Cyril and Methodius. Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril, Slovenian teachers


May 24 is the day of Slavic literature and culture. It is also the day of veneration of the holy enlighteners Cyril and Methodius, who gave the Slavs the writing and alphabet that we still use today.

Thessalonica brothers

Leo and Mary, who lived in the Greek city of Thessaloniki (now called Thessaloniki), had seven children. The eldest of them is Mikhail, the youngest is Konstantin. It was they who would later become known as the enlighteners Methodius and Cyril, the inventors of the Slavic alphabet. Thessaloniki, or as the Slavs called it Thessaloniki, was a port city, and therefore the brothers grew up surrounded by many languages. Moreover, some researchers believe that Michael and Constantine were bilingual because their father, a local military leader, was of Slavic origin, and their mother was Greek.

Mikhail Solunsky

Both Methodius and Cyril did not immediately become educators. The eldest of the Thessaloniki brothers followed in his father’s footsteps and chose a military career. At the age of twenty, he was appointed governor of Slavinia, one of the Slavic-Bulgarian regions subordinate to Byzantium. But ten years later he decided to radically change his life. Mikhail left both his military-administrative career and the world in order to go to Olympus and become a monk there. When he was tonsured, he took the name Methodius.

Konstantin Solunsky

The youngest of the Thessalonica brothers, Konstantin, was twelve years younger than Mikhail. When the eldest had already served in Slavinia for a long time, Constantine, as a capable young man, was accepted into an elite school at the court of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. There, the future educator studied philosophy, grammar, rhetoric, all the “Hellenic arts,” as well as Slavic, Jewish, Khazar, Arabic, Samaritan, Syriac (Sur) languages.

Library instead of wife

Obviously, Constantine was one of the best students at the court school, and he was guaranteed a brilliant career. In any case, this opinion was held by one of the highest officials in the state and its de facto ruler, logothete Theoktist. Therefore, he invited young Konstantin, who had just completed his studies, to marry his goddaughter, Theoktista. But Constantine refused, and first got a job in a library, then retired to a monastery and, eventually, became a teacher of philosophy in Constantinople. For this he was nicknamed Constantine the Philosopher.

Miracle of Finding Relics

In 860, Constantine and Methodius were sent on an educational mission to the Khazar Khaganate. Along the way, they stopped in Chersonesos, where they expanded their knowledge of the Hebrew language (Konstantin studied the Samaritan letter), and became acquainted with the mysterious “Russian” writings, which researchers consider Surish, that is, Syrian. Here Constantine performed a miracle. Having learned that for half a century parishioners had not been able to venerate the relics of St. Clement (the patron saint of Rome, the Roman bishop exiled to the Inkerman quarries and drowned in the Black Sea), Constantine invited the local priest to hold a service to recover the incorruptible relics. The service was performed, and Constantine, having brought the Chersonesites to the shore, pointed out the place in the shallow waters where, indeed, the remains were found with an anchor chain around the neck. Since Clement was drowned with an anchor tied to his neck, no one doubted the authenticity of the remains found. Subsequently, the relics of St. Clement served the brothers well.

Gospel for the Slavs

Apparently, the invention of the alphabet was not a valuable task in itself for the illuminators. For some reason (perhaps because they themselves were half, and according to some versions, exclusively Slavic), Constantine and Methodius sought to spread Slavic as the language of worship. Therefore, by the year 863, when Patriarch Photius of Constantinople sent the Thessalonica brothers on a mission to Moravia, they not only managed to come up with what later became known as the Cyrillic alphabet, but also translated a number of biblical texts, in particular the Gospel, into Slavic. In Velehrad, the capital of Moravia, worship in the Slavic language very quickly became popular. It is noteworthy that the brothers translated the Bible into the dialect common in Thessalonica, that is, into a language that was very familiar to them. But the Moravians had difficulty understanding the southern dialect and therefore began to treat it as a bookish, sacred language. Soon a group of opponents of the actions of Constantine and Methodius arose, the so-called trilinguals. These people believed that biblical texts should be read exclusively in the canonical languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The inventors of Slavic writing went to Rome for support.

Bishop Methodius of Moravia

In Rome, the enlighteners were received cordially, perhaps largely thanks to the relics of St. Clement, part of which they took with them when leaving Chersonesus, and now brought to the eternal city. The youngest of the brothers died here after a long illness, having become a monk under the name of Kirill before his death. And the eldest was ordained a priest, then appointed bishop of both Moravia and Pannonia. Returning to the Slavic lands, he continued the work of popularizing the Slavic language, but, despite the efforts expended, he could not achieve much success: the political situation in the principalities changed, the ruler Roslav, who supported the brothers, was overthrown, and the new authorities looked at Slavic-language services without enthusiasm. After keeping the bishop in prison for two years, they finally allowed him to preach in Slavonic.

Is it possible to imagine life without electricity? Of course it's difficult! But it is known that people used to read and write by candles and torches. Imagine life without writing. Some of you will now think to yourself, well, it would be great: you don’t have to write dictations and essays. But then there will be no libraries, books, posters, letters, or even e-mail or text messages. Language, like a mirror, reflects the whole world, our whole life. And reading written or printed texts, it’s as if we are getting into a time machine and can be transported to both recent times and the distant past.

But people did not always master the art of writing. This art has been developing for a long time, over many millennia. Do you know who we should be grateful to for our written word, in which our favorite books are written? For our literacy, which we learn at school? For our great Russian literature, which you are becoming familiar with and will continue to study in high school.

Cyril and Methodius lived in the world,

Two Byzantine monks and suddenly

(No, not a legend, not a myth, not a parody),

Some of them thought: “Friend!

How many Slavs are speechless without Christ!

We need to create an alphabet for the Slavs...

It was thanks to the works of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius that the Slavic alphabet was created.

The brothers were born in the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki in the family of a military leader. Methodius was the eldest son, and, having chosen the military path, he went to serve in one of the Slavic regions. His brother, Cyril, was born 7-10 years later than Methodius, and already in childhood he passionately fell in love with science and amazed his teachers with his brilliant abilities. At the age of 14, his parents sent him to Constantinople, where he quickly studied grammar and geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and medicine, ancient art, and became proficient in Slavic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Arabic. Refusing the high administrative position offered to him, Kirill took a modest position as a librarian in the Patriarchal Library and at the same time taught philosophy at the university, for which he received the nickname “philosopher”. His older brother Methodius entered military service early. For 10 years he was the manager of one of the regions inhabited by the Slavs. Being an honest and straightforward man, intolerant of injustice, he left military service and retired to a monastery.

In 863, ambassadors from Moravia arrived in Constantinople to ask for preachers to be sent to their country and tell the population about Christianity. The emperor decided to send Cyril and Methodius to Moravia. Cyril, before setting off, asked if the Moravians had an alphabet for their language - “for enlightening a people without writing their language is like trying to write on water,” Cyril explained. To which I received a negative answer. The Moravians did not have an alphabet, so the brothers began work. They had months, not years, at their disposal. They worked from early morning, just before dawn, until late in the evening, when their eyes were already dim with fatigue. In a short time, an alphabet for the Moravians was created. It was named after one of its creators - Kirill - Cyrillic.

Using the Slavic alphabet, Cyril and Methodius very quickly translated the main liturgical books from Greek into Slavic. The first book written in Cyrillic was the “Ostromir Gospel,” the first words written using the Slavic alphabet were the phrase “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And now, for more than a thousand years, the Church Slavonic language has been used in the Russian Orthodox Church during services.

The Slavic alphabet existed unchanged in Rus' for more than seven centuries. Its creators tried to make each letter of the first Russian alphabet simple and clear, easy to write. They remembered that the letters should also be beautiful, so that a person, as soon as he saw them, immediately wanted to master writing.

Each letter had its own name - “az” - A; “beeches” - B; “lead” - B; “verb” - G; "good" -D.

This is where the catchphrases come from: “Az and beeches - that’s all science”, “Whoever knows “Az” and “Beeches” has books in his hands.” In addition, letters could also represent numbers. There were 43 letters in the Cyrillic alphabet.

The Cyrillic alphabet existed in the Russian language without changes until Peter I, who removed outdated letters that could have been completely dispensed with - “yus big”, “yus small”, “omega”, “uk”. In 1918, 5 more letters left the Russian alphabet - “yat”, “fita”, “izhitsa”, “er”, “er”. Over the course of a thousand years, many letters have disappeared from our alphabet, and only two have appeared - “th” and “e”. They were invented in the 17th century by the Russian writer and historian Karamzin. And now, finally, there are 33 letters left in the modern alphabet.

Where do you think the word “AZBUKA” came from - from the names of the first letters of the alphabet, “az” and “buki”; in Rus' there were several more names for the alphabet - “abevega” and “letter letter”.

Why is the alphabet called alphabet? The history of this word is interesting. Alphabet. It was born in ancient Greece and consists of the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: “alpha” and “beta”. Speakers of Western languages ​​call it “alphabete.” And we pronounce it like “alphabet.”

The Slavs were very happy: other peoples of Europe (Germans, Franks, Britons) did not have their own written language. The Slavs now had their own alphabet, and everyone could learn to read a book! “That was a wonderful moment!.. The deaf began to hear, and the dumb began to speak, for until that time the Slavs were both deaf and dumb” - recorded in the chronicles of those times.

Not only children, but also adults began to study. They wrote with sharp sticks on wooden tablets coated with wax. The children fell in love with their teachers Cyril and Methodius. The little Slavs happily went to class, because the journey along the roads of Truth was so interesting!

With the advent of the Slavic alphabet, written culture began to develop rapidly. Books appeared in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Rus'. And how they were designed! The first letter - the initial letter - began each new chapter. The initial letter is unusually beautiful: in the form of a beautiful bird or flower, it was painted with bright, often red, flowers. That is why the term “red line” exists today. A Slavic handwritten book could be created within six to seven years and was very expensive. In a precious frame, with illustrations, today it is a real monument of art.

A long time ago, when the history of the great Russian state was just beginning, “it” was expensive. She alone could be exchanged for a herd of horses or a herd of cows, or for sable fur coats. And it’s not about the jewelry in which the beauty and clever girl were dressed up. And she only wore expensive embossed leather, pearls and precious stones! Gold and silver clasps decorated her outfit! Admiring her, people said: “Light, you are ours!” We worked on its creation for a long time, but its fate could have been very sad. During the invasion of enemies, she was taken prisoner along with the people. She could have died in a fire or flood. They valued her very much: she inspired hope, restored strength of spirit. What kind of curiosity is this? Yes, guys, this is Her Majesty - the Book. She preserved to us the Word of God and the traditions of distant years. The first books were handwritten. It took months and sometimes years to rewrite one book. The centers of book learning in Rus' have always been monasteries. There, through fasting and prayer, hardworking monks copied and decorated books. A collection of books of 500-1000 manuscripts was considered very rare.

Life goes on, and in the middle of the 16th century, printing appeared in Rus'. The printing house in Moscow appeared under Ivan the Terrible. It was led by Ivan Fedorov, who is called the first book printer. Being a deacon and serving in the temple, he tried to realize his dream - to rewrite sacred books without scribes. And so, in 1563, he began to type the first page of the first printed book, “The Apostle.” In total, he published 12 books during his life, among them was the complete Slavic Bible.

The Slavic alphabet is amazing and is still considered one of the most convenient writing systems. And the names of Cyril and Methodius, “the first Slovenian teachers,” became a symbol of spiritual achievement. And every person studying the Russian language should know and keep in his memory the holy names of the first Slavic enlighteners - the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

Across broad Rus' - our mother

The bells ring out.

Now the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius

They are glorified for their efforts.

“Learning is light, and ignorance is darkness,” says the Russian proverb. Cyril and Methodius, brothers from Thessaloniki, are Slovenian educators, creators of the Slavic alphabet, preachers of Christianity. They are called holy teachers. Enlighteners are those who bring light and illuminate everyone with it. Without the alphabet there is no writing, and without it there is no book that enlightens people, and therefore moves life forward. Monuments to great educators around the world remind us of the spiritual feat of Cyril and Methodius, who gave the world the Slavic alphabet.

In memory of the great feat of Cyril and Methodius, the Day of Slavic Literature is celebrated all over the world on May 24. In the year of the millennium since the creation of the Slavic script in Russia, the Holy Synod adopted a resolution that established “every year, starting from this 1863, on the 11th (24th) day of May, the church celebration of St. Cyril and Methodius.” Until 1917, Russia celebrated the church holiday Day of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers Cyril and Methodius. With the advent of Soviet power, this great holiday was forgotten. It was revived in 1986. This holiday began to be called the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture.

Quiz

1.Who created the Slavic alphabet? (Cyril and Methodius)

2.Which year is considered the year of the emergence of Slavic writing and bookmaking? (863)

3.Why are Cyril and Methodius called “Thessalonica brothers”? (The birthplace of the enlightenment brothers is the city of Thessaloniki in Macedonia)

4.Who was the older brother: Cyril or Methodius? (Methodius)

5. What was the name of the first book written in Cyrillic? (Ostromir Gospel")

6.Which of the brothers was a librarian, and which was a warrior? (Cyril - librarian, Methodius - military leader,)

7.What was Kirill called for his intelligence and diligence? (Philosopher)

8. During whose reign the Slavic alphabet was changed - simplified. (Peter 1)

9. How many letters were there in the Cyrillic alphabet before Peter the Great? (43 letters)

10. How many letters are there in the modern alphabet? (33 letters)

11.Who was the first printer in Rus'? (Ivan Fedorov)

12.What was the name of the first printed book? ("Apostle")

13.What words were first written in the Slavic language? (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God)

On May 24, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

The name of these saints is known to everyone from school, and it is to them that all of us, native speakers of the Russian language, owe our language, culture, and writing.

Incredibly, all European science and culture were born within the monastery walls: it was at the monasteries that the first schools were opened, children were taught to read and write, and extensive libraries were collected. It was for the enlightenment of peoples, for the translation of the Gospel, that many written languages ​​were created. This happened with the Slavic language.

The holy brothers Cyril and Methodius came from a noble and pious family who lived in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. Methodius was a warrior and ruled the Bulgarian principality of the Byzantine Empire. This gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language.

Soon, however, he decided to leave the secular lifestyle and became a monk at the monastery on Mount Olympus. From childhood, Constantine showed amazing abilities and received an excellent education together with the young Emperor Michael 3rd at the royal court.

Then he became a monk in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor.

His brother Constantine, who took the name Cyril as a monk, was distinguished by great abilities from an early age and perfectly comprehended all the sciences of his time and many languages.

Soon the emperor sent both brothers to the Khazars to preach the gospel. As the legend says, along the way they stopped in Korsun, where Constantine found the Gospel and the Psalter written in “Russian letters,” and a man speaking Russian, and began to learn to read and speak this language.

When the brothers returned to Constantinople, the emperor again sent them on an educational mission - this time to Moravia. The Moravian prince Rostislav was oppressed by the German bishops, and he asked the emperor to send teachers who could preach in the native language of the Slavs.

The first of the Slavic peoples to turn to Christianity were the Bulgarians. The sister of the Bulgarian prince Bogoris (Boris) was held hostage in Constantinople. She was baptized with the name Theodora and was raised in the spirit of the holy faith. Around 860, she returned to Bulgaria and began to persuade her brother to accept Christianity. Boris was baptized, taking the name Mikhail. Saints Cyril and Methodius were in this country and with their preaching they greatly contributed to the establishment of Christianity in it. From Bulgaria, the Christian faith spread to its neighboring Serbia.

To fulfill the new mission, Constantine and Methodius compiled the Slavic alphabet and translated the main liturgical books (Gospel, Apostle, Psalter) into Slavic. This happened in 863.

In Moravia, the brothers were received with great honor and began to teach Divine services in the Slavic language. This aroused the anger of the German bishops, who performed divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, and they filed a complaint to Rome.

Taking with them the relics of St. Clement (Pope), which they discovered back in Korsun, Constantine and Methodius went to Rome.
Having learned that the brothers were carrying holy relics with them, Pope Adrian greeted them with honor and approved the service in the Slavic language. He ordered the books translated by the brothers to be placed in Roman churches and the liturgy to be performed in the Slavic language.

Saint Methodius fulfilled his brother’s will: returning to Moravia already in the rank of archbishop, he worked here for 15 years. From Moravia, Christianity penetrated into Bohemia during the lifetime of Saint Methodius. The Bohemian prince Borivoj received holy baptism from him. His example was followed by his wife Lyudmila (who later became a martyr) and many others. In the mid-10th century, the Polish prince Mieczyslaw married the Bohemian princess Dabrowka, after which he and his subjects accepted the Christian faith.

Subsequently, these Slavic peoples, through the efforts of Latin preachers and German emperors, were torn away from the Greek Church under the rule of the Pope, with the exception of the Serbs and Bulgarians. But all Slavs, despite the centuries that have passed, still have a living memory of the great Equal-to-the-Apostles enlighteners and the Orthodox faith that they tried to plant among them. The sacred memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius serves as a connecting link for all Slavic peoples.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

On May 24, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

The name of these saints is known to everyone from school, and it is to them that all of us, native speakers of the Russian language, owe our language, culture, and writing.

Incredibly, all European science and culture were born within the monastery walls: it was at the monasteries that the first schools were opened, children were taught to read and write, and extensive libraries were collected. It was for the enlightenment of peoples, for the translation of the Gospel, that many written languages ​​were created. This happened with the Slavic language.

The holy brothers Cyril and Methodius came from a noble and pious family who lived in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. Methodius was a warrior and ruled the Bulgarian principality of the Byzantine Empire. This gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language.

Soon, however, he decided to leave the secular lifestyle and became a monk at the monastery on Mount Olympus. From childhood, Constantine showed amazing abilities and received an excellent education together with the young Emperor Michael 3rd at the royal court.

Then he became a monk in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor.

His brother Constantine, who took the name Cyril as a monk, was distinguished by great abilities from an early age and perfectly comprehended all the sciences of his time and many languages.

Soon the emperor sent both brothers to the Khazars to preach the gospel. As the legend says, along the way they stopped in Korsun, where Constantine found the Gospel and the Psalter written in “Russian letters,” and a man speaking Russian, and began to learn to read and speak this language.

When the brothers returned to Constantinople, the emperor again sent them on an educational mission - this time to Moravia. The Moravian prince Rostislav was oppressed by the German bishops, and he asked the emperor to send teachers who could preach in the native language of the Slavs.

The first of the Slavic peoples to turn to Christianity were the Bulgarians. The sister of the Bulgarian prince Bogoris (Boris) was held hostage in Constantinople. She was baptized with the name Theodora and was raised in the spirit of the holy faith. Around 860, she returned to Bulgaria and began to persuade her brother to accept Christianity. Boris was baptized, taking the name Mikhail. Saints Cyril and Methodius were in this country and with their preaching they greatly contributed to the establishment of Christianity in it. From Bulgaria, the Christian faith spread to its neighboring Serbia.

To fulfill the new mission, Constantine and Methodius compiled the Slavic alphabet and translated the main liturgical books (Gospel, Apostle, Psalter) into Slavic. This happened in 863.

In Moravia, the brothers were received with great honor and began to teach Divine services in the Slavic language. This aroused the anger of the German bishops, who performed divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, and they filed a complaint to Rome.

Taking with them the relics of St. Clement (Pope), which they discovered back in Korsun, Constantine and Methodius went to Rome.
Having learned that the brothers were carrying holy relics with them, Pope Adrian greeted them with honor and approved the service in the Slavic language. He ordered the books translated by the brothers to be placed in Roman churches and the liturgy to be performed in the Slavic language.

Saint Methodius fulfilled his brother’s will: returning to Moravia already in the rank of archbishop, he worked here for 15 years. From Moravia, Christianity penetrated into Bohemia during the lifetime of Saint Methodius. The Bohemian prince Borivoj received holy baptism from him. His example was followed by his wife Lyudmila (who later became a martyr) and many others. In the mid-10th century, the Polish prince Mieczyslaw married the Bohemian princess Dabrowka, after which he and his subjects accepted the Christian faith.

Subsequently, these Slavic peoples, through the efforts of Latin preachers and German emperors, were torn away from the Greek Church under the rule of the Pope, with the exception of the Serbs and Bulgarians. But all Slavs, despite the centuries that have passed, still have a living memory of the great Equal-to-the-Apostles enlighteners and the Orthodox faith that they tried to plant among them. The sacred memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius serves as a connecting link for all Slavic peoples.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

“Take care of our language, our beautiful Russian language, this treasure, this property passed on to us by our predecessors!.. Treat this powerful weapon with respect; in skillful hands it is capable of performing miracles.”

AND ABOUT. Turgenev

Slavic writing and culture are among the most ancient in Europe. The Slavs owe the appearance of writing to the holy apostles Cyril and Methodius. History has placed their names among the greatest sons of humanity. It is to them that the Slavs owe the appearance of writing.

In 863, by order of Emperor Michael, the brothers were instructed to go to Slavic Moravia to teach local residents to worship in the Slavic language.


Cyril and Methodius.Kyrill und Method auf einer russischen Ikone des 18./19. Jh.

Methodius (approx. 815 or 820 - 885) and Cyril (approx. 826 or 827 - 869), were born and raised in Macedonia. The brothers' father, according to legend, was Bulgarian, and their mother was Greek. Perhaps this to some extent explains the interest and that ascetic devotion to the cause of Slavic enlightenment, which are so characteristic of both brothers.

Methodius was at first in military service, but then retired to a monastery.

Constantine (Cyril in monasticism) discovered extraordinary mental gifts from childhood. Already at school he achieved considerable success, in particular in the study of theology. Constantine's abilities became known in the capital of the empire, and Emperor Michael III invited him to be a companion to his son. Studying at the emperor's court, under the guidance of experienced teachers and mentors, he quickly mastered all sciences, as well as many languages.

In Byzantium, Constantine had at his disposal not only the best teachers of the empire, but also the book treasures of the patriarchal library. He decided to become a patriarchal librarian. Then he taught at the same Constantinople higher school, from which he himself graduated and where he received the respectful name of Philosopher, which remained with him in history. He actively participated in various religious disputes with Muslims, Jews, and Persians. His oratory skills grew stronger. In a dispute he defeated the patriarch in defense of the icons. In Syria he defended Christianity, the idea of ​​the only God. The brothers carried out a mission-trip to the Khazars, visited Chersonesos, where Cyril found the “Gospel” and “Psalter” in Russian writing.

Before starting his missionary activities, Kirill developed and streamlined the Slavic alphabet. It consisted of 43 letters. Most of the letters were taken from the Greek alphabet, which is why they look like them. To designate sounds characteristic only of the Slavic language, 19 signs were invented. However, there was one significant flaw in it: it contained six Greek letters, which were superfluous when transmitting the Slavic language.


Josef Mathauser.Konstantin a Metoděj přišli na Velehrad

In Moravia, Cyril and Methodius began active work. The brothers and their students opened schools in which they began to teach young people Slavic writing. Thanks to the efforts of the brothers in Moravia, a written translation of the entire annual cycle of worship, as well as the books necessary for it, was completed. Also during this time, several temples were built in which services were conducted in the Slavic language.


Slavs in their Original Homeland: Between the Turanian Whip and the sword of the Goths.1912.Galerie hlavního města PrahyLink to museum template

The secret of the success of the mission of Cyril and Methodius was that the services were held in the native language of the people. Cyril and Methodius translated texts from many Greek books, thereby laying the foundation for the formation of Old Church Slavonic bookmaking. The educational work of the Slavs contributed to the spread of literacy among these peoples. The brothers overcame a difficult path of struggle. Kirill's whole life was filled with frequent difficult trips. Deprivation and hard work affected his health. Kirill's health worsened. He died before reaching the age of 42.

Methodius continues his activities. And now not only in Moravia, but also in the neighboring Czech Republic and Poland. Methodius, exhausted by the continuous struggle with the German feudal lords and churchmen in 885, dies.

The brothers left behind more than two hundred students, who contributed to the fact that the Cyrillic alphabet spread to the Balkans, crossed the Danube and reached the borders of Ancient Rus'. Cyril and Methodius were canonized by the church. The church equated their work with the apostolic feat. The day of their canonization - May 24, was proclaimed the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture in our today's calendars. This is one of the most important holidays of the fraternal Slavic peoples, in which the past and present, spirituality and culture are organically combined.

The memory of Cyril and Methodius is immortalized in monuments in all corners of the Slavic land. The Slavic alphabet serves 10% of the world's population. She wrote “The Tale of Past Years”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, and other works of Kievan Rus. The names of Cyril and Methodius are forever recorded in the history of the Slavic peoples.