Yesterday, Slovakia marked the feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Slavic missionaries who brought Christianity and literacy to the Slavic peoples. In the 9th century, they translated liturgical books into the Slavic language and recorded them using the alphabet created by Saint Cyril. Pope John Paul II later declared the two brothers from Thessaloniki co-patrons of Europe.
The Cathedral of Nitra is currently displaying a relic of Saint Cyril and the Candlemas candle presented by Pope John XXIII to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the arrival of the Thessalonian brothers in Great Moravia. More than 80 churches across Slovakia are dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Bishop William Judák of Nitra said: "We need role models who enrich us. Christ established a kingdom built on the foundations of love, and they were representatives of those values."
The two saints also received recognition from Pope Adrian II, who placed the liturgical books translated into the Slavic language on the altar of a Roman basilica. Bishop Stanislav Stolárik of Rožňava noted that this was far from self-evident. He said that celebrating the liturgy in Old Church Slavonic alongside the three established liturgical languages of the time was an extraordinary achievement. He added that having a language people can understand is essential.
Thanks to the rapid development of Old Church Slavonic, the Slavic peoples reached the cultural level of nations that at the time used Latin and Greek.
Saint Constantine Cyril died in 869 and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Clement in Rome. Saint Methodius died 26 years later, but the location of his grave remains unknown.
Speaking during the Saints Cyril and Methodius celebrations at Devín Castle, President Peter Pellegrini highlighted three key elements of the missionaries' legacy: independence, equality and education for all.
Source: STVR
