Ecumenical Commemoration
Apostles to the Slavs
February 14 · d. 885
also known as Constantine and Methodius
Cyril and Methodius were Greek brothers from Thessalonica who became the apostles to the Slavic peoples, creating the first Slavic alphabet, translating the Scriptures and liturgy into Slavonic, and establishing the principle that peoples have the right to worship God in their own language. Their mission to Great Moravia in 863, at the invitation of Prince Rastislav, was a landmark in the history of both Christianity and European civilization. They are venerated by both Eastern and Western churches and are co-patrons of Europe.
The vitae present the brothers as wonder-workers — particularly Constantine/Cyril, who is credited with discovering the relics of Pope Clement I during a mission to the Crimea and with various signs confirming the validity of the Slavonic liturgy.
The creation of the Glagolitic alphabet is presented in the Vita Constantini as a divinely inspired act — Constantine is said to have worked out the alphabet through prayer and then immediately begun translating the Gospel of John ('In the beginning was the Word'). Modern linguists confirm that the Glagolitic script is a deliberate scholarly creation, not a gradual evolution — consistent with the tradition of a single inventor.
The expulsion of the brothers' disciples from Moravia after Methodius's death and their reception in Bulgaria is well-documented historically. The subsequent development of the Cyrillic alphabet (named after Cyril but created by disciples, probably at the Preslav literary school) extended their legacy across the Orthodox Slavic world.
Constantine (later Cyril) and Methodius were born in Thessalonica around 827 and 815 respectively, sons of a senior Byzantine military officer. Constantine was a brilliant scholar who studied at the imperial university in Constantinople under the great Photius and was appointed librarian of Hagia Sophia. Methodius pursued an administrative career before entering a monastery on Mount Olympus in Bithynia.
In 863, Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia sent a request to the Byzantine emperor for missionaries who could teach his people in their own language — Moravia had been evangelized by Frankish missionaries, but Rastislav wanted liturgy and instruction in Slavonic rather than Latin. Constantine and Methodius were chosen for the mission.
Before departing, Constantine created the Glagolitic alphabet — the first writing system designed for a Slavic language — and began translating the Gospels and liturgical texts into Slavonic. In Moravia the brothers established schools, trained Slavic clergy, and celebrated the liturgy in Slavonic — a revolutionary act that brought them into conflict with Frankish clergy who insisted that worship could only be conducted in Hebrew, Greek, or Latin (the so-called 'trilingual heresy').
The brothers traveled to Rome to defend their use of Slavonic. Pope Adrian II approved the Slavonic liturgy — a decision of enormous significance — and ordained several of their Slavic disciples. Constantine, already ill, entered a monastery in Rome, took the monastic name Cyril, and died on February 14, 869.
Methodius returned to Moravia as papal legate and Archbishop of Sirmium, but spent years in conflict with Frankish bishops who imprisoned him for over two years. Pope John VIII secured his release. He continued his translation work until his death on April 6, 885. After his death, his disciples were expelled from Moravia by the Frankish party but carried the Slavonic tradition to Bulgaria, Serbia, and eventually Russia — where it became the foundation of Orthodox Slavic civilization.
Almighty and everlasting God, you called your servants Cyril and Methodius to preach the Gospel to the Slavic people: Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.