11 and 24 May[3] (Eastern Orthodox Church) 14 February (present Latin Catholic calendar); 5 July (Latin Catholic calendar 1880–1886); 7 July (Latin Catholic calendar 1887–1969) 5 July (Latin Catholic and LutheranCzech Republic andSlovakia)
Brothers depicted together; Eastern bishops holding up a church; Eastern bishops holding anicon of theLast Judgment.[4] Often, Cyril is depicted wearing amonastic habit and Methodius vested as a bishop withomophorion.
The two brothers were born inThessalonica, at that time in the Byzantineprovince of the same name (today inGreece) – Cyril in 827–828, and Methodius in 815–820. According to theVita Cyrilli ("The Life of Cyril"), Cyril was reputedly the youngest of seven brothers; he was born Constantine,[9] but was given the name Cyril upon becoming a monk in Rome shortly before his death.[10][11][12] Methodius was born Michael and was given the name Methodius upon becoming a monk inPolychron Monastery atMysian Olympus (present-dayUludağ in northwestTurkey).[13] Their father was Leo, adroungarios of the Byzantinetheme of Thessalonica, and their mother's name was Maria.
The exact ethnic origins of the brothers are unknown; there is controversy as to whether Cyril and Methodius were ofSlavic[14] orGreek[15] origin, or both.[16] The two brothers lost their father when Cyril was fourteen, and the powerful ministerTheoktistos, who waslogothetes tou dromou, one of the chief ministers of the Empire, became their protector. He was also responsible, along with the regentBardas, for initiating a far-reaching educational program within the Empire which culminated in the establishment of theUniversity of Magnaura, where Cyril was to teach. Cyril was ordained aspriest some time after his education, while his brother Methodius remained adeacon until 867/868.[17]
Mission to the Khazars
About the year 860,Byzantine EmperorMichael III and thePatriarch of ConstantinoplePhotius (a professor of Cyril's at the university and his guiding light in earlier years), sent Cyril on a missionary expedition to theKhazars who had requested a scholar be sent to them who could converse with both Jews and Saracens.[18] It has been claimed that Methodius accompanied Cyril on the mission to the Khazars, but this may be a later invention. The account of his life presented in theLatin"Legenda" claims that he learned the Khazar language while inChersonesos, inTaurica (todayCrimea).
After his return to Constantinople, Cyril assumed the role of professor ofphilosophy at the university. His brother had by this time become a significant figure in Byzantine political and administrative affairs, and an abbot of his monastery.
In 862, the brothers began the work which would give them their historical importance. That year PrinceRastislav ofGreat Moravia requested that Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch Photius send missionaries to evangelize his Slavic subjects. His motives in doing so were probably more political than religious. Rastislav had become king with the support of theFrankish rulerLouis the German, though he subsequently sought to assert his independence from the Franks. That Cyril and Methodius might have been the first to bring Christianity toMoravia is a common misconception; Rastislav's letter to Michael III states clearly that his people "had already rejected paganism and adhere to the Christian law."[19] Rastislav is said to have expelled missionaries of theRoman Church and instead turned to Constantinople for ecclesiastical assistance and, presumably, a degree of political support.[20] The Emperor quickly chose to send Cyril, accompanied by his brother Methodius.[21] The request provided a convenient opportunity to expand Byzantine influence. Their first work seems to have been the training of assistants. In 863, they began the task of translating theGospels and essentialliturgical books into what is now known asOld Church Slavonic,[22] and travelled to Great Moravia to promote it.[23] This endeavour was amply rewarded. However, they came into conflict with German ecclesiastics, who opposed their efforts to create a specifically Slavic liturgy.
For the purpose of this mission, they devised theGlagolitic script, the first alphabet to be used for Slavonic manuscripts. The Glagolitic alphabet was suited to match the specific features of the Slavic language. Its descendant script, the Cyrillic, is still used by many languages today.[20]
The brothers wrote the first SlavicCivil Code, which was used in Great Moravia. The language derived from Old Church Slavonic, known asChurch Slavonic, is still used in theliturgy by several Orthodox Churches, and also in someEastern Catholic churches.
Exactly how much the brothers translated is impossible to say for certain. TheNew Testament and thePsalms seem to have been the first, followed by other lessons from theOld Testament.[citation needed] The"Translatio" speaks only of a version of theGospels by Cyril, and the"Vita Methodii" only of the"evangelium Slovenicum", though other liturgical selections may also have been translated.
Nor is it known for sure which liturgy, whether of Rome or of Constantinople, they took as a source. They may well have used theRoman alphabet, as hinted by liturgical fragments adhering closely to the Latin type. This view is confirmed by the "Prague Fragments" and by certain OldGlagolitic liturgical fragments brought fromJerusalem toKyiv and discovered there byIzmail Sreznevsky—probably the oldest document in the Slavonic tongue; examples of where they resemble the Latin type include the words"Mass","Preface", and the name of one Felicitas. Regardless, the circumstances were such that the brothers could have hoped for no lasting success without having had authorization from Rome.
Saints Cyril and Methodius in Rome. Fresco in San Clemente
The mission of Constantine and Methodius had great success among Slavs in part because they used the people's native language rather thanLatin or Greek. In Great Moravia, Constantine and Methodius also encountered missionaries fromEast Francia. They would have represented the western, or Latin, branch of the Church, more particularly epitomizing theCarolingian Empire as founded byCharlemagne, and intent on linguistic and cultural uniformity. They insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, and they regarded Moravia and the Slavic peoples as part of their rightful mission field.
When friction developed, the brothers, unwilling to be a cause of dissension among Christians, decided to travel to Rome to see the Pope, and seek a solution that would avoid quarrelling between missionaries in the field. In 867,Pope Nicholas I (858-867) invited the brothers to Rome. Their evangelizing mission in Moravia had by this time become the focus of a dispute with ArchbishopAdalwin of Salzburg (859–873) and BishopErmanrich ofPassau (866-874). They claimed ecclesiastical control of the same territory and wished to see it use the Latin liturgy exclusively.
With them they brought the relics ofSaint Clement and a retinue of disciples. They passed throughPannonia (theBalaton Principality), where they were well received by PrinceKoceľ. This activity in Pannonia made a continuation of conflicts inevitable with the German episcopate, and especially with the bishop ofSalzburg, whose prerogative Pannonia had been for seventy-five years. As early as 865, Bishop Adalwin was found to exercise Episcopal rights there. The administration under him was in the hands of the archpriest Riehbald. He was obliged to retire to Salzburg, though his superior was instinctively disinclined to abandon his claim.
The brothers sought support from Rome, and arrived there in 868, where they were warmly received. This was partly due to their bringing with them the relics of Saint Clement; rivalry with Constantinople over the territory of the Slavs would have inclined Rome to value the brothers and their influence.[20]
The brothers were praised for their learning and cultivated for their influence in Constantinople.Anastasius Bibliothecarius would later call Cyril "a man of apostolic life" and "a man of great wisdom".[24] Their project in Moravia found support from the newPope Adrian II (867-872), who formally authorized the use of the new Slavic liturgy.
Subsequently, Methodius was ordained as priest by the pope himself, and five Slavic disciples were ordained as priests (Saint Gorazd,Saint Clement of Ohrid andSaint Naum) and as deacons (Saint Angelar andSaint Sava) by the prominent bishopsFormosus and Gauderic.[25] Since the 10th century Cyril and Methodius along with these five disciples are collectively venerated by theBulgarian Orthodox Church as the "Seven Saints".[26][27] The newly made priests officiated in their own language at the altars of some of the principal churches.
Feeling his end approaching, Cyril became aBasilian monk and was given the name Cyril.[28] He died in Rome fifty days later (14 February 869). There is some question whether he had been made a bishop, as is asserted in theTranslatio (ix.). Upon Cyril´s death Methodius was given the title of Archbishop ofSirmium (nowSremska Mitrovica inSerbia) with jurisdiction over all of Moravia and Pannonia, and authority to use the Slavonic Liturgy.[29] The statement of the"Vita" that Methodius was made bishop in 870 and not raised to the dignity of an archbishop until 873 is contradicted by the brief ofPope John VIII, written in June 879, according to which Adrian consecrated him archbishop; John includes in his jurisdiction not only Great Moravia and Pannonia, but Serbia as well.
Methodius now continued the work among the Slavs alone; not at first in Great Moravia, but in Pannonia (in theBalaton Principality). Political circumstances in Greater Moravia were insecure. Rastislav had been taken captive by his nephewSvatopluk in 870, then delivered over toCarloman of Bavaria, and condemned in adiet held atRegensburg at the end of 870. Meanwhile, the East Frankish rulers and their bishops decided to try and depose Methodius. The archiepiscopal claims of Methodius were considered so threatening to the rights of Salzburg that he was captured and forced to answer to East Frankish bishops: Adalwin of Salzburg, Ermanrich of Passau, and Anno of Freising. After heated discussion, they declared the intruder deposed, and ordered him to be sent to Germany. There he was kept prisoner in a monastery for two and a half years.[30]
Notwithstanding strong representations of theConversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum, written in 871 to influence the pope, though not conceding this purpose, Rome declared emphatically for Methodius. He sent a bishop, Paul ofAncona, to reinstate him and punish his enemies, after which both parties were ordered to appear in Rome with the legate.Thus in 873, newPope John VIII (872-882) secured the release of Methodius, but instructed him to stop using the Slavonic Liturgy.[31]
Methodius' final years
The papal will prevailed, and Methodius secured his freedom and his archiepiscopal authority over both Great Moravia and Pannonia, albeit without the use of Slavonic forMass in the Catholic Church. His authority in Pannonia was restricted after Koceľ's death, when the principality was administered by German nobles. However,Svatopluk now ruled practically independently in Great Moravia, and he expelled the German clergy. It seems this secured an undisturbed field of operation for Methodius, and theVita (x.) depicts the next few years (873–879) as a time of fruitful progress. Methodius seems to have disregarded, wholly or in part, the prohibition of the Slavonic liturgy. WhenFrankish clerics again ventured into the country, revealing a permissive Svatopluk at odds with his punctilious archbishop, this was made a cause of complaint against him at Rome, coupled with charges regarding theFilioque.
In 878, Methodius was summoned to Rome on charges of heresy and using Slavonic. This time Pope John was convinced by the arguments that Methodius made in his defence and sent him back cleared of all charges, and with permission to use Slavonic. The Carolingian bishop who succeeded him,Wiching, aSwabian, suppressed the Slavonic Liturgy and forced the followers of Methodius into exile. Many found refuge with KnyazBoris the Baptizer inBulgaria, under whom they reorganized a Slavic-speaking Church. Meanwhile, Pope John's successors adopted a Latin-only policy which lasted for centuries.
Methodius vindicated his orthodoxy and promised to obey with regard to the liturgy. He could the more easily defend his omission ofFilioque from the creed as this also pertained in Rome at the time. ThoughFilioque could, by the 6th century, be heard in some Latin-speaking churches in the west, it was not to be until 1014 that Rome followed suit (seeNicene Creed). Methodius' critics were mollified by Methodius having to accept the appointment of Wiching as his coadjutor. When relations between the two factions again became strained, John VIII steadfastly supported Methodius. After his death (December 882) it was the archbishop himself whose position looked insecure. His need for political support, visiting the Eastern emperor, inclined Goetz to accept the account in theVita (xiii.).
Methodius died on 6 April 885[32] and his body was buried in the main cathedral church of Great Moravia. It still remains an open question which city was capital of Great Moravia. As a result the location of Methodius' body remains uncertain.[33]
Upon Methodius' death an animosity erupted into open conflict. Amongst the disciples of Cyril and Methodius,Clement of Ohrid headed the struggle against the German clergy in Great Moravia along withGorazd upon the death of Methodius in 885. Gorazd, whom Methodius had designated as his successor, was not recognised byPope Stephen V. This pope now also forbade the Slavic liturgy[34] and placed as Methodius' successor the infamous Wiching who promptly sent disciples of Cyril and Methodius into exile from Great Moravia.
After spending some time in jail, Clement was expelled from Great Moravia, and in 885 or 886 reached the borders of theFirst Bulgarian Empire together withNaum,Angelar, and possibly also Gorazd (other sources suggest Gorazd had already died by that time). Angelar soon died after an arrival, but Clement and Naum were afterwards sent to the Bulgarian capital of Pliska, where they were commissioned byBoris I to instruct the future clergy of the state in the Slavonic language. Eventually they were commissioned to establish two theological schools - theOhrid Literary School inOhrid and thePreslav Literary School inPreslav. The Preslav Literary School had been originally established inPliska, but was moved to Preslav in 893.
Invention of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets
TheBaška tablet is an early example of the Glagolitic fromCroatiaA cartoon about Saints Cyril and Methodius from Bulgaria in 1938. The caption reads :Brother Cyril, go tell those who are inside to learn the alphabet so they know freedom (Bulgarian:свобода) and anarchy (Bulgarian:слободия) are not the same.
The early Glagolitic alphabet was used in Great Moravia between 863 (the arrival of Cyril and Methodius) and 885 (the expulsion of their students) for government and religious documents and books, and at the Great Moravian Academy (Veľkomoravské učilište) founded by Cyril, where followers of Cyril and Methodius were educated, by Methodius himself among others. The alphabet has been traditionally attributed to Cyril. That seems confirmed explicitly by the papal letterIndustriae tuae (880) approving the use of Old Church Slavonic, which says that the alphabet was "invented by Constantine the Philosopher". "Invention" need not exclude the brothers having possibly made use of earlier letterforms. Before that time the Slavic languages had no distinct script of their own.
Theearly Cyrillic alphabet was developed by the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius at thePreslav Literary School at the end of the 9th century as a simplification of the Glagolitic alphabet which more closely resembled theGreek alphabet. TheCyrillic script was devised from theGreek alphabet andGlagolitic alphabet.[36] Cyrillic gradually replaced Glagolitic as the alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic language, which became the official language of theFirst Bulgarian Empire and later spread to the Eastern Slav lands ofKievan Rus'. Cyrillic eventually spread throughout most of the Slavic world to become the standard alphabet in theEastern Orthodox Slavic countries. In this way the work of Cyril and Methodius and their disciples enabled the spread of Christianity throughout Eastern Europe.
After the adoption of Christianity in 865, religious ceremonies in Bulgaria were conducted in Greek by clergy sent from the Byzantine Empire. Fearing growing Byzantine influence and weakening of the state, Boris viewed the adoption of the Old Slavonic language as a way to preserve the political independence and stability of Bulgaria, so he established two literary schools (academies), inPliska andOhrid, where theology was to be taught in the Slavonic language. WhileNaum of Preslav stayed in Pliska working on the foundation of thePliska Literary School which was moved to Preslav in 893, Clement was commissioned by Boris I to organise the teaching of theology to future clergymen in Old Church Slavonic at theOhrid Literary School. Over seven years (886-893) Clement taught some 3,500 students in the Slavonic language and the Glagolitic alphabet.
Commemoration
Saints Cyril and Methodius' Day
Saints Cyril and Methodius procession
Compared to nowadays, the process leading tocanonization was less involved in the decades following Cyril's death. Cyril was regarded by his disciples as a saint soon after his death. His following spread among the nations he evangelized, and subsequently to the wider Christian Church. With his brother Methodius, he was famous as a man of holiness. From the crowds lining the Roman streets during his funeral procession, there were calls for Cyril to be accorded saintly status. The brothers' first appearance in a papal document is inGrande Munus of Leo XIII in 1880. They are known as the "Apostles of the Slavs", and are still highly regarded by both Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Theirfeast day is currently celebrated on 14 February in the Catholic Church (to coincide with the date of St Cyril's death); on 11 May in the Eastern Orthodox Church (though for Eastern Orthodox Churches which use theJulian Calendar this is 24 May according to theGregorian calendar); and on 7 July according to the old sanctoral calendar before the revisions of theSecond Vatican Council. The celebration also commemorates the introduction of literacy and the preaching of the gospels in the Slavonic language by the brothers. The brothers were declared "Patrons of Europe" in 1980.[37]
The first recorded secular celebration of Saints Cyril and Methodius' Day as the "Day of the Bulgarian script", as traditionally accepted byBulgarian history, was held in the town ofPlovdiv on 11 May 1851. At the same time a local Bulgarian school was named "Saints Cyril and Methodius". Both acts had been instigated by the prominent Bulgarian educatorNayden Gerov.[38] However, an Armenian traveller referred to a "celebration of the Bulgarian script" when he visited the town ofShumen on 22 May 1803.[39]
The day is now celebrated as apublic holiday in the following countries:
InBulgaria it is celebrated on 24 May and is known as the "Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Script Day" (Bulgarian: Ден на българската просвета и култура и на славянската писменост), anational holiday celebratingBulgarian culture andliterature as well as the alphabet. It is also known as "Alphabet, Culture, and Education Day" (Bulgarian: Ден на азбуката, културата и просвещението). Saints Cyril and Methodius are patrons of the National Library of Bulgaria. There is a monument to them in front of the library. Saints Cyril and Methodius are the most celebrated saints in the Bulgarian Orthodox church, and icons of the two brothers can be found in every church.
InNorth Macedonia, it is celebrated on 24 May and is known as the "Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners' Day" (Macedonian:Св. Кирил и Методиј, Ден на словенските просветители), anational holiday. The Government of the Republic of Macedonia enacted a statute of the national holiday in October 2006 and the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia passed a corresponding law at the beginning of 2007.[41] Previously it had only been celebrated in the schools. It is also known as the day of the "Solun Brothers" (Macedonian:Солунските браќа).
In theCzech Republic andSlovakia, the two brothers were originally commemorated on 9 March, butPope Pius IX changed this date to 5 July for several reasons.[42] Today, Saints Cyril and Methodius are revered there as national saints and their name day (5 July), "Sts Cyril and Methodius Day" is anational holiday in Czech Republic andSlovakia. In the Czech Republic it is celebrated as "Slavic Missionaries Cyril and Methodius Day" (Czech: Den slovanských věrozvěstů Cyrila a Metoděje); inSlovakia it is celebrated as "St. Cyril and Metod Day" (Slovak: Sviatok svätého Cyrila a Metoda).[42]
InRussia, it is celebrated on 24 May and is known as the "Slavonic Literature and Culture Day" (Russian: День славянской письменности и культуры), celebrating Slavonic culture and literature as well as the alphabet. Its celebration is ecclesiastical (11 May in the Church'sJulian calendar). It is not a public holiday in Russia.
1. Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Theodore Rabb, Isser Woloch, Raymond Grew.The Western Experience with Powerweb. Eighth Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education 2002. University of Michigan. p. 214.ISBN9780072565447
...Two Christian brothers of Slavic descent, Cyril and Methodius, set out in about 862 as missionaries from the Byzantine...
2.Balkan Studies, Volume 22. Hidryma Meletōn Chersonēsou tou Haimou (Thessalonikē, Greece). The Institute, 1981. Original fromthe University of Michigan. p. 381
...Being of Slavic descent, both of them spoke the old Slavic language fluently...
3. Loring M. Danforth.The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World. Princeton University Press, 1995. p. 49ISBN9780691043562.
...In the ninth century two brothers Cyril and Methodius, Macedonian educators of Slavic origin from Solun, brought literacy and Christianity to the Slavs...
4. Ihor Ševčenko.Byzantium and the Slavs: In Letters and Culture'. Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1991. p. 481.ISBN9780916458126
...63-68 (Cyril and Methodius were Slavs)...There remains that argument for Cyril's and Methodius' Slavic origin which has to do with the Slavic translation of the Gospels and...
5. Roland Herbert Bainton.Christianity: An American Heritage Book Series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000. p. 156.ISBN9780618056873
...Two missionaries of Slavic origin, Cyril (baptized Constantine) and Methodius, adapted the Greek alphabet and translated both the Bible and the liturgy into the Slavic tongue...
6. John Shea.Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. McFarland, 1997. p. 56 .ISBN9780786437672
...Byzantine emperor Michael, on the request of the Moravian prince Ratislav, decided to send Slav priests as educators, he chose the Salonika brothers Cyril and Methodius...
7.UNESCO Features: A Fortnightly Press Service. UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1984. University of Michigan
...They may have been of wholly Slavic descent or of mixed Greco-Slav origin...
8.The Pakistan Review, Volume 19. Ferozsons Limited, 1971. University of California. p. 41
...century in Salonika, then one of the largest towns in the Byzantine Empire. The brothers were of Slav origin...
...Cyril and Methodius not only lived among Slavs. ...of Slavonic, which they not only spoke and understood, but in which they also wrote—translated and composed—and for which they invented an alphabet, is proof of their Slav origin...
10. Bryce Dale Lyon, Herbert Harvey Rowen, Theodore S. Hamerow.A History of the Western World, Volume 1. Rand McNally College Pub. Co., 1974. Northwestern University. p. 239
...brothers of Slavic origin, Cyril and Methodius, who, after being ordained at Constantinople, preached the Gospel to the Slavs...
11. Roland Herbert Bainton. The history of Christianity. Nelson, 1964. p. 169
...Two missionaries of Slavic origin, Cyril (baptized Constantine) and Methodius, adapted the Greek alphabet and translated both the Bible and the liturgy into the Slavic tongue...
12. Carl Waldman, Catherine Mason.Encyclopedia of European Peoples: Facts on File library of world history. Infobase Publishing, 2006. p. 752.ISBN9781438129181
...There is disagreement as to whether Cyril and his brother Methodius were Greek or Slavic, but they knew the Slavic dialect spoken in Macedonia...
13. Frank Andrews.Ancient Slavs'. Worzalla Publishing Company, 1976. University of Wisconsin - Madison. p. 163.
...Cyril and Methodius derived from a rich family of Salonica, perhaps of Slavic origin, but Grecized in those times. Methodius (815–885)...
14. Johann Heinrich Kurtz, John Macpherson.Church History. Hodder and Stoughton, 1891. University of California. p. 431
...Born at Thessalonica, and so probably of Slavic descent, at least acquainted with the language of the Slavs,...
15. William Leslie King.Investment and Achievement: A Study in Christian Progress. Jennings and Graham, 1913. Columbia University.
...This man and his brother Cyril became the Methodius and Cyril apostles of the Slavic people. These two brothers seemed to have been raised up for such a mission. They were probably of Slavic descent...
^*Banac, Ivo (9 June 2015).The National Question in Yugoslavia. New York: Cornell University Press. p. 61.ISBN9781501701931.Matters were complicated when Cyril and Methodius, two Greek brothers from Salonika, undertook to apply the Slavic idioms
Hurst, John Fletcher (1892).Short History of the Christian Church. New York: Harper and brothers. p. 141.Cyril and Methodius, two Greek monks, were the first to introduce the gospel among the Bulgarians.
Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001–05, s.v. "Cyril and Methodius, Saints" "Greek missionaries, brothers, called Apostles to the Slavs and fathers of Slavonic literature."
Encyclopædia Britannica,Major alphabets of the world, Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets, 2008, O.Ed. "The two early Slavic alphabets, the Cyrillic and the Glagolitic, were invented by St. Cyril, or Constantine (c. 827–869), and St. Methodius (c. 825–884). These men were Greeks from Thessalonica who became apostles to the southern Slavs, whom they converted to Christianity.
Encyclopedia of World Cultures, David H. Levinson, 1991, p.239, s.v., "Social Science"
Eric M. Meyers,The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, p.151, 1997
Lunt,Slavic Review, June 1964, p. 216; Roman Jakobson,Crucial problems of Cyrillo-Methodian Studies; Leonid Ivan Strakhovsky,A Handbook of Slavic Studies, p.98
V.Bogdanovich,History of the ancient Serbian literature, Belgrade, 1980, p.119
Hastings, Adrian (1997).The construction of nationhood: ethnicity, religion, and nationalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 126.ISBN0-521-62544-0.The activity of the brothers Constantine (later renamed Cyril) and Methodius, aristocratic Greek priests who were sent from Constantinople.
Fletcher, R. A. (1999).The barbarian conversion: from paganism to Christianity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 327.ISBN0-520-21859-0.
Cizevskij, Dmitrij;Zenkovsky, Serge A.; Porter, Richard E. (1971).Comparative History of Slavic Literatures. Vanderbilt University Press. p. vi.ISBN0-8265-1371-9.Two Greek brothers from Salonika, Constantine who later became a monk and took the name Cyril and Methodius.
The illustrated guide to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 14.ISBN0-19-521462-5.In Eastern Europe, the first translations of the Bible into the Slavonic languages were made by the Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius in the 860s
Smalley, William Allen (1991).Translation as mission: Bible translation in the modern missionary movement. Macon, Ga.: Mercer. p. 25.ISBN978-0-86554-389-8.The most important instance where translation and the beginning church did coincide closely was in Slavonic under the brothers Cyril and Methodius, with the Bible completed by A.D. 880. This was a missionary translation but unusual again (from a modern point of view) because not a translation into the dialect spoken where the missionaries were. The brothers were Greeks who had been brought up in Macedonia.
^"Vir apostolicae vitae...sapientissimus vir" MGH Epist., 7/2, 1928, p. 436
^"Sv. Gorazd a spoločníci" [St. Gorazd and his colleagues].Franciscan Friars of Slovakia (in Slovak).Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved27 August 2015.
^David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fifth Edition Revised, OUP Oxford, 2011,ISBN0191036730, p. 94.
^"Seven Saints". Kashtite.com. 27 July 2016. Archived fromthe original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved29 January 2019.
^It was and is customary on becoming a monk in the Eastern Orthodox tradition to receive a new name.
^Đorđe Radojičić (1971). Živan Milisavac (ed.).Jugoslovenski književni leksikon [Yugoslav Literary Lexicon] (in Serbo-Croatian).Novi Sad (SAP Vojvodina,SR Serbia):Matica srpska. pp. 73–75.
^Short Life of Cyril & Methodius. Translated by Ján STANISLAV: Životy slovanských apoštolov Cyrila a Metoda v legendách a listoch. Turčiansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenská, 1950, p. 88. (Slovak)
^Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes, (HarperCollins, 2000), 144.
^Encyclopædia Britannica,Major alphabets of the world, Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets, 2008, O.Ed. "The two early Slavic alphabets, the Cyrillic and the Glagolitic, were invented by St. Cyril, or Constantine (c. 827–869), and St. Methodius (c. 825–884). These men were Greeks from Thessalonica who became apostles to the southern Slavs, whom they converted to Christianity.
^"История на България", Том 6 Българско Възраждане 1856–1878, Издателство на Българската академия на науките, София, 1987, стр. 106 (in Bulgarian; in English: "History of Bulgaria", Volume 6 Bulgarian Revival 1856–1878, Publishing house of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1987, page 106).
^Jubilee speech of the Academician Ivan Yuhnovski, Head of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, held on 23 May 2003, published inInformation BulletinArchived 3 December 2007 at theWayback Machine of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 3(62), Sofia, 27 June 2003 (in Bulgarian).
^"The Calendar".The Church of England. Retrieved27 March 2021.
^Announcement about the eleventh session of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia on 24 October 2006 from theofficial siteArchived 10 June 2008 at theWayback Machine of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia (in Macedonian).
^abVotruba, Martin."Holiday date".Slovak Studies Program. University of Pittsburgh.Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved11 March 2009.
