure of the Solun brothers. In the late 50s of the 9th century, both Constantine, a successful scientist and polemicist, and Methodius, who had recently been appointed archon (head) of the province, retired from the world and led a secluded ascetic lifestyle for several years. Methodius even takes monastic tonsure. From an early age the brothers were distinguished by piety, and the thought of monasticism was not alien to them; however, there were probably external reasons for such a sharp change: a change in the political situation or the personal sympathies of those in power. However, the Lives are silent about this.
But worldly vanity receded for a short while. Already in 860, the Khazar Kagan decided to arrange an "interreligious" dispute, in which Christians had to defend the truth of their faith before Jews and Muslims. According to the expression of the life, the Khazars were ready to accept Christianity if the Byzantine polemicists "gained the upper hand in disputes with the Jews and Saracens." They found Constantine again, and the emperor personally admonished him with the words: “Go, Philosopher, to these people and talk about the Holy Trinity with Her help. Nobody else can adequately take it upon himself. " On the journey, Konstantin took his elder brother as his assistant.
The negotiations ended generally successfully, although the Khazar state did not become Christian, the kagan allowed those who wanted to be baptized. There were also political successes. We should pay attention to an important incidental incident. On the way, the Byzantine delegation stopped in Crimea, where near modern Sevastopol (ancient Chersonesos) Constantine found the relics of the ancient Pope Clement of Rome. Subsequently, the brothers will transfer the relics of Saint Clement to Rome, which will further endear Pope Adrian. It is with Cyril and Methodius that a special veneration of Saint Clement among the Slavs begins - let us recall the majestic church in his honor in Moscow not far from the Tretyakov Gallery.
Sculpture of the holy apostles Cyril and Methodius in Bohemia. Photo: pragagid.ru
The birth of writing
862 year. We have reached a historic milestone. This year, the Moravian prince Rostislav sends a letter to the Byzantine emperor with a request to send preachers who can instruct his subjects in Christianity in the Slavic language. Great Moravia, which at that time included separate regions of modern Bohemia, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland, was already Christian. But she was enlightened by the German clergy, and all the divine services, holy books and theology were Latin, incomprehensible to the Slavs.
And again at court they remember Constantine the Philosopher. If not he, then who else will be able to complete the task, the complexity of which both the emperor and the patriarch - Saint Photius - were aware of?
The Slavs did not have a written language. But even the fact of the absence of letters was not the main problem. They did not have abstract concepts and richness of terminology, which usually develops in the "book culture".
High Christian theology, Scripture and liturgical texts had to be translated into a language that did not have any means for that.
And the Philosopher coped with the task. Of course, one should not imagine that he worked alone. Konstantin again called for his brother's help, and other employees were involved. It was a kind of scientific institute. The first alphabet, the verb, was composed on the basis of Greek cryptography. The letters correspond to the letters of the Greek alphabet, but they look different - so much so that the verb is often confused with the oriental languages. In addition, Hebrew letters were taken for sounds specific to the Slavic dialect (for example, "sh").
Then they translated the Gospel, verified expressions and terms, translated liturgical books. The volume of translations carried out by the holy brothers and their immediate disciples was very significant - by the time of the baptism of Rus, a whole library of Slavic books already existed.
The price of success
However, the activities of enlighteners could not be limited only to scientific and translation research. It was necessary to teach the Slavs new letters, a new book language, a new divine service. The transition to a new liturgical language was especially painful. It is not surprising that the clergy of Moravia, who had followed the German practice before, took the new trends with hostility. Even dogmatic arguments were put forward against the Slavic arrangement of services, the so-called trilingual heresy, as if one could speak with God only in “sacred” languages: Greek, Hebrew and Latin.
Dogmatics intertwined with politics, canon law with diplomacy and power ambitions - and Cyril and Methodius were in the center of this tangle. The territory of Moravia was under the jurisdiction of the pope, and although the Western Church had not yet been separated from the Eastern, the initiative of the Byzantine emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople (and this was precisely the status of the mission) was still looked upon with suspicion. The German clergy, closely associated with the secular government of Bavaria, saw in the undertakings of the brothers the implementation of Slavic separatism. And indeed, the Slavic princes, in addition to spiritual interests, pursued the state ones - their liturgical language and church independence would significantly strengthen their position. Finally, the pope was in tense relations with Bavaria, and support for the revitalization of church life in Moravia against the "trilinguals" fit well into the general direction of his policy.
Political controversy cost the missionaries dear. Due to the constant intrigues of the German clergy, Constantine and Methodius twice had to justify themselves before the Roman high priest. In 869, unable to withstand the overvoltage, St. Cyril died (he was only 42 years old), and his work was continued by Methodius, who was ordained bishop in Rome shortly after. Methodius died in 885, having survived exile, insults and imprisonment that lasted for several years.
The most valuable gift
Gorazd became the successor of Methodius, and already during his reign the work of the holy brothers in Moravia practically died out: liturgical translations were prohibited, followers were killed or sold into slavery; many fled to neighboring countries themselves. But that was not the end. This was only the beginning of Slavic culture, and hence Russian culture too. The center of Slavic literacy moved to Bulgaria, then to Russia. The books began to use the Cyrillic alphabet, named after the creator of the first alphabet. Writing has grown and strengthened. And today the proposals to abolish the Slavic letters and switch to Latin, which in the 1920s were actively promoted by the People's Commissar Lunacharsky, sound, thank God, unrealistic.
So next time, dotting the "e" or tormenting the Russification of the new version of Photoshop, think about what wealth we have.
Artist Jan Matejko
Very few peoples have been honored to have their own alphabet. This was understood already in the distant ninth century.
“God has created and now in our years - having announced the letters for your language - that which was not given to anyone after the first times, so that you too would be numbered among the great nations who glorify God in their own language ... Accept the gift, the most valuable and greater than anyone silver, and gold, and precious stones, and all transitory wealth, ”wrote Emperor Mikhail to Prince Rostislav.
And after that we are trying to separate Russian culture from Orthodox culture? Russian letters were invented by Orthodox monks for church books; at the very foundation of Slavic literacy lies not just influence and borrowing, but "transplantation", "transplantation" of Byzantine church literacy. The book language, cultural context, terminology of high thought were created right together with the library of books by the apostles of the Slavs, Saints Cyril and Methodius.