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Cyril and Methodius are famous for creating the Old Church Slavonic alphabet, which laid the foundation for the creation of writing in Ancient Rus'. Two brothers were born in Byzantium, or more precisely in Thessalonica.
The education of Cyril and Methodius was at the highest level, which soon reflected in their great merits. However, Methodius was a military man and created a successful career for himself, receiving the title of strategist. But Kirill studied most of all not military affairs, but linguistics and various languages. Kirill also studied arithmetic, astronomy and even geometry, and he received these lessons from the best teachers in Constantinople.
Soon Cyril becomes the keeper of the library in the main temple of Constantinople, and this temple was called “Hagia Sophia.” After spending a short amount of time as a custodian, Kirill did not linger and began teaching various classes at the university. For all of Kirill’s merits, he receives the nickname “Philosopher”. The brothers knew perfectly not only the Greek language, but also Slavic, knowledge of which helped create a new alphabet.
Kirill's first mission was the "Khazar" mission, during which two brothers went to Khazaria. Methodius remained in his homeland, in Constantinople. In Khazaria, Cyril spoke about religion, trying to force the Kagan to change his faith, but this did not happen, and Cyril returned back to Byzantium.
The main merit of Cyril and Methodius is the creation of the Old Church Slavonic alphabet. The prerequisite for this event was the sending of ambassadors to Constantinople from Prince Rostislav. The ambassadors asked to send Rostislav teachers who could teach ordinary people the alphabet and literacy, and also spread the new language. After this, Cyril and Methodius were sent from Constantinople to Moravia, who created the Old Slavonic alphabet and began to translate various church books from Greek into Slavic, so that common people could calmly study these books. Also in Moravia, Cyril and Methodius taught the Slavs, and specifically, reading and writing. The brothers translated some other church books into Bulgarian for ordinary people who did not yet know the Old Church Slavonic language.
Three parts
The Old Church Slavonic alphabet can be divided into three parts: “higher”, “lower” and “divine”. The first of them, by the names of the initial letters, carries a certain semantic message; the second is the opposite: the names of these letters are syllables, often unpleasant to the ear; the third part of the alphabet - the divine symbols located in the middle of the alphabet - is the most mysterious of secrets.
Life of Saint Cyril Equal to the Apostles
Childhood
Like his elder brother, Saint Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Saint Cyril came from a family of noble natives of Thessalonica - Drungaria Leo and his wife Mary. The name Cyril is a monastic name - in the world the saint was called Constantine.
The youngest child in the family, Constantine, was born around 827. As with the older children, Maria took a nurse for the newborn Konstantin, but the child absolutely did not want to take someone else's breast, so the mother finally had to feed him herself. Soon after the birth of their youngest son, his parents decided to abstain from carnal intercourse. At that time, such vows were not uncommon among the pious people of Byzantium.
From an early age, Konstantin was distinguished by great learning abilities. He seemed to have a special blessing upon him. When he was about seven years old, he had a dream, which he told his parents about: “The strategist gathered all the girls of our city and turned to me: “Choose from among them the one you want to have as a wife to help you and marry.” But I, looking and examining everyone, saw one more beautiful than all of them: with a sparkling face and adorned with gold necklaces and pearls and all the ornaments. Her name was Sophia, that is, wisdom. He chose her." His parents, being pious people, interpreted this dream in spiritual terms. Drungary Leo said to his son: “Son, keep the commandment of your father and do not reject the instructions of your mother. For a commandment is a lamp of the law and a light. Say to wisdom: “You are my sister,” and call reason your relatives. Wisdom shines stronger than the sun, and if you take her as your wife, you will get rid of many evils with her help.”
Therefore, when his parents sent him to study the elementary sciences - grammar, poetics and rhetoric, he soon succeeded in these sciences so that everyone was amazed. Both teachers and fellow students noted that Konstantin was distinguished by his extraordinary memory and diligence. In addition, he devoted most of his free time to reading, striving for new knowledge.
At the same time, he did not disdain ordinary children's amusements. The biography of the saint preserved one of these cases. One day, together with the children of other eminent citizens, Konstantin went on a hawk hunt. But instead of the joy he was expecting, the hunt ended in misfortune for him: when he lowered his hawk, a terrible wind rose and knocked the bird off the circle and drove it so far that it never returned to its owner. This adventure plunged Konstantin into terrible grief - the boy was so upset that he did not eat anything for two days. But then, reflecting on what had happened, he concluded about the futility of worldly pleasures: “What kind of life is this if sadness comes in the place of joy? From today I will take a different path, which is better than this. But I will not end my days in the troubles of this life.”
After that, he devoted much more time to studying and reading books. His favorite author was St. Gregory the Theologian. Konstantin learned passages from it by heart and, in his childish delight, wrote a small panegyric for him on the wall of his room: “Oh, Gregory, a man in body, but an Angel in soul! You are a man in flesh, you have become like the Angels. Your lips, as one of the Seraphim, glorify God and enlighten the universe with the teachings of the true faith. And accept me, who comes to you with love and faith, and be my enlightener and teacher.” Presumably, Constantine began his acquaintance with the works of Gregory the Theologian from a collection of his poems. This section of essays is more accessible to a teenager.
When Konstantin was about fourteen years old, the family suffered great grief - his father died. At the bedside of her dying husband, Maria was most worried about the fate of her youngest son: “I don’t care about anything,” she said, “only about this one child, how he will be arranged.” To this, the dying husband answered her: “If God so generously endowed our son with His gifts, then in the future He will not abandon him with His mercy - believe me, God will be his father and trustee.”
Years of study
Having moved on to study the more complex works of St. Gregory the Theologian, Constantine encountered certain difficulties. In order to comprehend all the works of his beloved author, he wanted to continue his education, but there was no suitable mentor in Thessalonica.
He decided to turn to a certain person who came to Thessalonica, who was famous as an expert in grammar. Constantine begged him, saying: “Do a good deed, teach me the art of grammar.” The same one resolutely answered all the hot requests and pleas of the young man: “Don’t work, boy. I swore not to teach this to anyone until the end of my days.” Again, Constantine almost with tears begged him: “Take the entire share of my father’s inheritance due to me, but teach me.” However, the grammar expert did not want to listen to him.
Realizing that all efforts were in vain, Konstantin left him, and, returning home, began to fervently pray that the desire of his heart would be fulfilled. God did not disgrace the young man’s hope. The patron of Drungaria Leo and the benefactor of the entire family, logothete Theoktistus, having learned about Constantine’s abilities and his desire to study, invited the young man to Constantinople so that he could study with the best mentors who later taught the young emperor. Constantine joyfully set out on the road, praying to God: “God of our fathers and Lord of mercy, who created all things with a word and with His wisdom created man so that he would rule over all the creatures You created. Give me the wisdom that dwells next to Your throne, so that, having understood what is pleasing to You, I may be saved. I am Your servant and the son of Your handmaid.”
Arriving in Constantinople, Constantine happily began his studies. The range of education at that time consisted of: grammar, rhetoric and dialectics, studied in the lower classes, and arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy, which made up the course of the upper classes. Konstantin completed the grammar with which he began his studies in just three months. After grammar, Constantine gradually listened to all other sciences, also paying great attention to reading ancient literature. Among his mentors were: Leo the Philosopher, a man who in his time amazed not only his compatriots, but also foreigners with his extensive and deep learning and was famous especially as an excellent expert in mathematics, astronomy and mechanics, and St. Photius the Great, later the Patriarch of Constantinople, who amazed his contemporaries with his learning and descendants. At that time, Saint Photius was a state dignitary, but despite this, his greatest happiness was to see himself surrounded by crowds of young men with whom he could share his many-sided and deep information. This mentor soon honored Constantine with the most sincere friendship.
With his excellent abilities, diligence in learning, humble disposition and graceful appearance, Constantine stood out among his comrades, attracting the general attention of the imperial court. And his benefactor, the logothete Theoktistus, gave him power over his house.
Once the logothete asked Constantine: “Philosopher, I would like to know what philosophy is.” Constantine immediately replied: “Understanding divine and human affairs, how close a person can come to God, and how to teach a person through deeds to be in the image and likeness of the one who created him.” Constantine's answer amazed the logothete, so that he wanted to learn more about philosophy. After this, Constantine repeatedly talked with Theoktistos about philosophy.
Appreciating Konstantin's abilities, the logothete Theoktist decides to introduce the young man into the circle of his family. One day he said to Constantine: “I have become attached to you; I have a goddaughter; she is beautiful, with a very rich dowry and from the most noble family. If you want, I will give her to you as a wife. As for your position, I undertake to arrange it in the best possible way: with my efforts, in five, six years they will make you a strategist.” But Konstantin refused a profitable marriage: “What you are offering is a great gift for someone who needs it. But for me there is nothing better than teaching, and I absolutely do not want to oblige myself to anything. But, having gained wisdom, I will seek for myself the wealth of our great-grandfather, Adam, left in paradise.”
Realizing that the young man could not be restrained by the temptations of worldly ambition, the logothete turned to the queen, saying: “This young philosopher is not attached to this life, and in order not to let him go from us, we will ordain him as a reader under the Patriarch. Maybe we can keep him that way.” After this, Constantine was ordained as a reader and entered the service of chartophylax (keeper of the library) - at that time this was a significant administrative position in the Patriarchate.
Sacred geometry
The designs of Slavic letters are already fraught with mystery. The usual letter designations, familiar to us from copybooks, consist of simple geometric shapes: circles, triangles, crosses. But behind them is hidden a sacred meaning - symbols of eternity, the Trinity, Christ.
Researchers of the Old Church Slavonic alphabet have established that geometrically, the symbol of the communion cup was initially hidden in the Cyrillic letter “Ch”, the cross of St. Andrew the First-Called in “X”, and the ark of salvation in “Fit”. So the alphabet paints us a symbolic picture of the Christian world.
Congratulations on Cyril and Methodius Day - beautiful poems and wishes
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We remember familiar sounds from childhood: This is Az, and this is Buki. Glory and honor to Cyril and Methodius For the fact that Slavic writing exists! And the whole world appreciates our culture, reads our literature avidly. Let the years pass, centuries pass, Slavic culture will always be! Brothers Slavs, happy holiday to you. Keep and appreciate the cultural reserve!
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Cyril and Methodius have long been saints. Although they were among the people, the monks were simple. The star of enlightenment revealed the truth to us. Congratulations! After all, knowledge is power.
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Cyril and Methodius once Created an alphabet for us, We preserved these letters And use them now, On the day of writing we wish everyone Not to forget Traditions, To preserve the language, our culture For generations to preserve!
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May culture flourish, may the Slavic people live, on this holiday I wish you never to know adversity.
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Happy Culture Day to you! Just remember how amazingly great our amazing language is filled with goodness, the warmth of hearts!
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Slavic speech sounds just like a melody. Let us remember today Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Let our native speech and culture be held in high esteem. We will never forget its basics in life.
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Let Slavic writing and culture only flourish from year to year and be carefully passed on to subsequent generations! Let every Slav love, appreciate and know his native language perfectly, preserve his cultural heritage and try to observe the traditions carried by our ancestors through the centuries!
Secret writing
A number of scientists hypothesize that the first Slavic alphabet was secret writing and was a complex logical-mathematical system. In addition, there is a version that the alphabet was created by Cyril and Methodius as a complete invention, and not as a creation that was formed in parts by adding new letter forms. Thus, the Cyrillic alphabet conceals an interpretation of the world order, where each letter contains a meaning and is deciphered as I Know God, the Verb Good, That There Is Life... If you enclose the Cyrillic alphabet in a 7 by 7 square, then it can be read in any order, opening up new meanings.
Option 2
There are few people in our country who have not heard of Cyril and Methodius. The brothers gave the world the Slavic alphabet and the translation of books from Greek into Slavic.
Written evidence from that time has been preserved about the life of Cyril and Methodius. The brothers were born in Greece in the city of Thessaloniki. In addition to them, there were five more brothers in the family. Their father Leo, a Byzantine military leader, held a high rank, the family lived in prosperity. At birth, the boys received the names Mikhail and Konstantin, the eldest of them was Mikhail, born in 815, Konstantin was born in 827.
Michael chose the military path and rose to the rank of strategist in the Macedonian province. An influential patron, the courtier Theoktist, noticed the talented young man and in every possible way contributed to Mikhail’s promotion.
From an early age, Konstantin became interested in science, studied the traditions of other peoples, and translated the Gospel into the language of the Slavs. In Constantinople, where Constantine studied, in addition to linguistics, he gained knowledge in geometry, arithmetic, rhetoric, astronomy, and philosophy. Given his noble position and success in scientific activities, he was predicted to serve in the highest positions, but for himself he chose a modest position as a custodian of books in the library of the St. Sophia Cathedral. Having served in this position for a short time, Konstantin began his teaching career at the university. His knowledge and ability to conduct philosophical discussions earned him the nickname Philosopher, which is often found in the chronicles of the brothers’ lives.
Constantine was a member of the imperial court and often went on behalf of the Byzantine emperor to other lands to glorify the Orthodox faith. The preacher received his first such commission at the age of 24. The life of the brothers describes how clearly, firmly and confidently he answered difficult questions from Muslims and Khazars about the Christian faith.
Michael, having served for about 10 years as rector of one of the Slavic regions, renouncing the rank of archbishop, took monastic vows with the name Methodius in 852, becoming the rector of the monastery on Lesser Olympus, where Constantine arrived with his disciples in 856, the brothers began creating an alphabet for the Slavs.
Their church seclusion did not last long; in 862, on behalf of the emperor, preachers arrived in Moravia, where for three years they taught literacy and Christian preaching. During this period, the Psalter, the Apostle, “Writing about the Right Faith” and many other liturgical texts were translated into Slavic. The active work of the brothers was not to the liking of the German clergy, who considered it possible to carry out Orthodox worship only in the three languages indicated in the scripture, so they complained about the brothers to the Pope, since Moravia was under the rule of Pope Andrian II. The brothers were called to Rome. Having presented the Pope with part of the relics of Clement I, the preachers received approval for worship in the Slavic language, Methodius was promoted to the rank of clergyman.
At the beginning of 869, Constantine, being on his deathbed, took monastic vows and received the name Cyril.
After the death of his brother, Methodius continued the joint work already in the rank of Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia. The archbishop's vigorous activity was not liked by the representative of the German church, and in 871 the preacher was arrested and placed in a monastery prison in Germany; only the intervention of Pope John VIII allowed him to be released from prison three years later.
Until the last minutes of his life, Methodius did not stop translating, his last being the translation of the Old Testament. Methodius died in 885.
The brothers are revered both in the East and in the West. In Russia, on May 24, in honor of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a holiday of Slavic writing and culture was established.
4th, 6th grade
Letter numbers
Letter symbols were also used as numbers - and here in the Cyrillic alphabet we find new riddles. Why is Az equal to one, but Buki has no number? The series of first numbers is sequential, but nine ends up at the very end of the alphabet. It cannot be assumed that such chaos is the result of an accident, because St. Cyril carefully thought through the sacred meanings of his creation. To turn a letter into a number, a special sign was placed above it - a title, the meaning of which can be equated to a halo.
Cyril and Methodius 2021: biography, history of Slavic writing
The day of celebration of Slavic writing and culture is inextricably linked with Cyril and Methodius - in all Slavic countries it is celebrated on May 24.
Cyril and Methodius, having created Slavic writing, translated liturgical books from Greek into Slavic, including the Apostolic Epistles and the Psalter, selected readings from the Gospel, that is, they contributed to the introduction and spread of Slavic worship.
Sputnik Georgia tells a brief biography of Saints Cyril and Methodius, educators of the Slavs and fighters for the Christian faith, and the history of the creation of Slavic writing.
short biography
Siblings - Cyril and Methodius (in the world Constantine and Michael) were born into a noble and religious family in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
Having received an excellent education, Methodius, the eldest of seven brothers, initially chose a military career and ruled in one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to the Byzantine Empire, where he learned the Slavic language.
© photo: Sputnik / Vladimir Vdovin
Reproduction of the icon “Saints Cyril and Methodius”
Having served for ten years, Methodius, around 852, took monastic vows in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus (Asia Minor).
Konstantin, the youngest of the brothers, distinguished by exceptional philological abilities, was drawn to science. In Constantinople, he studied with the greatest scientists of the time, including Photius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople.
Having completed his studies, he accepted the rank of priest - he was appointed custodian of the patriarchal library at the Church of Hagia Sophia and taught philosophy at the highest school in Constantinople.
Constantine was wise beyond his years - he defeated the leader of the iconoclast heretics, Annius, in a debate.
Then he retired to his brother Methodius in the monastery, where he spent time reading and praying. There he first began to study the Slavic language, communicating with Slavic monks in the monastery.
© photo: Sputnik / Vladimir Fedorenko
Orthodox complex “In the Name of the Resurrection of Christ” (in the background) and the monument to the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius (in the foreground) in Khanty-Mansiysk
To preach the gospel, the Byzantine emperor sent Cyril and Methodius in 857 to the Khazar Kaganate. On the way, stopping in the city of Korsun, the brothers miraculously found the relics of the Hieromartyr Clement, Pope of Rome.
Then, going to the Khazars, Methodius and Cyril successfully convinced the Khazar prince and his entourage to accept Christianity, as well as to release 200 Greek captives.
History of Slavic writing
Slavic writing arose in the 9th century, and it was then that the alphabet was compiled.
The history of Slavic writing is as follows: the Moravian prince Rostislav sent ambassadors to the emperor with a request to translate Christian liturgical books into the Slavic language and to send teachers to Moravia to preach to the Slavs in their native language.
© photo: Sputnik / Rudolf Kucherov
Sculptural image of the founders of Slavic writing Cyril and Methodius on the monument “1000th anniversary of Russia”
The Emperor entrusted this mission to Cyril and Methodius, confident that they would cope with it best of all. Cyril compiled the Slavic alphabet with the help of his brother Methodius and his students Clement, Gorazd, Naum, Savva and Angelyar.
The year of birth of Slavic writing is considered to be 863, when the first words were written in the Slavic language. Some chroniclers claim that these were the words of the Evangelist John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word.”
After completing the translation of the Gospel, Psalter and selected services into the Slavic language, Cyril and Methodius went to Moravia, where they began to teach Divine services in Slavic.
Two alphabets of Slavic writing were compiled - Glagolitic and Cyrillic, and both were used. The surviving Slavic manuscripts are written in both one and another alphabet.
But over time, the Cyrillic alphabet, which is much simpler in writing letters than the archaic Glagolitic alphabet, forced it out of use.
© photo: Sputnik / Sergey Samokhin
The grave of Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
The creation of Slavic writing was of great importance for the cultural and scientific development of the Slavic people. On the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet, both Russian writing and the writing of other Slavic peoples arose.
Saint Cyril died in 869 - he was 42 years old. Before his death, he accepted the schema (the highest level of Orthodox monasticism). The relics of the Saint were placed in the Church of St. Clement, where miracles began to be performed from them.
Methodius, soon after this ordained in Rome to the rank of archbishop, continued his brother’s work. He died in 885 - Archbishop Methodius was buried in three languages - Slavic, Greek and Latin, and was buried in the cathedral church of Velehrad.
Cyril and Methodius, for their activities, were canonized as Saints in ancient times. The Russian Orthodox Church has been honoring the memory of the Slavic enlighteners since the 11th century. The oldest services to the Saints that have survived to this day date back to the 13th century.
The solemn celebration of the memory of High Hierarchs Cyril and Methodius in the Russian Church was established in 1863.
The material was prepared based on open sources
World order code
The connection between numbers and letters had its own interpretations, so in the Middle Ages they calculated the meaning of a word by adding up the numerical values of the letters in order to discover a new meaning in them. For example, the number of Christ is considered to be 888, which is the sum of the numbers and letters of the name Jesus in Greek. Therefore, those who turn to the Old Church Slavonic alphabet struggle with the mystery of the numerical designation of its letters, looking for the code of the entire world order in the ancient alphabet: from the creation of the world to the Last Judgment.
There is one wonderful book that I would like to tell all visitors to the “Tree of Poetry” website about. It's called " Cyril and Methodius"
”, and it was written by the Bulgarian writer
Slav Hristov Karaslavov
.
It was published in the USSR in 1987, but still, thanks to its artistic value and historical truth, it has not lost its relevance. Many of us do not think about what language is, where it came from; why people speak different languages; why throughout history some languages died, while others rose and conquered new territories; and what unknown force makes the most complex of all languages live - the Russian language, the language spoken in Russia, the largest state in the world. It is difficult for a modern person living in comfortable conditions to understand with what labor, with what sacrifices, with what feats an instrument was created that allowed the Slavic language not to dissolve in history, not to die under the influence of foreign invaders, but, on the contrary, to strengthen and become the solid foundation on which they grew up many Slavic states, not only physically, but also spiritually. The tool that made it possible to preserve the ancient, deep, melodious and poetic Slavic language was the ABC
, created
by Cyril and Methodius
.
Unfortunately, the modern average person knows little about these great philosophers. We can't even really say where they come from. We think that since they created the Slavic alphabet, that means they were Slavs. Logical, isn't it? But in fact, these great philosophers were of Greek origin and were fluent in several languages. They spoke Slavic as their native language. A sincere desire to bring the Christian faith to the Slavic peoples gave Cyril and Methodius truly divine wisdom to put the sounds of the Slavic language into letter form. A
z,
Bukki
,
V
edi,
Verb
,
D
good... and so on!
Until now we have not realized the miracle of this creative act... But creating the alphabet is only the first step. The second step is the creation of literature
in the Slavic language.
Among the first books translated into the Slavic language was the Gospel
... This means that the basis of our writing is the good news of the risen Jesus Christ!
So this is the secret of the victorious power, which entire peoples and cultures that opposed the divine Revelation could not resist! This is the soil on which the deepest philosophy of Russian literature grew. This is what opened up vast horizons for the development of the mind and spirit! This is the high mission God assigned to the Russian people! The Russian and Bulgarian peoples are connected by ancient spiritual ties, because it was from Bulgaria that Christianity came to us. Thanks to the translations of Cyril and Methodius, the Bible became available to the inhabitants of ancient Rus', which is why it is so important for us, modern Russians, to know and study this page in the history of our people. The book “ Cyril and Methodius
” by Slava Khristov Karaslavov is an excellent help in this matter.
And although this work cannot be attributed to an exact historical source - it is written in an artistic style and has a certain amount of fiction - the main characters and plot in it are absolutely reliable. The book is written in lively, rich language. From the very first pages, the reader understands that he is dealing with a great style: the narrative captivates him and completely immerses him in those distant times when events took place that subsequently had a huge impact on the course of human history. Covering the entire period of service of the brothers Cyril and Methodius , the book gives a complete picture of the sacrifice made by these great educators and scientists for the benefit of not only the Slavic peoples, but also all of humanity.
