Cyril and Methodius: biography short, interesting facts from the biography, the creation of the Slavic alphabet

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 a number of Slavic peoples, than immortalized their name.

Greek origin

The two brothers were from the city of Thessaloniki. In the Slavonic sources, the old traditional name of Thessalonica is preserved. They were born in the family of a successful officer who served under the provincial governor. Cyril was born in 827, and Methodius - in 815-m.

Due to the fact that these Greeks knew the Slavic language, some researchers tried to confirm the conjecture about their Slavic origin. However, this was never done to anyone. At the same time, for example in Bulgaria, educators are considered Bulgarians (they also use Cyrillic alphabet there).

Connoisseurs of the Slavic language

The linguistic knowledge of the noble Greeks can be explained by the story of Thessalonica. In their era, this city was bilingual. There was a local dialect of the Slavonic language. The migration of this tribe reached its southern boundary, facing the Aegean Sea.

At first the Slavs were pagans and lived under the tribal system, as well as their German neighbors. However, those aliens 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 Constantinople ruler. Their presence was also strong in Soluni, whence Cyril and Methodius came from. Biography of the brothers first went in different ways.

Worldly career brothers

Methodius (in the world he was called Michael) became a military man and rose to the rank of strategist of one of the provinces in Macedonia. It was possible due to his talents and abilities, as well as the patronage of the influential courtier Feoktist. Cyril from an early age engaged in science, and also studied the culture of neighboring peoples. Even before he went to Moravia, thanks to which he became world famous, Constantine (the name before monastic vows) began translating the chapters of the Gospel into the Slavonic language.

In addition to linguistics, Kirill studied geometry, dialectics, arithmetic, astronomy, rhetoric and philosophy from the best specialists in Constantinople. Thanks to his noble background, 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 curator of the library in the main church of the country - the Cathedral of St. Sophia. But even there he did not stay long, and soon began to teach at the University of Minsk. 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 assignment to the Muslim Caliph. In 856, with a group of students, he arrived at the monastery on the Small Olympus, where his brother was a rector. It was there that Cyril and Methodius, whose biography was now connected with the church, decided to create an alphabet for the Slavs.

Translation of Christian books into Slavonic

In 862, ambassadors from the Moravian prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. They gave the emperor a message from their ruler. Rostislav asked the Greeks to give him scholarly people who could teach the Slavs to the Christian faith in their own language. The baptism of this tribe occurred before that, but every divine service took place in a foreign dialect, which was extremely inconvenient. The Patriarch and the Emperor discussed this request among themselves and decided to ask the brother of Solun to go to Moravia.

Cyril, Methodius and their students began to work hard. The first language, to which the main Christian books were translated, was Bulgarian. The biography of Cyril and Methodius, a summary of which is in every Slavic history textbook, is known for the colossal efforts of the brothers over the Psalter, the Apostle and the Gospel.

Travel to Moravia

Preachers went to Moravia, where they for three years served and taught people to read and write. Their efforts also helped to realize the baptism of the Bulgarians, which occurred in 864. They also visited Transcarpathian Rus and Panononia, where they also glorified the Christian faith in the Slavic languages. Brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography includes a lot of travel, everywhere found a carefully listening audience.

Even in Moravia they had a conflict with the German priests who were there with a similar missionary mission. The key difference between them was the reluctance of Catholics to conduct worship in the Slavonic language. This position was supported by the Roman church. This organization believed that praising God is possible only in three languages: Latin, Greek and Hebrew. This tradition has existed for many centuries.

A great split between Catholics and Orthodox has not happened yet, so the Pope still had influence over the Greek priests. He summoned his brothers to Italy. They also wanted to come to Rome to defend their position and to understand the Germans in Moravia.

Brothers in Rome

The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose biography is revered by Catholics, came to Adrian II in 868. He came to a compromise with the Greeks and gave his consent to the fact that the Slavs could conduct the divine service in their native languages. The Moravians (the ancestors of the Czechs) were baptized by bishops from Rome, so they were formally under the jurisdiction of the Pope.

While still in Italy, Constantine fell seriously ill. When he realized that he would soon die, the Greek accepted the schema and received the monastic name of Cyril, with whom he became known in historiography and popular memory. While on his deathbed, he asked his brother not to give up the general enlightenment work, but to continue his service among the Slavs.

Continuation of the preaching activity of Methodius

Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography is inseparable, became revered in Moravia during their 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 the priests. The Germans again began to lobby for the idea of preaching in Latin. They even concluded Methodius in a monastery. When this was known to Pope John VIII, he forbade the Germans to conduct liturgies until they liberate the preacher.

With such resistance, Cyril and Methodius have not yet come across. The biography, the creation of the Slavic alphabet and everything related to their life are full of dramatic events. In 874, Methodius was finally released and again became an archbishop. However, in Rome they had already withdrawn 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 rituals in the Slavonic language.

The last efforts of Methodius

His perseverance was not in vain. When the Germans again tried to slander him in the eyes of the church, Methodius went to Rome and thanks to his abilities the 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 led by Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography was reflected even in ancient folklore. Shortly before his death, the younger brother returned to Byzantium and spent several years in Constantinople. His last great difficulty was the translation into the Slavic language of the "Old Testament", with which faithful disciples helped him. He died in 885 in Moravia.

Importance of the activities of the brothers

The alphabet, created by the brothers, eventually spread to Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Russia. Today, the Cyrillic alphabet is used by all Eastern Slavs. They are Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The biography of Cyril and Methodius for children is taught in the framework of the school curriculum of these countries.

It is interesting that the original ABC, created by the brothers, eventually became Glagolitic in historiography. Another version of it, known as the Cyrillic alphabet, appeared a little later due to the works of the pupils of these educators. This scientific dispute remains relevant. The problem lies in the fact that we have not reached the ancient sources, which could certainly confirm some specific point of view. 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 to spread Christianity, but also to strengthen national self-awareness among these peoples. In addition, even if we assume that the Cyrillic alphabet was created by the disciples 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 offered by preachers.

Both the Western and Eastern churches recognize the importance of the activities that Cyril and Methodius conducted. A brief biography for the children of the Enlightenment is in a variety of general history textbooks and the Russian language.

In our country since 1991, the annual state holiday is celebrated, dedicated to the brothers from Solun. It is called the Day of Slavic Culture and Writing, and also exists in Belarus. In Bulgaria, an order of their name was established. Cyril and Methodius, interesting facts from whose biographies are published in various monographs, still attract the attention of new researchers of languages and history.