SS. Cyril & Methodius
Bulgarian Orthodox
Mission
McLean, VA
St. Methodius
& St. Cyril
Equals of the Apostles, and Enlighteners of the
Slavs
Sunday, May 10, 2009
SS Cyril &
Methodius Orthodox Mission
Orthodox Church in
America
Diocese of Washington
and New York
Saints Cyril & Methodius
Saints
Cyril and Methodius, Equals of the Apostles, and Enlighteners of the Slavs came
from an illustrious and pious family living in the Greek city of Thessalonica.
St Methodius was the oldest of seven brothers, St Constantine [Cyril was his
monastic name] was the youngest. At first St Methodius was in the military and
was governor in one of the Slavic principalities dependent on the Byzantine
Empire, probably Bulgaria, which made it possible for him to learn the Slavic
language. After living there for about ten years, St Methodius later received
monastic tonsure at one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus (Asia Minor).
St Constantine distinguished himself by
his great aptitude, and he studied with the emperor Michael under the finest
teachers in Constantinople, including St Photius, the future Patriarch of
Constantinople (February 6).
St Constantine studied all the sciences
of his time, and also knew several languages. He also studied the works of St
Gregory the Theologian. Because of his keen mind and penetrating intellect, St
Constantine was called "Philosopher" (wise). Upon the completion of
his education, St Constantine was ordained to the holy priesthood and was
appointed curator of the patriarchal library at the church of Hagia Sophia. He
soon left the capital and went secretly to a monastery.
Discovered there, he returned to
Constantinople, where he was appointed as instructor in philosophy. The young
Constantine's wisdom and faith were so great that he won a debate with Ananias,
the leader of the heretical iconclasts . After this victory Constantine was
sent by the emperor to discuss the Holy Trinity with the Saracens, and again he
gained the victory. When he returned, St Constantine went to his brother St
Methodius on Olympus, spending his time in unceasing prayer and reading the
works of the holy Fathers.
The emperor soon summoned both of the
holy brothers from the monastery and sent them to preach the Gospel to the
Khazars. Along the way they stayed in the city of Korsun, making preparations
for their missionary activity. There the holy brothers miraculously discovered
the relics of the hieromartyr Clement, Pope of Rome (November 25).
There in Korsun St Constantine found a
Gospel and Psalter written in Russian letters [i.e. Slavonic], and a man
speaking the Slavic tongue, and he learned from this man how to read and speak
this language. After this, the holy brothers went to the Khazars, where they
won a debate with Jews and Moslems by preaching the Gospel. On the way home,
the brothers again visited Korsun and, taking up the relics of St Clement, they
returned to Constantinople. St Constantine remained in the capital, but St
Methodius was made igumen of the small Polychronion monastery near Mount
Olympus, where he lived a life of asceticism as before.
Soon messengers came to the emperor from
the Moravian prince Rostislav, who was under pressure from German bishops, with
a request to send teachers to Moravia who would be able to preach in the Slavic
tongue. The emperor summoned St Constantine and said to him, "You must go
there, but it would be better if no one knows about this."
St Constantine prepared for the new task
with fasting and prayer. With the help of his brother St Methodius and the
disciples Gorazd, Clement, Sava, Naum and Angelyar, he devised a Slavonic
alphabet and translated the books which were necessary for the celebration of
the divine services: the Gospel, Epistles, Psalter, and collected services,
into the Slavic tongue. This occurred in the year 863.
After completing the translation, the
holy brothers went to Moravia, where they were received with great honor, and
they began to teach the services in the Slavic language. This aroused the
malice of the German bishops, who celebrated divine services in the Moravian
churches in Latin. They rose up against the holy brothers, convinced that
divine services must be done in one of three languages: Hebrew, Greek or Latin.
St Constantine said, "You only
recognize three languages in which God may be glorified. But David sang,
'Praise the Lord, all nations, praise the Lord all peoples (Ps 116/117:1).' And
the Gospel of St Matthew (28:18) says, 'Go and teach all nations....'" The
German bishops were humiliated, but they became bitter and complained to Rome.
The holy brothers were summoned to Rome
for a decision on this matter. Taking with them the relics of St Clement, Sts
Constantine and Methodius set off to Rome. Knowing that the holy brothers were
bringing these relics with them, Pope Adrian met them along the way with his
clergy. The holy brothers were greeted with honor, the Pope gave permission to
have divine services in the Slavonic language, and he ordered the books
translated by the brothers to be placed in the Latin churches, and to serve the
Liturgy in the Slavonic language.
At Rome St Constantine fell ill, and the
Lord revealed to him his approaching death. He was tonsured into the monastic
schema with the name of Cyril. On February 14, 869, fifty days after receiving
the schema, St Cyril died at the age of forty-two.
St Cyril commanded his brother St
Methodius to continue with their task of enlightening the Slavic peoples with
the light of the true Faith. St Methodius entreated the Pope to send the body
of his brother for burial in their native land, but the Pope ordered the relics
of St Cyril to be placed in the church of St Clement, where miracles began to
occur from them.
After the death of St Cyril, the Pope
sent St Methodius to Pannonia, after consecrating him as Archbishop of Moravia
and Pannonia, on the ancient throne of St Andronicus (July 30). In Pannonia St
Methodius and his disciples continued to distribute services books written in
the Slavonic language. This again aroused the wrath of the German bishops. They
arrested and tried St Methodius, who was sent in chains to Swabia, where he
endured many sufferings for two and a half years.
After being set free by order of Pope
John VIII of Rome, and restored to his archdiocese, St Methodius continued to
preach the Gospel among the Slavs. He baptized the Czech prince Borivoi and his
wife Ludmilla (September 16), and also one of the Polish princes. The German
bishops began to persecute the saint for a third time, because he did not
accept the erroneous teaching about the procession of the Holy Spirit from both
the Father and the Son. St Methodius was summoned to Rome, but he justified
himself before the Pope, and preserved the Orthodox teaching in its purity, and
was sent again to the capital of Moravia, Velehrad.
Here in the remaining years of his life
St Methodius, assisted by two of his former pupils, translated the entire Old
Testament into Slavonic, except for the Book of Maccabbees, and even the
Nomocanon (Rule of the holy Fathers) and Paterikon (book of the holy Fathers).
Sensing the nearness of death, St
Methodius designated one of his students, Gorazd, as a worthy successor to
himself. The holy bishop predicted the day of his death and died on April 6,
885 when he was about sixty years old. The saint's burial service was chanted
in three languages, Slavonic, Greek, and Latin. He was buried in the cathedral
church of Velehrad.
Saints
Commemorated Today
4th SUNDAY OF PASCHA — Tone 3. Paralytic. Apostle
Simeon the Zealot (1st c.).
St. Simeon, Bishop of Vladimir and SuzdalŐ (Kiev Caves-Near Caves—1226).
Martyrs Philadelphus, Cyprian, Alphius, Onesimus, Erasmus, and 14 others, in
Sicily (3rd c.). Martyr Hesychius of Antioch (4th c.).
Bl. Isidora the Fool, of Tabenna in Egypt (4th c.). Bl. Tha•s (Ta’sia)
of Egypt (5th c.).
Those Who Are In Need of Prayer
Theresa,
Catherine, Bojanka, Presbyteras Marie, Miriam, Barbara, Artemis, Barbara, Marie, & Priests Milorad, Photius,
Anthony, and Joseph.
May
Their Memory Be Eternal
Archbishop GREGORY; Christo, Radka, Anna, Dale, Mary; Priests
Peter and Philemon; Readers John, Philemon, and Robert Michael; Carmel, Thomas,
Vasili, Mary Ellen, Vera, George, Marianthe, Panaigioti, Christophor, Rada,
& Julia.
Service Schedule:
Services at SS Cyril & Methodius begin at 2:00
Services at St. George begin at 12:15
May 17 - Samaritan Women, @ St. George
May 24 - Blind Man, @ SS Cyril & Methodius
SS. Cyril & Methodius
Bulgarian Orthodox Mission
Diocese of Washington and New
York
Orthodox Church in America
His Beatitude, Metropolitan
JONAH