February 14...

Saints Cyril and Saint Methodius

Although Saints Cyril and Methodius belong to the ninth century, their outlook and achievements are as modern as our own day. It is not surprising, then, that Pope John Paul II has proclaimed them co-patrons of Europe along with Saint Benedict.

Methodius and Cyril, whose baptismal name was Constantine, were two of the seven children of an influential family in Thessalonica. Both were exemplary Greek citizens and devout Christians, talented and well educated. Methodius became a legal expert and an administrator esteemed for his mastery of civil law and his fairness in dispensing justice. Cyril was a versatile scholar who had earned the epithet Philosopher. He was gifted in both secular learning and in Scripture study and spirituality. Since they lived among Slavic-speaking peoples they both knew the Greek and the Slavic languages well.

In Constantinople and elsewhere Cyril and Methodius successfully served their emperor in a number of difficult assignments. They brilliantly engaged in religious and philosophical disputes with the Arabs, they taught Christian truths to the Khazars, and fulfilled other official tasks. With these missions Providence had been preparing them for their most significant commitment. When the envoys of Prince Rastislav brought to the court of Michael III the request for Slavic-speaking teachers and missionaries, the emperor knew he had qualified candidates for meeting the needs of Great Moravia.

Cyril and Methodius accepted the challenge. To give their teaching and preaching a form of permanence, Cyril devised the Glagolitic alphabet for the unlettered Slavs. In later years the disciples of Cyril and Methodius revised the alphabet which is now know as the Cyrillic alphabet. Cyril and his brother set down in writing Slavic translations of the Scriptures and of liturgical and catechetical books. They educated disciples among the Danubian peoples and prepared a native clergy. They used the vernacular in the liturgy and sacred functions. They became not only bearers of the Word of God but also founders of Slavic culture in all ninth century Great Moravia.

In their apostolate Cyril and Methodius had to deal with misunderstanding and misrepresentation. They were charged, for example, with introducing innovations into church services; they were accused of heresy and estrangement from Rome. In all instances they were exonerated by papal examinations and encouraged to continue their labors. In the civil and local arena, however, they were victims of secret connivings and conspiracies. After Cyril's death on February 14, 869, Methodius returned to Great Moravia as an archbishop. Because of the hostility of the Bavarian clergy, he was arrested and held prisoner for over three years until Pope John VIII sent a personal representative to demand his liberation and install him in his office as archbishop and papal envoy to all the Slavic lands. Until his death on April 6, 885, Methodius evangelized the people of Great Moravia and continued to translate liturgical books into Slavonic.

In enriching the faithful in the lands in which they labored, they likewise enriched the Church and spread the Kingdom of God on earth.