Fri, Feb 10 2012

Holy brothers Cyril and Methodius' Day

Mon, May 11 2009 16:05 CET

byNick Iliev

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Holy brothers Cyril and Methodius' Day

St Cyril and Methodius
Photo: Wikipedia

On May 11 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of  Cyril and Methodius. It is a special day in the calendar of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church marking an event of paramount importance in Bulgarian history, culture and tradition.
 
This day is commemorated by paying tribute to the brothers who in the ninth century penned the Slavonic alphabet. Additionally, they contributed significantly to the cultivation of Orthodox Christianity among Slavic tribes in Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine and Russia and for their translation of clerical scripts from the Greek language.

Pope Joan Paul II had them canonized  them as saints in the early Medieval period for their literary and religious contributions, making them  St. St Cyril and Methodius respectively. The brothers were declared co-patrons of Europe along with St. Benedict. On May 11th 1851, the Bulgarian school in the city of Plovdiv set the first celebration, dedicated to St. St Cyril and Methodius.

The early Cyrillic alphabet was a simplification of the Glagolitic alphabet which more closely resembled the Greek alphabet. It has been attributed to Saint Clement of Ohrid, a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius. However, recent studies have suggested that the Cyrillic alphabet was more likely developed at the Preslav Literary School in northeastern Bulgaria in the early 10th century and was named so in honour of St. Cyril.

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