Cyril and Methodius biography creation of the Slavic alphabet. Cyril and Methodius

The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose biography is at least briefly known to everyone who speaks Russian, were great educators. They developed an alphabet for many Slavic peoples, which immortalized their name.

Greek origin

The two brothers were from Thessaloniki. In Slavic sources, the old traditional name Solun has been preserved. They were born into the family of a successful officer who served under the governor of the province. Cyril was born in 827, and Methodius in 815.

Due to the fact that these Greeks knew very well, some researchers tried to confirm the guess about their Slavic origin. However, no one has been able to do this. At the same time, for example, in Bulgaria, enlighteners are considered Bulgarians (they also use the Cyrillic alphabet).

Experts in the Slavic language

The linguistic knowledge of the noble Greeks can be explained by the story of Thessalonica. In their era, this city was bilingual. There was a local dialect of the Slavic language. The migration of this tribe reached its southern border, buried in the Aegean Sea.

At first, the Slavs were pagans and lived under a tribal system, just like their German neighbors. However, those outsiders who settled on the borders of the Byzantine Empire fell into the orbit of its cultural influence. Many of them formed colonies in the Balkans, becoming mercenaries of the ruler of Constantinople. Their presence was also strong in Thessalonica, from where Cyril and Methodius were born. The biography of the brothers at first went in different ways.

Brothers' mundane career

Methodius (in the world he was called Michael) became a military man and rose to the rank of strategist of one of the provinces in Macedonia. He succeeded thanks to his talents and abilities, as well as the patronage of the influential courtier Feoktist. Kirill s early years engaged in science, and also studied the culture of neighboring peoples. Even before he went to Moravia, thanks to which he became world famous, Konstantin (name before being tonsured a monk) began to translate chapters of the Gospel into

In addition to linguistics, Kirill studied geometry, dialectics, arithmetic, astronomy, rhetoric and philosophy from the best specialists in Constantinople. Due to his noble origin, he could count on an aristocratic marriage and public service in the highest echelons of power. However, the young man did not wish such a fate and became the custodian of the library in the main temple of the country - Hagia Sophia. But even there he did not stay long, and soon began to teach at the capital's university. Thanks to brilliant victories in philosophical disputes, he received the nickname of the Philosopher, which is sometimes found in historiographic sources.

Cyril was familiar with the emperor and even went with his instructions to the Muslim caliph. In 856, he arrived with a group of students at the monastery on the Small Olympus, where his brother was the abbot. It was there that Cyril and Methodius, whose biography was now associated with the church, decided to create an alphabet for the Slavs.

Translation of Christian books into Slavonic

In 862, ambassadors from the Moravian prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. They gave the emperor a message from their ruler. Rostislav asked the Greeks to give him learned people who could teach the Slavs the Christian faith in their own language. The baptism of this tribe took place even before that, but each divine service was held in a foreign dialect, which was extremely inconvenient. The patriarch and the emperor discussed this request among themselves and decided to ask the brothers of Thessalonica to go to Moravia.

Cyril, Methodius and their students set to work. The first language into which the main Christian books were translated was Bulgarian. Biography of Cyril and Methodius summary which is in every Slavic history textbook, is known for the colossal work of the brothers on the Psalter, the Apostle and the Gospel.

Journey to Moravia

The preachers went to Moravia, where they served for three years and taught people to read and write. Their efforts also helped to carry out the baptism of the Bulgarians, which took place in 864. They also visited Transcarpathian Rus and Panonnia, where they also glorified the Christian faith in Slavic languages. The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography includes many travels, everywhere found an attentively listening audience.

Even in Moravia, they had a conflict with German priests who were there with a similar missionary mission. Key difference between them was the unwillingness of Catholics to conduct worship in the Slavic language. This position was supported by the Roman Church. This organization believed that it was possible to praise God only in three languages: Latin, Greek and Hebrew. This tradition has existed for many centuries.

The great schism between Catholics and Orthodox had not yet happened, so the Pope still had influence on the Greek priests. He called the brothers to Italy. They also wanted to come to Rome to defend their position and to reason with the Germans in Moravia.

Brothers in Rome

The brothers Cyril and Methodius, whose biography is also revered by Catholics, came to Adrian II in 868. He came to a compromise with the Greeks and agreed that the Slavs could conduct worship in their native languages. The Moravians (ancestors of the Czechs) were baptized by bishops from Rome, so they were formally under the jurisdiction of the Pope.

While still in Italy, Konstantin became very ill. When he realized that he would soon die, the Greek took the schema and received the monastic name Cyril, with which he became known in historiography and popular memory. Being on his deathbed, he asked his brother not to give up the common educational work, but to continue his service among the Slavs.

Continuation of the preaching activity of Methodius

Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography is inseparable, became revered in Moravia during their lifetime. When younger brother returned there, it became much easier for him to continue to fulfill his duty than 8 years ago. However, soon the situation in the country changed. The former prince Rostislav was defeated by Svyatopolk. The new ruler was guided by German patrons. This led to a change in the composition of the priests. The Germans again began to lobby for the idea of ​​preaching in Latin. They even imprisoned Methodius in a monastery. When Pope John VIII found out about this, he forbade the Germans to hold liturgies until they released the preacher.

Cyril and Methodius have not yet encountered such resistance. Biography, creation and everything connected with their life is full of dramatic events. In 874, Methodius was finally released and again became an archbishop. However, Rome has already withdrawn its permission to worship in the Moravian language. However, the preacher refused to submit to the changing course catholic church. He began to conduct secret sermons and rituals in the Slavic language.

The last chores of Methodius

His perseverance was not in vain. When the Germans again tried to denigrate him in the eyes of the church, Methodius went to Rome and, thanks to his ability as an orator, was able to defend his point of view before the Pope. He was given a special bull, which again allowed worship in the national languages.

The Slavs appreciated the uncompromising struggle waged by Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography was reflected even in ancient folklore. Shortly before his death, the younger brother returned to Byzantium and spent several years in Constantinople. His last great work was the translation into Slavic " Old Testament”, with which he was helped by faithful students. He died in 885 in Moravia.

Significance of the activities of the brothers

The alphabet, created by the brothers, eventually spread to Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Russia. Today Cyrillic is used by all Eastern Slavs. These are Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The biography of Cyril and Methodius for children is taught within school curriculum these countries.

Interestingly, the original alphabet, created by the brothers, eventually became Glagolitic in historiography. Another version of it, known as Cyrillic, appeared a little later thanks to the work of the students of these enlighteners. This scientific debate remains relevant. The problem is that no ancient sources have come down to us that could certainly confirm any particular point of view. Theories are built only on secondary documents that appeared later.

Nevertheless, the contribution of the brothers is difficult to overestimate. Cyril and Methodius, whose brief biography should be known to every Slav, helped not only spread Christianity, but also strengthen it among these peoples. In addition, even if we assume that the Cyrillic alphabet was created by the students of the brothers, they still relied on their work. This is especially evident in the case of phonetics. Modern Cyrillic alphabets have adopted the sound component from those written symbols that were proposed by the preachers.

Both the Western and Eastern churches recognize the importance of the work carried out by Cyril and Methodius. A short biography for the children of enlighteners is in many general education textbooks of history and the Russian language.

Since 1991, our country has been celebrating an annual public holiday dedicated to the brothers from Thessalonica. It is called the Day of Slavic Culture and Literature and also exists in Belarus. In Bulgaria, an order named after them was established. Cyril and Methodius Interesting Facts whose biographies are published in various monographs, still attract the attention of new researchers of languages ​​and history.

And Methodius went down in history as the creators of the Slavic alphabet. Thanks to their activities, we can now read, express our thoughts in writing. These are well-known historical figures. There is even a Cyril and Methodius short biography for children.

Worldly life of future saints

Two brothers were born in Thessaloniki. Their father is a soldier under the governor of the city. The years of the life of Cyril and Methodius in short biography belong to the 14th century AD.

The elder brother Methodius was born in 815, Cyril, at the birth of Constantine, was born in 827. Methodius, at the birth of Michael, was originally even appointed to a princely place. But the vanity of the world tired young man. He refused such a privilege and at the age of 37 took the tonsure.

From the very beginning, the younger brother Kirill consciously chose the spiritual path for himself. Thanks to his curiosity and phenomenal memory, he won the favor of others. Cyril was sent to Byzantium, where he was trained along with the emperor himself. Having thoroughly studied geometry, dialectics, arithmetic, astronomy, rhetoric and philosophy, he became interested in the study of languages. His noble origin allowed him to enter into an advantageous marriage and receive a high public position. But the young man decided to build his life differently. He got a job in the church of Hagia Sophia as a library keeper, and later became a teacher at the university. Often participated in philosophical debates. For his excellent oratorical skills and erudition, they began to call him the Philosopher. But worldly life is just part of a short biography of Cyril and Methodius, which quickly ended. A new story has begun.

The beginning of the spiritual path

Court life did not suit Cyril, and he went to his brother in the monastery. But he did not find the spiritual silence and solitude that he longed for so much. Cyril was a frequent participant in disputes concerning matters of faith. He knew the canons of Christianity very well and often defeated his opponents thanks to his intelligence and high knowledge.

Later, the emperor of Byzantium expressed a desire to bring the Khazars to the side of Christianity. Jews and Muslims have already begun to spread their religion on their territory. Enlighten the Khazar minds Christian sermons Cyril and Methodius were sent. Their biography tells of an interesting case. On the way home, the brothers visited the city of Korsun. There they were able to get the relics of St. Clement, former Pope Rimsky. After returning home, Cyril lingered in the capital, and Methodius went to the Polychrome Monastery, which was located near Mount Olympus, where he received the abbess.

Mission to Moravia

The biography of the brothers Cyril and Methodius is based on chronicle data. According to them, in 860 the ambassadors of the prince of Moravia Rostislav turned to the Byzantine emperor with a request to send preachers to praise Christianity. The emperor, without hesitation, entrusted an important task to Cyril and Methodius. Their biography tells about the complexity of the assignment. It consisted in the fact that German bishops had already begun their activities in Moravia, aggressively opposed to the activities of anyone else.

Arriving in Moravia, Cyril discovered that almost no one knows the Holy Scripture, since the service was performed in a language unknown to the people - Latin. Preachers from Germany were of the opinion that divine services could only be conducted in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, because it was in these languages ​​that there were inscriptions on the cross where Christ was crucified. The Eastern clergy, on the other hand, recognized holding services in any language.

The main task of the future saints was the creation of their own alphabet. After writing their alphabet, they began to rewrite the scriptures into a language understandable to the people. But in order to conduct divine services, it was necessary not only to create your own letter, but also to teach the people to read and write.

The clergy of Moravia were wary of such innovations, and later began to oppose them. An important factor was not only a spiritual life, but also a political one. Moravia was actually subject to the jurisdiction of the Pope, and the spread of the new script and language was seen there as an attempt to seize power by the Byzantine emperor through the hands of preachers. At that time, Catholicism and Orthodoxy were still a single faith under the patronage of the Pope.

The vigorous activity of Cyril and Methodius aroused the indignation of the German bishops. Since Cyril always won in religious disputes, the German preachers wrote a complaint to Rome. To resolve this issue, Pope Nicholas I called on the brothers to come to him. Cyril and Methodius were forced to go on a long journey.

Creation of the alphabet

A complete biography of Cyril and Methodius is filled with references to the origin of their greatest creation. Cyril knew the Slavic language well and therefore began to create an alphabet for the Slavs. He was actively assisted by his older brother. The first alphabet was modeled after the Greek alphabet. The letters corresponded to the Greek ones, but had a different look, and Hebrew letters were taken for the characteristic Slavic sounds. This version of the alphabet was called Glagolitic, from the word "verb" - to speak. Another version of the alphabet was called Cyrillic.

The Glagolitic is a set of sticks and symbols that echo the Greek alphabet. Cyrillic is already a variant closer to the modern alphabet. It is generally believed that it was created by the followers of the saints. But the debate about the truth of this statement is still ongoing.

It is difficult to accurately establish the date of formation of the alphabet, since the original source has not reached us, there are only minor or rewritten letters.

Metamorphoses of the first alphabet

As soon as Cyril and Methodius finished working on the creation of the Slavic script, they began to translate a number of books for worship. In this they were helped by many students and followers. This is how Slavic appeared literary language. Some words from it have survived to our times in the Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Russian languages. The early version became the basis of the alphabet of all Eastern Slavs, but the later version was not forgotten either. It is now used in church books.

Initially, Cyrillic letters were written separately from each other and were called charter (charter letter), which eventually became a semi-charter. When the original letters changed, cursive replaced the semi-ustav. Since the 18th century, during the reign of Peter I, some of the letters were excluded from the Cyrillic alphabet and called it the Russian civil alphabet.

Cyril and Methodius in Rome

After the ups and downs with the German bishops, Cyril and Methodius were summoned to the court before the Pope. Going to the meeting, the brothers took with them the relics of St. Clement, previously brought from Korsun. But an unforeseen circumstance happened: Nicholas I died before the arrival of the future saints. They were met by his successor Adrian II. A whole delegation was sent outside the city to meet the brothers and the holy relics. As a result, the Pope gave his consent to holding divine services in the Slavic language.

During the trip, Kirill became weak and did not feel well. He fell ill from illness and, foreseeing a speedy death, asked his older brother to continue their common work. He accepted the schema, changing the worldly name Constantine to the spiritual Cyril. His elder brother had to return from Rome alone.

Methodius without Cyril

As promised, Methodius continued his activities. Pope Adrian II proclaimed Methodius a bishop. He was allowed to lead the service in the Slavic language, but on the condition that he would start the service in Latin or Greek.

Upon returning home, Methodius took several students and set about translating the Old Testament into Slavonic. He opened church schools and enlightened young, fragile minds in matters of Orthodoxy. The population increasingly abandoned parishes where services were conducted in Latin, and went over to the side of Methodius. This period is one of the brightest episodes in the biography of Cyril and Methodius.

The sad fate of the followers

With the gradual growth of the authority of the German feudal lords and the change of power in the lands of Moravia, mass persecution of Methodius and his followers began. In 870, he was detained for "uncontrolled arbitrariness." Along with him, his associates are also arrested.

They were imprisoned for six months until they were put on trial. As a result of lengthy disputes, Methodius was defrocked and imprisoned in a monastery. Only when he got to Rome, he was able to refute the empty accusations and regain the rank of archbishop. He continued his educational activities until his death in 885.

After his death, a ban was immediately issued on holding services in the Slavic language. His disciples and followers were waiting for death or slavery.

Despite all the difficulties, the brothers' life's work flourished with greater vigor. Thanks to them, many peoples acquired their own written language. And for all the trials that the brothers had to endure, they were canonized - canonized as saints. We know them as Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. Everyone should know and honor the biography of Saints Cyril and Methodius as a tribute to their work.

May 24 Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

The name of these saints is known to everyone from school, and it is to them that all of us, native speakers of the Russian language, owe our language, culture, and writing.

Incredibly, all European science and culture was born within the walls of the monastery: it was at the monasteries that the first schools were opened, children were taught to read and write, and vast libraries were collected. It was for the enlightenment of peoples, for the translation of the Gospel, that many writing systems were created. So it happened with the Slavic language.

The holy brothers Cyril and Methodius came from a noble and pious family that lived in the Greek city of Thessalonica. Methodius was a warrior and ruled the Bulgarian principality of the Byzantine Empire. This gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language.

Soon, however, he decided to leave the secular way of life and became a monk in a monastery on Mount Olympus. Constantine from childhood expressed amazing abilities and received an excellent education together with the young emperor Michael III at the royal court

Then he took monastic vows in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor.

His brother Konstantin, who took the name Cyril in monasticism, from an early age was distinguished by great abilities and perfectly comprehended all the sciences of his time and many languages.

Soon the emperor sent both brothers to the Khazars for the gospel sermon. According to legend, on the way they stopped in Korsun, where Konstantin found the Gospel and the Psalter, written in "Russian letters", and a man who spoke Russian, and began to learn to read and speak this language.

When the brothers returned to Constantinople, the emperor again sent them on an educational mission - this time to Moravia. The Moravian prince Rostislav was oppressed by the German bishops, and he asked the emperor to send teachers who could preach in their native language for the Slavs.

The first of the Slavic peoples who converted to Christianity were the Bulgarians. In Constantinople, the sister of the Bulgarian prince Bogoris (Boris) was held as a hostage. She was baptized with the name Theodora and was brought up in the spirit of holy faith. Around the year 860, she returned to Bulgaria and began to persuade her brother to accept Christianity. Boris was baptized, taking the name Michael. Saints Cyril and Methodius were in this country and by their preaching they greatly contributed to the establishment of Christianity in it. From Bulgaria, the Christian faith spread to neighboring Serbia.

To fulfill the new mission, Constantine and Methodius compiled the Slavonic alphabet and translated the main liturgical books (Gospel, Apostle, Psalter) into Slavonic. This happened in 863.

In Moravia the brothers were received from great honor and began to teach worship in the Slavic language. This aroused the anger of the German bishops, who celebrated divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, and they filed a complaint with Rome.

Taking with them the relics of St. Clement (the Pope), discovered by them back in Korsun, Constantine and Methodius set off for Rome.
Upon learning that the brothers were carrying holy relics, Pope Adrian met them with honor and approved worship in the Slavic language. He ordered the books translated by the brothers to be placed in Roman churches and to celebrate the liturgy in the Slavic language.

Saint Methodius fulfilled his brother's will: having returned to Moravia already in the rank of archbishop, he worked here for 15 years. From Moravia Christianity penetrated into Bohemia during the life of Saint Methodius. The Bohemian Prince Borivoj received from him holy baptism. His example was followed by his wife Lyudmila (who later became a martyr) and many others. In the middle of the 10th century, the Polish prince Mieczyslaw married the Bohemian princess Dąbrowka, after which he and his subjects adopted the Christian faith.

Subsequently, these Slavic peoples, through the efforts of Latin preachers and German emperors, were cut off from the Greek Church under the rule of the Pope, with the exception of the Serbs and Bulgarians. But among all the Slavs, despite the past centuries, the memory of the great Equal-to-the-Apostles Enlighteners and the Orthodox faith that they tried to plant among them is still alive. The sacred memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius serves as a connecting link for all Slavic peoples.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Cyril and Methodius, a story for children about Christian preachers, the creators of the Slavic alphabet and the Church Slavonic language, is summarized in this article.

Brief information about Cyril and Methodius

These two brothers were from Thessaloniki. Their father was a successful officer and served in the province under its governor. Cyril was born in 827, and Methodius in 815. The Greek brothers were fluent in both Greek and Slavic.

Life before monasticism

At the beginning of their journey, they took different paths. Methodius, who was called Michael in the world, was a military man and had the rank of strategist of the province of Macedonia. Cyril, who bore the name Konstantin before being tonsured, on the contrary, from an early age was fond of the science and culture of neighboring peoples. He translated the Gospel into Slavonic. He also studied dialectics, geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, philosophy and rhetoric in Constantinople. Thanks to his extensive knowledge, Constantine could marry an aristocrat and take important positions in the highest echelons of power. But he abandoned all this and became a simple keeper of the library in the Hagia Sophia. Of course, Konstantin did not stay here for a long time and began teaching at the capital's university. And Michael at that time also abandoned his military career and became the abbot of the monastery on the Small Olympus. Constantine was familiar with the emperor of Constantinople and, on his behalf, in 856 he went with scientists to the Small Olympus. Having met his brother there, they decided to write an alphabet for the Slavs.

Cyril and Methodius, creators of the Slavic alphabet

Their further life is connected with church activity. The prerequisite for the decision to start creating the Slavic alphabet was that in 862 the ambassadors of the Moravian prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. The prince asked the emperor of Constantinople to give him scientists who would teach his people the Christian faith in their language. Rostislav argued that his people had been baptized long ago, but worship was conducted in a foreign dialect. And this is very inconvenient, because not everyone understands it. The emperor, having discussed the request of the Moravian prince with the patriarch, sent the brothers to Moravia. Together with their students, they took up translation. First, the Thessalonica brothers translated Christian books into Bulgarian. These were the Psalter, the Gospel and the Apostle. In Moravia, church leaders taught the local population to read and write for 3 years and led services. In addition, they visited Panonnia and Transcarpathian Rus, where they also glorified the Christian faith.

Once they had a conflict with German priests who did not want to conduct services in the Slavic language. The Pope in 868 called the brothers to him. Here everyone came to a common compromise that the Slavs can conduct services in their native language.

While in Italy, Konstantin falls seriously ill. Realizing that death is not far off, he takes the monastic name Cyril. On his deathbed, Cyril asks his brother to continue his educational activities. February 14, 869 he died

Educational activities of Methodius

Returning to Moravia, Methodius (he had already taken the monastic name) does what his brother asked. But there was a change of priests in the country, and the Germans imprisoned him in a monastery. Pope John VIII, having learned about the incident, forbade the German ministers of the church to conduct liturgies until they release Methodius. In 874 he was released and became an archbishop. Often rituals and sermons in the Slavic language had to be carried out secretly. Methodius died on April 4, 885.

After the death of both brothers, he was canonized.

Cyril and Methodius interesting facts

• The age difference between Methodius and Cyril becomes 12 years. In addition to them, the family had 5 more sons.
• Cyril taught himself to read at an early age.
• Cyril spoke Slavic, Greek, Arabic, Latin and Hebrew.
• May 24 is the day of honoring the memory of the brothers.
• Methodius served for 10 years in the monastery on the Small Olympus before they met with his brother and began their common preaching activity.

We hope that the message about Cyril and Methodius briefly helped you to find out information about these Christian preachers. And you can leave your message about Cyril and Methodius through the comment form below.

The Slavic Guides of the Faith of Christ, although they do not directly belong to the Slavic-Russian writers, however, since they are revered as the inventors of the Slavic letters we use, and the first translators of our Church Slavonic Books, information about them and their translations in some way also applies to Slavic -Russian Church History. They lived about half of the 9th century and were originally from the Greek trading city of Thessalonica. Methodius served under the Emperor Michael III of Constantinople in military service Voivode, and was sent to the countries adjacent to the Slavs, where he learned the Slavic language. And Konstantin was brought up from childhood at the Court of Constantinople, then, having taken the monastic vows, he was a Hieromonk and Librarian at the Constantinople Cathedral Sophia Church, and, moreover, a Philosophy Teacher. Emperor Michael sent him to the Saracens on the Euphrates River to justify the Faith of Christ, and then, together with his brother, to the Kozars to convert them to Christ, and finally, around 863, when the Moravian Princes Rostislav, Svyatopolk and Kotsel sent to Constantinople to ask for Christian Teachers; then on this occasion, both brothers Constantine and Methodius were sent to them from the Emperor and the Constantinople Clergy; the first, like a connoisseur of many Eastern languages, and the last, well-versed in Slavonic. Our Chronicler Prof. Nestor and many Western Writers agree that they invented the Slavic letters and were the first to translate them into the Slavic language. Holy Bible and Church Books. In their Description of Life, placed in the Chetya Menaia, under the 11th Mayan number, it is said that before leaving for the Moravians in Constantinople, they invented the Slavonic Alphabet, composed of thirty-eight letters, and there they began to translate into the Slavic language for experience the first Gospel of John. Although their works were common, the Slavic alphabet was nicknamed Cyril's, perhaps because Cyril, according to his knowledge of many Eastern languages, chose letters from them for the Slavic language that were missing in the Greek alphabet, and Methodius worked more than him in translating books. For Constantine, or Cyril, was only 4 and a half years with his brother in Moravia, and then went to the Bulgarians or, as Schlozer thinks, to Rome, and about 869 or 871, according to Schlozer's calculation, and according to Miller, 868 in Rome died; Methodius's death is supposed to be there after 881. But some of the Westerners tried to anticipate the primacy of this honor among them and attributed both the invention of the Slavonic letters and the translation of the Holy Scriptures to Jerome of Stridon, the Western Father of the 4th century. At this end, from the 13th century and not older than 1222, according to Joseph Dobrovsky, a special Jerome supposedly invented, the so-called Glagolitic ABC, was invented. However, this forgery has already been quite exposed and refuted. Recently Hankenstein, Moravian Nobleman, in a printed German in Ofen in 1804, in his Review of a Slavic manuscript allegedly found by him in the 8th century, he also tried to prove that the Slavs, even before Cyril and Methodius, from ancient times, and not even later than the Greeks, had their own letters, composed of different Eastern ABCs. But the evidence did not convince him. Some of us also boasted of the discovery of supposedly ancient Slavic-Russian Runic writings different kind, who wrote the Boyanov Hymn and several prophecies of Novgorod pagan Priests, allegedly of the fifth century. These runes are very similar to the corrupted Slavic letters, and therefore some concluded that the Slavs, even before Christianity, from ancient times had their own special Runic Alphabet compiled by someone, and that Constantine and Methodius already from these Runes, with the addition of some letters from the Greek and other Alphabets, made up our Slavic, since Bishop Ulfila in the 4th century for the Goths, who lived in Mysia and Thrace, compiled a special Gothic alphabet from the Northern Runic, Greek and Latin letters. With such Slavic-Russian Runes the first Stanza of the imaginary Boyanov Hymn was printed, and one Oracle of the priest in the 6th book of the Reading in the Conversation of the Lovers of the Russian Word in St. Petersburg in 1812. But even this discovery did not convince anyone. As for the Slavic Books translated by Constantine and Methodius for the Moravians, Nestor testifies that they, firstly, translated from Greek language The Apostle and the Gospel, and then the Psalter, the Octoechos, and other books - to understand here, of course, one should understand the most necessary, or even all of the then age for Church Service . For then there were not as many of them as there are today, and the Honorary Menaion adds only the Book of Hours and the Liturgiary. Constantine, according to the testimony of Chetya Menaia and Western historians, stayed in Moravia with his brother for only a little over four years and after that he went to the Bulgarians, as already mentioned above; and Methodius, staying with the Moravians and Pannonians for about 30 years, continued to translate books into the Slavic language for Church use, and with two priests, as shorthand writers, finished them in full in six months, as Nestor says. But what these books are, is unknown. The Church Books most commonly used for the regular Service are: the Book of Hours with the Psalter, the Missal with the Breed Book, the Apostle and the Gospel, the Octoechos, the Irmologion, the two Triodis, the Parameinik, the Monthly Menaion, or instead of it, the Common with the Feast and the Charter. It is impossible not only to translate these books, but also to write them off by two cursive writers in six months, and in the thirty years of his stay with the Moravians, Methodius could do all this more conveniently and better. At the same time, the question arises: did he and his brother translate the entire Bible into the Slavic language? - Schlozer and others strongly assert this, based on the testimony of two Latin Chronicles, the Dioles one of the 11th century and the Blaubeir Benedictine, much later. Schlozer also means by Nester's word of the Book directly the Bible, although among the Greeks it was more often called Scripture. Some of ours also refer in this to the testimony of Presbyter John, the Exarch of Bulgaria (see the article about him), who, in the Preface to the translation of his Theology of St. John of Damascus, called Heaven, says the following about the works of Methodius and Constantine: the man of God Kstyantin Philosopher river (recommended) many labors, building the inscriptions of the Slovenian books and from the Gospel and the Apostle, changing the choice, and even having achieved living in this dark world, just having transgressed the infinity and the light accepts the reward of his deeds. this Great Archbishop of God Methodius, his brother, transpose all the Statutory Books 60 from the Elinsky language, which is Greek to Slovyansk. But here again it is not known what is meant by the entire Statutory Books 60 translated by Methodius. For there are not so many Church Charters. To explain this, they refer to: 1) Antiochus, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Sava, who talks about the Books of the Old and New Testaments (Art. 7, Ch. VI of the Song of Songs and 60 About Queens); 2) for one parchment Slavic Prologue of the XIII or XIV century, located in the library of Chancellor Count N. P. Rumyantsev, written, according to some, somewhere either in Bulgaria, or in Serbia, or Hilandar on Mount Athos. In it, under the number of August 25, there is an article with the inscription: “Remembrance in the Saints in truth, the Reverend Father of our Moravian Archbishop Kostandin, who is called Cyril the Philosopher and Methodius, his brother and Teacher of the Slovene language. commemorate her." In the same article about Methodius it is said: “Sedezhe to the lands of Moravstei, transposing all 60 Books of the Old and New Law from Greek into Slavic in the 3rd Endikt in the Hundredth T. OU. God Prince Borys and Kral by the Nemech people"; 3) Refer to Slavic translation the book of Dioptra or the Mirror (composed in verse by the Greeks by Philip the Hermit, allegedly even in our city of Smolensk in 1095 according to a parchment list written around the 15th century and located in the library of Count Tolstoy, in the conclusion of which it is said: The apostles are packs in one similarity, and they were wiser from him, and they and these both agreed and wrote and rekosha, even deciding, together they were united together for the Books, the Old 30 and three above these, the New 20, and seven to another. "But on What these writers based on the account of 60 Books of Biblical Books is unknown, for in the Greek Church there are not 60, but 73, and even without the Apocryphal 64. Others also say that John Exarchus counts bible books borrowed from the Damascene Theology, but Damascene (Book IV, in chapter XVII on the Holy Scriptures) according to Jewish custom considers the Old Testament Books only 22, and separately 38; New Testament 28. Be that as it may, the evidence of the Translation of the entire Bible by Constantine and Methodius was not confirmed either by Nestor, or Chet-Minaeus in the Lives of these Saints, nor by the remnants of their translations anywhere, which even Exarch John did not see, but only heard of them, as he himself admits. Only the gospels, the Apostles, the Psalters, the Paremeiniks and some other books that are always used in the Church, probably the translation of these Preachers, accepted by the Russian Church since the time of Vladimir the Great during the conversion of the Slavic Russes, have come down to us no older than the 11th century. For the then close, according to Nestor, the similarity of the dialects of Slavic-Russian with Moravian and the readiness of these translations could convince them to accept them. True, in all lists of these Books there are some, albeit not great, contradictions, proving either various translations , or onago amendments; and therefore it is no longer possible to determine what exactly the original Methodius and Constantine translations were. But in some written Gospels, and in one printed one, which was in the possession of Professor Bause, and now in the library of Count Tolstoy, it is not known when and where it was published, it is precisely said that it is the Translation of Methodius and Cyril; in the same way, in one edition of the General Menaion, printed in Moscow under Patriarch Job and Tsar Boris in 1600, it is indicated that this book is the Creation and Collection of Cyril the Philosopher, Teacher Slav and Bolgar, for the poor. But the whole Bible of ancient haraten lists, not only the translation of Cyril and Methodius, but also no one, has not yet been found with us. Konstantin, Prince of Ostrozhsky, in the Preface to the Slavic Bible published by him in 1581 in Ostrog, testifies that he did not find a complete list of it in any Slavic tribe, but only received one from Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, very similar allegedly to the Greek translation of the Seventy Tolkovnikov , but allegedly translated back in the time of Vladimir the Great, but both of these assurances are unfair. The inaccuracy of the Ostroh edition with the Greek has already been sufficiently proved in the Preface to the newly corrected Slavic Bible, printed in 1751 in St. Petersburg. And the list delivered to the Prince of Ostrog from Tsar Ivan Vasilievich was exactly the same as one, perhaps one of the oldest in Russia, is still in the Moscow Patriarchal Library, written in 1538 in half-charter, in a sheet, on half-Alexandrian paper by Monk Joachim in the Monastery Joseph Volokolamsky. The Ostroh edition, apart from small and rare changes of dilapidated and vulgar words to the newest and Slavic ones, is completely similar to this list and even in many places with the same lists, omissions and confusions against the Greek original. Above all, both in the list and in the Ostrog edition, entire books of Tobit, Judith, and the third Ezra are translated not from Greek, but from the Vulgate Latin, and many places in the Prophets are corrected with this latter. But neither Methodius and Cyril, nor the Translators of Vladimir's century would have done this. Therefore, it is obvious that the translation of this Bible is of modern times. This is also proved by the fact that the Paremias in our old Church Books, and the Laws of Moses, printed in the 2nd part of the Pilot's Book, are of a completely different translation than the one in the Ostroh edition. There is also one older than Joachim's list in the Vienna Empire. library, written in Serbian letters in Moldavia in 1535, as Lind assures. But whether he is similar to Joachimovsky is unknown. There would be no need to ask here what language or Slavic dialect these Preachers translated their books into, if scientists were not divided into different opinions in this. It is known that Cyril and Methodius were teachers especially of the Moravian and Bulgarian Slavs. Therefore, it is closest to conclude with Schlozer that they should have written in their own and for them then intelligible dialect. And Nestor testifies that in his time, i.e., about 250 years after Constantine and Methodius, both the script and the Slavic language were still common to all Slavic tribes. Perhaps this should be understood about the language of the book, or the Church, from which the common people in each tribe could already differ in many ways. Nestor himself wrote in this Church language with many already common expressions; and in the style of Russian Pravda, which was still written before him, there were already much greater differences. Longer than all tribal peoples wrote their books in Slavic church language Slavic Russians and Serbs; the former almost until the 18th century, and the latter almost until modern times, although the vernacular and clerical language have long since changed in both. Therefore, some Western Scholars, such as Beck, Engel and Dobrovsky, who are more familiar with Serbian books than our books, concluded that Constantine and Methodius translated Slavic books into the native Old Serbian dialect. But there is no direct historical evidence for this. Even if we assume, according to some, referring to the testimony of Constantine Porphyrogenitus and John Kantakuzen, that in the Thessalonica Region there were Serbian cities from the 7th century, and therefore allegedly Constantine and Methodius in Thessalonica had the opportunity to learn at first only the Serbian dialect; then, upon arrival to the Moravians, they should and could have conveniently adopted Moravian, due to the then still short-lived difference in the Slavic dialects, and not the Moravians, retrained into Serbian. There is still one controversial issue about these Preachers. Although, according to Nestor and many Western Chroniclers cited by Schlozer, it is known that they came to Moravia from Constantinople, however, some Western Writers tried to prove that they were sent there from Rome from the Pope, and that Methodius was appointed by the Pope as Archbishop to Moravia or Pannonia, and after that both brothers were called to account in Rome. But all these evidences were quite thoroughly considered and refuted by the Archbishop of Novgorod Feofan Prokopovich in his Consideration of the Mavro-Urbin book about the Slavic people, from Italian into Russian, by order of Sovereign Peter the Great, translated into St. Petersburg in 1722 in 4 parts of a sheet printed . (see at the end of that book the printed Consideration of Feofanov; and detailed description for the life and labors of Constantine and Methodius, see in the Menaion and Prologue under the number 11 Maya, and in Dobrovsky's Study on Cyril and Methodius, published and in the Russian translation of 1825 in Moscow with translator's notes). Between the manuscripts of the library of the Monastery of Joseph Volokolamsky there is a Prayer of Skete's repentance, Cyril the Philosopher, a teacher Slovene and Bolgar, who also translate the Greek letter into Russian.