Apostles to the Slavs

By Megan Marley

How many people can lay claim to developing an entire alphabet in a non-native tongue? How about using that alphabet to translate the liturgy, convert nations and have characters still in use more than 1,000 years later?

As fantastic as it seems, this is a legacy of two saintly brothers of Eastern Catholic Christianity: Cyril and Methodius.

Born into a prestigious Thessalonican family in the early 800s, Saints Cyril and Methodius renounced their wealth and status, joined a monastery in modern-day Istanbul and were ordained priests.

In 860, the pair were selected as missionaries to what is now Ukraine. Cyril and Methodius had much success there and were naturally top picks when the Byzantine emperor decided to honor a request for missionaries to preach in the neighboring country of Moravia (the Czech Republic today). This would be quite a challenge. Other missionaries from Germany had labored among the people for quite a while with little success, and the request for missionaries was partly political, as Slavic rulers were seeking independence from German influence and invasion.

But Cyril and Methodius were courageously dedicated to winning souls. In preparation for their mission, Cyril invented an alphabet for the Slavonic language they learned, and he and Methodius translated the Gospels and Divine Liturgy.

The pair arrived in Moravia in 863 and labored there for four and a half years with success. However, the German clergy were suspicious they were schismatics with their free use of the vernacular, and the local bishop refused to consecrate Slavic bishops and priests. The missionaries were recalled to Rome.

In Rome, Cyril and Methodius were welcomed by newly elected Pope Adrian II. The pope became convinced of their orthodoxy, commended their missionary efforts and translation of the liturgy and ordained them bishops. Sadly, Cyril passed away in 869 before returning to the Slavs.

Methodius continued the mission alone for 16 years. He was appointed an archbishop over a large archdiocese. Losing territory and influence in Slavic lands, the German clergy repeatedly criticized and retaliated against Methodius, even having him exiled for three years and recalled to Rome another time to answer heresy charges. Throughout all this, Methodius humbly persevered in evangelizing, celebrating the Liturgy and translating the Bible and Church Fathers using his brother’s alphabet until his death in 884.

Despite suppression of Cyril and Methodius’ vernacular liturgy, their disciples continued to evangelize and establish schools using their alphabet. Over time, this alphabet morphed into what is known today as Cyrillic script. Multiple Eastern European and Middle Eastern languages derive an alphabet from this script, particularly Russian.

The brothers’ joint feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is February 14.