May 24, 2017

Saints Cyril and Methodius


Saints Cyril and Methodius

The brothers who later became Saints Cyril and Methodius were born in Thessalonica in 827 and 826, respectively. Their birth names were Constantine and Methodius. They came from a wealthy family, but denounced worldly things to become priests. Cyril and Methodius eventually became known as the Apostles of the Slavs.

The Khazars sent a request to Constantinople for a Christian teacher. At the time, the brothers were members of the monastery community at Bosphorous. Cyril was chosen to fulfil the Khazar request and Methodius was allowed to accompany him. The brothers were so successful in their mission to the Khazars that they were next sent to minister to the Moravians. The German clergy had come and gone without success, because the Moravians wanted ministers who could teach them the Gospel and celebrate the Liturgy in the Slavonic tongue.

Cyril and Methoidius were familiar with this spoken language. What was needed was a written version. Cyril created an alphabet and, together, the brothers transcribed the Gospels and relevant liturgical books into this new written language. From 863 to ca. 868, the brothers worked among the Moravians, giving birth to the Slavonic Rite.

The Germans did not approve of Cyril and Methodius. Part of the problem was that the brothers were from the eastern part of the Church, centered in Constantinople. The Great Schism was around the corner (1054), and the disputes that led to this event were very much afoot in the late 800s. Second, the German clergy resented the use of the Slavonic language in conjunction with the Divine Liturgy.

Nicholas I called the brothers to Rome. He died before Cyril and Methodius got there and his successor, Adrian II, welcomed the brothers. Adrian was so impressed with the effectiveness of the brothers' missionary work that he ordained both as bishops and officially sanctioned the Slavonic Liturgy. Sadly, Cyril died in Rome on February 4, 869.

In honor of the brothers and at the request of the Moravian princes, Adrian II commissioned the new Archdiocese of Moravia and Pannonia. It was separate from the German Church and Methodius was appointed Archbishop.

This action did not sit well with Germany. King Louis and the German bishops invited Methodius to attend a synod at Ratisbon, in 870. It was here that they had Methodius imprisoned. In 873, Pope John VIII forced the Germans to release Methodius and he was reinstated as Archbishop of Moravia.

Methodius worked tirelessly to bring the Gospel to the Bohemians and Poles of northern Moravia. I wasn't long before the German clergy, led by a priest named Wiching, made complaints against Methodius and he was summoned to Rome. The prime objection was to the use of Slavonic in the Liturgy. John VIII, like those before him, sanctioned the Slavonic Liturgy but demanded that the Gospel be read in Latin first and then in Slavonic.

The German clergy continued to torment and harass Methodius. He returned to Constantinople where he spent the remainder of his days in failing health. With the help of a team of priests, Methodius successfully completed the translation of the entire Bible into Slavonic. The only books left out were the Books of the Maccabees.

Medhodius died on April 6, 885, sixteen years after his brother Cyril.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955