Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
The Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius is celebrated every year on July 5, commemorating the contributions of these two missionary brothers to Christianity in Eastern Europe during the ninth century. Established as a feast day by Pope Leo XIII in 1880, it is recognized as a public holiday in countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where their legacy is cherished. Born in Thessalonica, Greece, into an aristocratic family, the brothers renounced their privileges to spread Christianity among the Slavic peoples. In 862, they were sent to Moravia at the request of its leaders and became instrumental in developing a Slavic liturgy, allowing the local population to engage with their faith in their own language.
Despite facing opposition from the Latin-speaking clergy, their work gained recognition when Pope Adrian II supported their mission. Cyril passed away in Rome in 869, and Methodius continued their efforts, translating key religious texts into Slavic before his death in 885. Their legacy, marked by a commitment to linguistic and cultural inclusion, continues to inspire many, representing a pursuit of unity among different Christian traditions. This feast day serves as a reminder of their significant role in the spread of Christianity and the promotion of Slavic culture during a pivotal historical period.
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Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
July 5 of every year is the Christian feast day of St. Cyril and St. Methodius, as established by Pope Leo XIII on September 30, 1880. It is honored as a public holiday in Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where the people still revere the memory of the two missionary brothers, who spent much of their lives in the ninth century A.D. introducing Christianity to eastern Europe and Russia.
The two men were born in Thessalonica in Greece to an aristocratic family. The younger brother, Cyril, was baptized Constantine and took the name Cyril when he became a monk shortly before his death. Despite their family's wealth and social standing, the brothers decided to renounce their privileges in order to become priests. At the time, Greece was part of the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was at Constantinople. The Byzantines had inherited the old Eastern Roman Empire, which had vast territories throughout the Middle East and Africa, but most of this land was lost after the rise of the Islamic faith in the seventh century A.D. and the advance of Arab armies across the region. Constantinople itself barely survived capture by the Muslims.
As nomadic Slavic tribes began to migrate into the Balkans, the Byzantines pursued opportunities to extend their influence over these largely barbarian and pagan peoples. In 862, after the Moravians requested some instruction in the Christian faith, Cyril and Methodius were sent to convert them and other Slavs. The brothers were fluent in the Slavic language and helped devise a Slavic liturgy, which brought them many new followers in Moravia and in the other lands they visited afterward. However, this use of the vernacular in the liturgy drew the ire of the clergy in the Holy Roman Empire, who insisted that Christian services in Slavic lands must be held in Latin as they were everywhere else. Cyril and Methodius were summoned to Rome by Pope Nicholas I, who died before they arrived, and they were received by Pope Adrian II, who sanctioned their Slavic liturgy. After Adrian ordained the brothers as bishops, Cyril became ill and died in Rome in 869. He was buried with great ceremony on the Coelian Hill at the church of San Clemente.
Now alone, Methodius returned to Moravia and continued the work of translating the Bible into the Slavic language, a project he had begun with Cyril. He completed translations of every book except Maccabees 1 and 2 before he died in 885. Methodius also translated the Nomocanon, the Greek ecclesiastical and civil law but his and his brother's accomplishments were later marred by competition between the Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire and the Catholic Church in Rome. Nevertheless, for many Christians, Sts. Cyril and Methodius have come to embody the striving for church unity, symbolized in Methodius's funeral service, which was said in Greek, Slavic, and Latin.