What language did Cyril and Methodius create? Creation of the Slavic alphabet

  KIRILL(before he accepted monasticism in early 869 - Constantine) (c. 827-14.02.869) and MEFODIUS(c. 815-04/06/885) - educators, creators of the Slavic alphabet, who translated the Holy Books into the Slavic language, preachers of Christianity, creators of the Slavic Church independent of the German episcopate, Orthodox saints.

The brothers came from a noble Greek family who lived in Thessaloniki. Methodius was the eldest of seven brothers, Constantine the youngest. Having a military rank, Methodius was the ruler of one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to the Byzantine Empire and studied the Slavic language. After staying there for about 10 years, Methodius became a monk in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor. Constantine studied together with the future Byzantine emperor Michael from the best Constantinople teachers, including the future patriarch Photius. For his intelligence and outstanding knowledge, he received the nickname Philosopher. Upon completion of his studies, he accepted the rank of priest and was appointed keeper of the patriarchal library at the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople. He then became a philosophy teacher at the Higher School of Constantinople. In 851, Constantine was included in the Byzantine embassy to the Arab countries. After this, Constantine retired to his brother Methodius in a monastery on Mount Olympus.

In 860, the emperor and patriarch sent Constantine and Methodius on a mission to Khazaria to convince the kagan to convert to Christianity. On the way to Khazaria, during a short stay in Korsun (Crimea), they found the relics of St. Clement, Pope of Rome. Here Constantine found the Gospel and Psalter, written in “Russian letters.” Upon his return, Constantine remained in Constantinople, and Methodius received the abbess at the Polychron monastery.

In 862, at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav and the order of Emperor Michael, Constantine began work on translating the texts of the Holy Scriptures into Slavic. In 863, with the help of brother Methodius and students Gorazd, Clement, Savva, Naum and Angelyar, he compiled the Slavic alphabet - the Cyrillic alphabet and translated the "service" books into Slavic: the Gospel, the Apostle, the Psalter. In the same year, the brothers Constantine and Methodius went to Moravia to preach Christianity. For preaching the Holy Scriptures in the Slavic language, and not in Hebrew, Greek or Latin, they were accused by the German bishops of trilingual heresy and summoned to Rome. Pope Adrian approved worship in the Slavic language, and ordered the translated books to be placed in Roman churches. While in Rome, Constantine fell ill, took monastic vows with the name Cyril, and died 50 days later. He was buried in St. Clement's Church.

After the death of Cyril, Methodius, ordained archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia, was sent to Pannonia. There, together with his students, he continued to spread Christianity, writing and books in the Slavic language. The German bishops who preached in these lands achieved the arrest, trial, exile and imprisonment of Methodius. By order of Pope John VIII, he was released and restored to his rights as archbishop. Methodius baptized the Czech prince Borivoj and his wife Lyudmila. For rejection of the teachings of the Roman Church about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son, Methodius was summoned to Rome, where he managed to defend his views. Methodius spent the last years of his life in the capital of Moravia - Velehrad. With the help of two students, he translated the Old Testament (except for the Maccabees), Nomocanon (Rules of the Holy Fathers) and patristic books (Paterik) into Slavic, and also wrote the Life of Constantine (Cyril) the Philosopher. Methodius was buried in the cathedral church of Velegrad.

Cyril and Methodius laid the foundation for a special direction in Christianity - the Cyril and Methodius tradition, which combines the features of various Christian teachings.

The brothers were called “Slovenian teachers.” Memorial Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius: May 24 (11). On the same day, many Slavic countries celebrate the Holiday of Slavic Literature and Culture.

The holy Slovenian teachers strove for solitude and prayer, but in life they constantly found themselves in the forefront - both when they defended Christian truths before Muslims, and when they took on great educational work. Their success sometimes looked like defeat, but as a result, it is to them that we owe the acquisition of “the gift of the most valuable and greater than all silver, and gold, and precious stones, and all transitory wealth.” This gift is .

Brothers from Thessalonica

The Russian language was baptized back in the days when our ancestors did not consider themselves Christians - in the ninth century. In the west of Europe, the heirs of Charlemagne divided the Frankish empire, in the East the Muslim states strengthened, squeezing Byzantium, and in the young Slavic principalities, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, the true founders of our culture, preached and worked.

The history of the activities of the holy brothers has been studied with all possible care: the surviving written sources have been commented on many times, and pundits argue about the details of the biographies and acceptable interpretations of the received information. And how could it be otherwise when we are talking about the creators of the Slavic alphabet? And yet, to this day, the images of Cyril and Methodius are lost behind the abundance of ideological constructions and simple inventions. The Khazar Dictionary by Milorad Pavic, in which the enlighteners of the Slavs are embedded in a multifaceted theosophical mystification, is not the worst option.

Kirill, the youngest in both age and hierarchical rank, was simply a layman until the end of his life and received monastic tonsure with the name Kirill only on his deathbed. While Methodius, the elder brother, held great positions, was the ruler of a separate region of the Byzantine Empire, abbot of a monastery and ended his life as an archbishop. And yet, traditionally, Kirill takes honorable first place, and the alphabet - the Cyrillic alphabet - is named after him. All his life he bore another name - Constantine, and also a respectful nickname - Philosopher.

Konstantin was an extremely gifted man. “The speed of his abilities was not inferior to his diligence,” the life, compiled shortly after his death, repeatedly emphasizes the depth and breadth of his knowledge. Translating into the language of modern realities, Constantine the Philosopher was a professor at the capital's University of Constantinople, very young and promising. At the age of 24 (!), he received his first important government assignment - to defend the truth of Christianity in the face of Muslims of other faiths.

Missionary politician

This medieval inseparability of spiritual, religious tasks and state affairs looks bizarre these days. But even for it one can find some analogy in the modern world order. And today, superpowers, the newest empires, base their influence not only on military and economic power. There is always an ideological component, an ideology that is “exported” to other countries. For the Soviet Union it was communism. For the United States, it is a liberal democracy. Some people accept exported ideas peacefully, while others have to resort to bombing.

For Byzantium, Christianity was the doctrine. The strengthening and spread of Orthodoxy was perceived by the imperial authorities as a primary state task. Therefore, as a modern researcher of the Cyril and Methodius heritage writes A.-E. Tahiaos, “a diplomat who entered into negotiations with enemies or “barbarians,” was always accompanied by a missionary.” Constantine was such a missionary. That is why it is so difficult to separate his actual educational activities from his political ones. Just before his death, he symbolically resigned from public service and became a monk.

“I am no longer a servant of the king or anyone else on earth; Only God Almighty was and will be forever,” Kirill will now write.

His life tells about his Arab and Khazar mission, about tricky questions and witty and deep answers. Muslims asked him about the Trinity, how Christians could worship “many gods,” and why, instead of resisting evil, they strengthened the army. Khazar Jews disputed the Incarnation and blamed Christians for non-compliance with Old Testament regulations. Konstantin's answers - bright, figurative and brief - if they did not convince all opponents, then, in any case, they delivered a polemical victory, leading those listening to admiration.

"Nobody else"

The Khazar mission was preceded by events that greatly changed the internal structure of the Thessalonica brothers. At the end of the 50s of the 9th century, both Constantine, a successful scientist and polemicist, and Methodius, shortly before appointed archon (head) of the province, retired from the world and led a solitary ascetic lifestyle for several years. Methodius even takes monastic vows. The brothers were already distinguished by their piety from an early age, and the thought of monasticism was not alien to them; however, there were probably external reasons for such a drastic change: a change in the political situation or the personal sympathies of those in power. However, the lives are silent about this.

But the bustle of the world receded for a while. Already in 860, the Khazar Kagan decided to organize an “interreligious” dispute, in which Christians had to defend the truth of their faith before Jews and Muslims. According to the life, the Khazars were ready to accept Christianity if the Byzantine polemicists “won the upper hand in disputes with the Jews and Saracens.” They found Constantine again, and the emperor personally admonished him with the words: “Go, Philosopher, to these people and talk about the Holy Trinity with Her help. No one else can take on this with dignity.” On the trip, Konstantin took his older brother as his assistant.

The negotiations ended generally successfully, although the Khazar state did not become Christian, the Kagan allowed those who wished to be baptized. There were also political successes. We should pay attention to an important incidental event. On the way, the Byzantine delegation stopped in Crimea, where near modern Sevastopol (ancient Chersonesos) Constantine found the relics of the ancient saint Pope Clement. Subsequently, the brothers will transfer the relics of St. Clement to Rome, which will further win over Pope Adrian. It is with Cyril and Methodius that the Slavs begin their special veneration of Saint Clement - let us remember the majestic church in his honor in Moscow not far from the Tretyakov Gallery.

Sculpture of the Holy Apostles Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Republic. Photo: pragagid.ru

Birth of writing

862 We have reached a historic milestone. This year, the Moravian prince Rostislav sends a letter to the Byzantine emperor with a request to send preachers capable of instructing his subjects in Christianity in the Slavic language. Great Moravia, which at that time included certain areas of the modern Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland, was already Christian. But the German clergy enlightened her, and all the services, holy books and theology were Latin, incomprehensible to the Slavs.

And again at court they remember Constantine the Philosopher. If not he, then who else will be able to complete the task, the complexity of which both the emperor and the patriarch, Saint Photius, were aware of?

The Slavs did not have a written language. But it was not even the fact of the absence of letters that presented the main problem. They did not have abstract concepts and the wealth of terminology that usually develops in “book culture.”

High Christian theology, Scripture and liturgical texts had to be translated into a language that did not have any means to do so.

And the Philosopher coped with the task. Of course, one should not imagine that he worked alone. Konstantin again called on his brother for help, and other employees were also involved. It was a kind of scientific institute. The first alphabet - the Glagolitic alphabet - was compiled on the basis of Greek cryptography. The letters correspond to the letters of the Greek alphabet, but look different - so much so that the Glagolitic alphabet was often confused with eastern languages. In addition, for sounds specific to the Slavic dialect, Hebrew letters were taken (for example, “sh”).

Then they translated the Gospel, checked expressions and terms, and translated liturgical books. The volume of translations carried out by the holy brothers and their direct disciples was very significant - by the time of the baptism of Rus', a whole library of Slavic books already existed.

The price of success

However, the activities of educators could not be limited only to scientific and translation research. It was necessary to teach the Slavs new letters, a new book language, a new worship. The transition to a new liturgical language was especially painful. It is not surprising that the Moravian clergy, who had previously followed German practice, reacted with hostility to the new trends. Even dogmatic arguments were put forward against the Slavic translation of services, the so-called trilingual heresy, as if one can only speak to God in “sacred” languages: Greek, Hebrew and Latin.

Dogmatics intertwined with politics, canon law with diplomacy and power ambitions - and Cyril and Methodius found themselves in the center of this tangle. The territory of Moravia was under the jurisdiction of the pope, and although the Western Church was not yet separated from the Eastern, the initiative of the Byzantine emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople (namely, this was the status of the mission) was still viewed with suspicion. The German clergy, closely associated with the secular authorities of Bavaria, saw in the brothers’ undertakings the implementation of Slavic separatism. And indeed, the Slavic princes, in addition to spiritual interests, also pursued state interests - their liturgical language and church independence would have significantly strengthened their position. Finally, the pope was in tense relations with Bavaria, and support for the revitalization of church life in Moravia against the “trilinguals” fit well into the general direction of his policy.

Political controversies cost the missionaries dearly. Due to the constant intrigues of the German clergy, Constantine and Methodius twice had to justify themselves to the Roman high priest. In 869, unable to withstand the overstrain, St. Cyril died (he was only 42 years old), and his work was continued by Methodius, who was ordained to the rank of bishop in Rome soon after. Methodius died in 885, having survived exile, insults and imprisonment that lasted several years.

The most valuable gift

Methodius was succeeded by Gorazd, and already under him the work of the holy brothers in Moravia practically died out: liturgical translations were prohibited, followers were killed or sold into slavery; many fled to neighboring countries themselves. But this was not the end. This was only the beginning of Slavic culture, and therefore Russian culture too. The center of Slavic book literature moved to Bulgaria, then to Russia. Books began to use the Cyrillic alphabet, named after the creator of the first alphabet. Writing grew and became stronger. And today, proposals to abolish Slavic letters and switch to Latin ones, which were actively promoted by People’s Commissar Lunacharsky in the 1920s, sound, thank God, unrealistic.

So the next time, dotting the “e” or agonizing over the Russification of a new version of Photoshop, think about what wealth we have.

Artist Jan Matejko

Very few nations have the honor of having their own alphabet. This was understood already in the distant ninth century.

“God has created even now in our years - having declared the letters for your language - something that was not given to anyone after the first times, so that you too would be numbered among the great nations who glorify God in their own language... Accept the gift, most valuable and greater than any silver, and gold, and precious stones, and all transitory wealth,” wrote Emperor Michael to Prince Rostislav.

And after this we are trying to separate Russian culture from Orthodox culture? Russian letters were invented by Orthodox monks for church books; at the very basis of Slavic book literature lies not just influence and borrowing, but a “transplantation” of Byzantine church book literature. The book language, cultural context, terminology of high thought were created directly together with the library of books by the Slavic apostles Saints Cyril and Methodius.

And Methodius went down in history as the creators of the Slavic alphabet. Thanks to their work, we can now read and express our thoughts in writing. These are quite famous historical figures. There is even a short biography of Cyril and Methodius for children.

The worldly life of future saints

Two brothers were born in the city of Thessaloniki. Their father is a soldier under the governor of the city. The years of life of Cyril and Methodius in a brief biography refer to the 14th century AD.

The elder brother Methodius was born in 815, Cyril, born Constantine, was born in 827. Methodius, at the birth of Michael, was initially even appointed to the princely place. But the bustle of the world tired the young man. He refused this privilege and took monastic vows at the age of 37.

The younger brother Kirill consciously chose a spiritual path for himself from the very beginning. Thanks to his curiosity and phenomenal memory, he won the favor of those around him. Cyril was sent to Byzantium, where he studied with the emperor himself. Having thoroughly studied geometry, dialectics, arithmetic, astronomy, rhetoric and philosophy, he became interested in studying languages. His noble origin allowed him to enter into an advantageous marriage and obtain a high government position. But the young man decided to build his life differently. He got a job at the Hagia Sophia as a library curator, and later became a teacher at the university. He often took part in philosophical debates. For his excellent oratory and erudition, they began to call him the Philosopher. But worldly life is just part of the short biography of Cyril and Methodius, which quickly ended. A new story has begun.

The beginning of the spiritual path

Court life did not suit Cyril, and he went to his brother’s monastery. But he never found the spiritual silence and solitude that he so longed for. Kirill was a frequent participant in disputes concerning issues of faith. He knew the canons of Christianity very well and often defeated his opponents thanks to his intelligence and high knowledge.

Later, the Byzantine emperor expressed a desire to win over the Khazars to the side of Christianity. Jews and Muslims have already begun to spread their religion on their territory. Cyril and Methodius were sent to enlighten the Khazar minds with Christian sermons. Their biography tells of an interesting incident. On the way home, the brothers visited the city of Korsun. There they were able to obtain the relics of St. Clement, the former Pope. After returning home, Cyril stayed in the capital, and Methodius went to the Polychrome monastery, which was located near Mount Olympus, where he received the abbess.

Mission to Moravia

The biography of the brothers Cyril and Methodius is based on chronicle data. According to them, in 860, ambassadors from Prince Rostislav of Moravia approached the Byzantine emperor with a request to send preachers to praise Christianity. The emperor, without hesitation, entrusted an important task to Cyril and Methodius. Their biography tells of the difficulty of completing the assignment. It consisted in the fact that German bishops had already begun their activities in Moravia, aggressively opposed to the activities of anyone else.

Arriving in Moravia, Cyril discovered that almost no one knew the Holy Scriptures, since the service was performed in a language unknown to the people - Latin. Preachers from Germany were of the opinion that services could only be conducted in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, because it was in these languages ​​that the inscriptions on the cross where Christ was crucified were written. The Eastern clergy accepted holding services in any language.

The main task of the future saints was to create their own alphabet. After writing their alphabet, they began to rewrite the scriptures into a language understandable to the people. But in order to conduct divine services, it was necessary not only to create your own letter, but also to teach the people to read and write.

The Moravian clergy were wary of such innovations, and later began to oppose them. An important factor was not only spiritual life, but also political life. Moravia was actually subject to the jurisdiction of the Pope, and the spread of a new script and language there was looked upon as an attempt to seize power by the Byzantine emperor at the hands of preachers. At that time, Catholicism and Orthodoxy were still a single faith under the patronage of the Pope.

The active work of Cyril and Methodius aroused the indignation of the German bishops. Since Cyril always won in religious disputes, German preachers wrote a complaint to Rome. To resolve this issue, Pope Nicholas I called on the brothers to come to him. Cyril and Methodius were forced to go on a long journey.

Creation of the alphabet

The full biography of Cyril and Methodius is filled with references to the origin of their greatest creation. Kirill knew the Slavic language well and therefore began to create an alphabet for the Slavs. His older brother actively helped him. The first alphabet was modeled after the Greek alphabet. The letters corresponded to the Greek ones, but had a different appearance, and Hebrew letters were taken for the characteristic Slavic sounds. This version of the alphabet was called the Glagolitic alphabet, from the word “verb” - to speak. Another version of the alphabet is called the Cyrillic alphabet.

The Glagolitic alphabet is a set of sticks and symbols that echo the Greek alphabet. Cyrillic is already a variant closer to the modern alphabet. It is generally believed that it was created by the followers of saints. But debate about the truth of this statement is still ongoing.

It is difficult to accurately establish the date of formation of the alphabet, since the original source has not reached us; there are only secondary or rewritten letters.

Metamorphoses of the first alphabet

As soon as Cyril and Methodius completed their work on the creation of Slavic writing, they began to translate a number of books for worship. Many students and followers helped them in this. This is how the Slavic literary language appeared. Some words from it have survived to this day in the Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Russian languages. The early version became the basis of the alphabet of all Eastern Slavs, but the later version was not forgotten either. It is now used in church books.

Initially, Cyrillic letters were written separately from each other and were called ustav (statutory letter), which over time transformed into semi-ustav. When the original letters were modified, cursive writing replaced half-character. Since the 18th century, during the reign of Peter I, some letters were excluded from the Cyrillic alphabet and called the Russian civil alphabet.

Cyril and Methodius in Rome

After troubles with the German bishops, Cyril and Methodius were summoned to trial before the Pope. Going to the meeting, the brothers took with them the relics of St. Clement, previously brought from Korsun. But an unforeseen circumstance happened: Nicholas I died before the arrival of the future saints. They were met by his successor Adrian II. An entire delegation was sent out of town to meet the brothers and the holy relics. As a result, the Pope gave his consent to conduct services in the Slavic language

During the trip, Kirill weakened and felt unwell. He fell ill from illness and, foreseeing his imminent death, asked his older brother to continue their common cause. He adopted the schema, changing the worldly name of Constantine to the spiritual name of Cyril. His older brother had to return from Rome alone.

Methodius without Cyril

As promised, Methodius continued his activities. Pope Adrian II proclaimed Methodius a bishop. He was allowed to conduct services in the Slavic language, but on the condition that he must begin the service in Latin or Greek.

Upon returning home, Methodius took several students and began to translate the Old Testament into the Slavic language. He opened church schools and enlightened young, immature minds in matters of Orthodoxy. The population increasingly abandoned the parishes, where services were conducted in Latin, and went over to Methodius’s side. This period is one of the brightest episodes in the biography of Cyril and Methodius.

The sad fate of the followers

With the gradual growth of the authority of the German feudal lords and the change of power in the lands of Moravia, mass persecution of Methodius and his followers began. In 870 he was detained for “uncontrolled arbitrariness.” His associates are also arrested along with him.

They were in captivity for six months until they were brought to trial. As a result of lengthy disputes, Methodius was defrocked and imprisoned in a monastery. Only once he got to Rome was he able to refute the empty accusations and regain the rank of archbishop. He continued his educational activities until his death in 885.

After his death, a ban was immediately issued on holding services in the Slavic language. His students and followers faced death or slavery.

Despite all the difficulties, the brothers' life's work flourished with greater vigor. Thanks to them, many peoples acquired their written language. And for all the trials that the brothers had to endure, they were canonized - canonized. We know them as Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. Everyone should know and honor the biography of Saints Cyril and Methodius as a tribute to their work.

This is the only state and church holiday in our country. On this day, the church honors the memory of Cyril and Methodius, who invented the Cyrillic alphabet.

The church tradition of honoring the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius arose in the 10th century in Bulgaria as a sign of gratitude for the invention of the Slavic alphabet, which gave many peoples the opportunity to read the Gospel in their native language.

In 1863, when the alphabet turned one thousand years old, the holiday of Slavic writing and culture was celebrated on a grand scale for the first time in Russia. Under Soviet rule, they stopped celebrating the holiday, but the tradition was revived again in 1991.

The creators of the Slavic alphabet, Cyril (Konstantin before becoming a monk) and Methodius (Michael), grew up in the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki (now Thessaloniki, Greece) in a wealthy family with a total of seven children. Ancient Thessaloniki was part of the Slavic (Bulgar) territory and was a multilingual city in which different language dialects coexisted, including Byzantine, Turkish and Slavic. The elder brother, Methodius, became a monk. The younger one, Kirill, excelled in science. He perfectly mastered the Greek and Arabic languages, studied in Constantinople, and was educated by the greatest scientists of his time - Leo Grammar and Photius (the future patriarch). Having completed his studies, Constantine accepted the rank of priest and was appointed custodian of the patriarchal library at the Church of St. Sophia and taught philosophy at the highest school in Constantinople. Cyril's wisdom and strength of faith were so great that he managed to defeat the heretic Aninius in the debate. Soon Constantine had his first students - Clement, Naum and Angelarius, with whom he came to the monastery in 856, where his brother Methodius was the abbot.

In 857, the Byzantine emperor sent brothers to the Khazar Khaganate to preach the gospel. On the way, they stopped in the city of Korsun, where they miraculously found the relics of the Holy Martyr Clement, Pope of Rome. After this, the saints went to the Khazars, where they convinced the Khazar prince and his entourage to accept Christianity and even took 200 Greek captives from captivity.

In the early 860s, the ruler of Moravia, Prince Rostislav, who was oppressed by the German bishops, turned to the Byzantine Emperor Michael III with a request to send learned men, missionaries who spoke the Slavic language. All services, holy books and theology there were in Latin, but the Slavs did not understand this language. “Our people profess the Christian faith, but we do not have teachers who could explain the faith to us in our native language. Send us such teachers,” he asked. Michael III responded to the request with consent. He entrusted the translation of liturgical books into a language understandable to the inhabitants of Moravia to Cyril.

However, in order to record the translation, it was necessary to create a written Slavic language and a Slavic alphabet. Realizing the scale of the task, Kirill turned to his older brother for help. They came to the conclusion that neither the Latin nor the Greek alphabets correspond to the sound palette of the Slavic language. In this regard, the brothers decided to remake the Greek alphabet and adapt it to the sound system of the Slavic language. The brothers did a tremendous job of isolating and transforming sounds and drawing letters of the new writing system. Based on the developments, two alphabets were compiled - (named in honor of Cyril) and the Glagolitic alphabet. According to historians, the Cyrillic alphabet was created later than the Glagolitic alphabet and on its basis. Using the Glagolitic alphabet, the Gospel, Psalter, Apostle and other books were translated from Greek. According to the official version, this happened in 863. Thus, we are now celebrating 1155 years since the creation of the Slavic alphabet.

In 864, the brothers presented their work in Moravia, where they were received with great honors. Soon many students were assigned to study with them, and after some time the entire church rite was translated into the Slavic language. This helped teach the Slavs all church services and prayers, in addition, the lives of saints and other church books were translated into Slavic.

The acquisition of its own alphabet led to the fact that Slavic culture made a serious breakthrough in its development: it acquired a tool for recording its own history, for consolidating its own identity back in those days when most modern European languages ​​did not yet exist.

Due to the constant intrigues of the German clergy, Cyril and Methodius twice had to justify themselves to the Roman high priest. In 869, unable to withstand the stress, Cyril died at the age of 42.

When Cyril was in Rome, a vision appeared to him in which the Lord told him about his approaching death. He accepted the schema (the highest level of Orthodox monasticism).

His work was continued by his elder brother Methodius, who was soon ordained to the rank of bishop in Rome. He died in 885, having suffered exile, insults and imprisonment that lasted several years.

Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius were canonized in ancient times. In the Russian Orthodox Church, the memory of the Slavic enlighteners has been honored since the 11th century. The oldest services to saints that have survived to our time date back to the 13th century. The solemn celebration of the memory of saints was established in the Russian Church in 1863.

The Day of Slavic Literature was first celebrated in Bulgaria in 1857, and then in other countries, including Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. In Russia, at the state level, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture was first solemnly celebrated in 1863 (the 1000th anniversary of the creation of the Slavic alphabet was celebrated). In the same year, the Russian Holy Synod decided to celebrate the Day of Remembrance of Saints Cyril and Methodius on May 11 (24 New Style). During the years of Soviet power, the holiday was forgotten and restored only in 1986.

On January 30, 1991, May 24 was declared the Holiday of Slavic Literature and Culture, thereby giving it state status.

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)