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Front: Saints Cyril and Methodius, founder of Slavonic writing
These two brothers were born in Thessalonica. Saint Cyril studied in
Constantinople, where he became known as the Philosopher. He was later ordained a
priest.
In 848 Cyril headed a mission to the Khazars in the eastern Danube region. The
king there desired to learn Christianity and had requested missionaries. Cyril quickly
learned to speak Turkish so that he was able to preach to these people. The prince
of the Khazars received Baptism and the entire nation soon followed his
example. Cyril founded churches and furnished them with excellent ministers before
returning to Constantinople.
His next mission was to Bulgaria with his younger brother Methodius, who was a
monk. Methodius was also an excellent painter. When the king asked him to paint the
palace, he chose to paint the Last Judgment. The king was so impressed that he was
baptized in 865, together with 48 of his followers. The nation soon followed their
leaders after a brief revolt had been promptly quieted.
The two brothers also preached in Moravia. It was there that Saint Cyril
invented a Slavonic alphabet, translating the Bible and other writings from Greek
and Latin into the language of the Slavic peoples. In 867 the missionaries went to
Rome, where Saint Cyril died of illness. Methodius lived for about 20 years after
his brother's death.
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