Cyril and Methodius alphabet. How writing developed in Slavic lands

The day of celebration of Slavic writing and culture is inextricably linked with Cyril and Methodius - in all Slavic countries it is celebrated on May 24.

Cyril and Methodius, having created Slavic writing, translated liturgical books from Greek into Slavic, including the Apostolic Epistles and the Psalter, selected readings from the Gospel, that is, they contributed to the introduction and spread of Slavic worship.

Sputnik Georgia tells a brief biography of Saints Cyril and Methodius, educators of the Slavs and fighters for the Christian faith, and the history of the creation of Slavic writing.

short biography

Siblings - Cyril and Methodius (in the world Constantine and Michael) were born into a noble and religious family in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.

Having received an excellent education, Methodius, the eldest of seven brothers, initially chose a military career and ruled in one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to the Byzantine Empire, where he learned the Slavic language.

Reproduction of the icon "Saints Cyril and Methodius"

Having served for ten years, Methodius, around 852, took monastic vows in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus (Asia Minor).

Konstantin, the youngest of the brothers, distinguished by exceptional philological abilities, was drawn to science. In Constantinople, he studied with the greatest scientists of the time, including Photius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople.

Having completed his studies, he accepted the rank of priest - he was appointed custodian of the patriarchal library at the Church of Hagia Sophia and taught philosophy at the highest school in Constantinople.

Constantine was wise beyond his years - he defeated the leader of the iconoclast heretics, Annius, in a debate.

Then he retired to his brother Methodius in the monastery, where he spent time reading and praying. There he first began to study the Slavic language, communicating with Slavic monks in the monastery.

Orthodox complex "In the Name of the Resurrection of Christ" (in the background) and the monument to the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius (in the foreground) in Khanty-Mansiysk

To preach the gospel, the Byzantine emperor sent Cyril and Methodius in 857 to the Khazar Kaganate. On the way, stopping in the city of Korsun, the brothers miraculously found the relics of the Hieromartyr Clement, Pope of Rome.

Then, going to the Khazars, Methodius and Cyril successfully convinced the Khazar prince and his entourage to accept Christianity, as well as to release 200 Greek captives.

History of Slavic writing

Slavic writing arose in the 9th century, and it was then that the alphabet was compiled.

The history of Slavic writing is as follows: the Moravian prince Rostislav sent ambassadors to the emperor with a request to translate Christian liturgical books into the Slavic language and to send teachers to Moravia to preach to the Slavs in their native language.

Sculptural image of the founders of Slavic writing Cyril and Methodius on the monument "1000th anniversary of Russia"

The Emperor entrusted this mission to Cyril and Methodius, confident that they would cope with it best of all. Cyril compiled the Slavic alphabet with the help of his brother Methodius and his students Clement, Gorazd, Naum, Savva and Angelyar.

The year of birth of Slavic writing is considered to be 863, when the first words were written in the Slavic language. Some chroniclers claim that these were the words of the Evangelist John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word.”

After completing the translation of the Gospel, Psalter and selected services into the Slavic language, Cyril and Methodius went to Moravia, where they began to teach Divine services in Slavic.

Two alphabets of Slavic writing were compiled - Glagolitic and Cyrillic, and both were used. The surviving Slavic manuscripts are written in both one and another alphabet.

But over time, the Cyrillic alphabet, which is much simpler in writing letters than the archaic Glagolitic alphabet, forced it out of use.

The creation of Slavic writing was of great importance for the cultural and scientific development of the Slavic people. On the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet, both Russian writing and the writing of other Slavic peoples arose.

Saint Cyril died in 869 - he was 42 years old. Before his death, he accepted the schema (the highest level of Orthodox monasticism). The relics of the Saint were placed in the Church of St. Clement, where miracles began to be performed from them.

Methodius, soon after this ordained in Rome to the rank of archbishop, continued his brother’s work. He died in 885 - Archbishop Methodius was buried in three languages - Slavic, Greek and Latin, and was buried in the cathedral church of Velehrad.

Cyril and Methodius, for their activities, were canonized as Saints in ancient times. The Russian Orthodox Church has been honoring the memory of the Slavic enlighteners since the 11th century. The oldest services to the Saints that have survived to this day date back to the 13th century.

The solemn celebration of the memory of High Hierarchs Cyril and Methodius in the Russian Church was established in 1863.

The material was prepared based on open sources

At the end of 862, the prince ruling Great Moravia (the state of the Western Slavs), Rostislav, turned to Michael, the Byzantine emperor, with a request to send him preachers who could spread the Christian faith in the Slavic language (at that time, sermons were read only in Latin, which was incomprehensible and is unknown to the common people).

Thus, Emperor Michael sent two Greeks to Great Moravia - the scientist Constantine the Philosopher, who later received the name Cyril when ordained as a monk, and his older brother Methodius.

This choice of Mikhail was not at all accidental, because both brothers were born in Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki - Greek) in the family of a famous military leader and received a good education. Cyril had the opportunity to study in Constantinople at the court of Michael III. He was fluent in Greek, but in addition, he knew Arabic, Hebrew, Latin and most importantly Slavic languages, and also taught philosophy, for which he received his nickname. Methodius was in military service, after which he was the manager of one of the regions, which were partly inhabited by Slavs.

The history of the creation of the alphabet of Cyril and Methodius

In 860, both brothers made a visit to the Khazars for diplomatic and missionary purposes.

However, in order to preach the Christian faith in the Slavic language, it was first necessary to translate the Holy Scriptures into the Slavic language. At the same time, there was no alphabet that would be capable of conveying Slavic speech at that time.

It is for this reason that Konstantin takes up the creation of such an alphabet. In his work he was helped by his brother, who was also fluent in the Slavic language, since many Slavs lived in Thessalonica. In 863, the Slavic alphabet was completely created (at that time it existed in two versions: Cyrillic and Glagolitic).

With the help of Methodius, translations of various liturgical books into the Slavic language were made, and the Slavs received the direct opportunity to write and read in their own language. In addition to the fact that the Slavs acquired their own language, they formed the first literary language, many of the words of which are still alive today in the Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Russian languages.

After the death of both brothers, their activities were continued by their students, who were expelled from Great Moravia in 886.

The creation of the Slavic alphabet is still of great importance! After all, thanks to her, the Slavic people were able to gain their independence and education.

Kostin Pavel 3rd grade

May 24 is the Day of Slavic Culture and Literature. Cyril and Methodius are considered the founders of Slavic writing. The work of a 3rd grade student, dedicated to the founders of Slavic writing.

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Kostin Pavel, 3rd grade

Cyril and Methodius - the founders of Slavic writing

Celebrates Slavic writing and culture. Year of birth (creation) of the Slavic

brothers Cyril (before becoming a monk, Constantine) and Methodius.

Cyril (circa 827-869) and his older brother Methodius (circa 825-885)

were born in the Greek city of Thessaloniki (now Thessaloniki). Father named Leo was

famous Greek official. One of the later sources says about the mother,

that she is a Slav by birth named Maria. And although, presumably, the family spoke

The brothers listened to Greek, Slavic words, and music of the language in the house since childhood. Yes and no

only in the house. There were many Slavic merchants in the trading districts of Thessaloniki. Many

The Slavs settled in Greece several centuries before the birth of the brothers. No wonder many years

later, sending the brothers to Moravia at the request of the Slavic prince to send teachers,

who will teach church reading, singing and writing in their native Slavic language,

Emperor Michael said: “No one can do this better than you. Go

together with Abbot Methodius, since you are Solunians, and Solunians all speak

purely Slavic" (beginning of 863).

Having received his education in his hometown, Methodius served for ten years as a military commander in

one of the Slavic provinces of Byzantium. Constantine studied in the capital of the empire

Constantinople and showed brilliant philological talent. He has mastered perfectly

several languages, including Latin, Syriac and Hebrew. When Konstantin

graduated from college, he was offered a very honorable position as a librarian at

patriarchal repository of books. At the same time, he became the patriarch's secretary. Working

in the library (the best library in the world), he constantly expanded his knowledge by comparing

one language with another, wrote Yuri Loschits in one of the magazines in the article “Prophetic Rumor”.

Only if you have an ear for music and develop it, you can hear in an unfamiliar

Greek of someone else's speech individual sounds and sound combinations. Konstantin was not ashamed that

It's called looking into the speaker's mouth to figure out exactly what position

lips, teeth and tongue of the interlocutor, a sound escapes from his mouth, outlandish for

Greek hearing. The sounds “z”, “z”, and “z” seemed so strange and unusual to the Greeks."sh",

"sch" etc. To us, Russian people, and to those for whom Russian is their native language, it seems funny,

when these and other sounds are difficult for foreigners to pronounce. Sounds in Slavic speech

turned out to be significantly more than in Greek (later the brothers had to

create 14 more letters than in the Greek alphabet). Kirill managed to hear

sounds of Slavic speech, isolate them from a smooth, coherent flow and create under these

sounds signs-letters.

When we talk about the creation of the Slavic alphabet by the brothers Cyril and Mefoliy, then

We call the youngest one first. This was the case during both of their lives. Methodius himself said:

“He served, like a slave, his younger brother, obeying him.” The younger brother was a genius

a philologist, as we would say now, a brilliant polyglot. He had to many times

engage in scientific disputes, and not only scientific ones. The new business of creating writing

numerous Slavic people found many enemies (in Moravia and Pannonia -

on the lands of modern Hungary, former Yugoslavia, Austria). After the brothers' death

about 200 of their students were sold into slavery, and their closest and most capable

comrades thrown into prison.

The tragic personal fates of the disciples Cyril and Methodius did not stop

the spread of Slavic writing from one Slavic people to another. From

Moravia and Pannonia it passed to Bulgaria, and in the 10th century, after the adoption

Christianity, and to ancient Rus'.

What was the Slavic alphabet? We need to talk about this in more detail,

since this writing was used in Rus' until the 18th century. Under Peter I and

then several more times in the 18th century. the alphabetical composition changed, i.e. number of letters and their

graphics (writing). The last reform of the Cyrillic alphabet took place in 1917-1918. In total there were

12 letters were excluded, and two new ones were introduced - “i” and “e”. If you look at the names of the letters

Cyrillic alphabet, the origin of the word “alphabet” itself will become clear: a - az, b - beeches. Like

the name of the alphabet, the name “alphabet” comes from the first two letters of the Greek

languages "alpha" and "vita".

All Slavs from the Baltic spoke, wrote, and created literature in the “Slovenian language”

to the Aegean Sea, from the Alps to the Volga. Six long centuries, up to the 15th century,

only three ancient languages (Slavic, Greek, Latin) were accepted in the world

as the main languages of interethnic communication. And now it’s a matter of honor for millions of people

Speakers of Slavic languages - to protect, preserve and develop it.

How did distant ancestors learn to read and write?

Education at school was individual, and each teacher had no more than 6-8

students. The teaching methods were very imperfect. Folk proverbs

retained the memory of the difficulty of learning the alphabet: “Az, beeches, lead them to fear how

bears", "They teach the alphabet, they shout at the whole hut."

Learning the Old Church Slavonic alphabet was not an easy task. Not sounds were pronounced, but

the names of the letters are complex in themselves. Having memorized the alphabet, they began to study syllables, or

warehouses, first from two letters: “buki”, “az” - the student named the names of the letters, and

then pronounced the syllable “ba”; for the syllable “vo” it was necessary to name “vedi”, “on”. Then

they taught syllables of three letters: “buki”, “rtsy”, “az” - “bra”, etc.

The complex names of the letters were not taken, as they say, out of thin air. Each title

carried great meaning and moral content. He who mastered literacy absorbed

moral concepts of enormous depth, developed for himself a line of behavior in

life, received concepts of goodness and morality. I can’t even believe it: well, letters and letters.

But no. When a person learning to read and write repeated after the teacher “az, beeches, lead,” he

He said the whole phrase: “I know letters.” Next came g, d, f - “The verb is good

is." In listing these letters in a row there is a commandment for man not to waste

I didn’t throw around words, I didn’t mince words, because “The word is good.”

Let's see what letters like r meant. s, t. They were called “Rtsy the word is firm”, i.e.

e. “Speak the word clearly”, “be responsible for your words.” It would be good for many of us

learn both pronunciation and responsibility for the spoken word.

After memorizing the syllables, reading began. The second proverb reminds us of order

work: the teacher pronounced the letters, and the students repeated them in chorus until

haven't remembered yet.

Literature:

Great Encyclopedia of Primary School

Excerpts from historical sources “The Tale of Bygone Years” and “The Life of Constantine-Cyril”

The holy Slovenian teachers strove for solitude and prayer, but in life they constantly found themselves in the forefront - both when they defended Christian truths before Muslims, and when they took on great educational work. Their success sometimes looked like defeat, but as a result, it is to them that we owe the acquisition of “the gift of the most valuable and greater than all silver, and gold, and precious stones, and all transitory wealth.” This gift is .

Brothers from Thessalonica

The Russian language was baptized back in the days when our ancestors did not consider themselves Christians - in the ninth century. In the west of Europe, the heirs of Charlemagne divided the Frankish empire, in the East the Muslim states strengthened, squeezing Byzantium, and in the young Slavic principalities, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, the true founders of our culture, preached and worked.

The history of the activities of the holy brothers has been studied with all possible care: the surviving written sources have been commented on many times, and pundits argue about the details of the biographies and acceptable interpretations of the received information. And how could it be otherwise when we are talking about the creators of the Slavic alphabet? And yet, to this day, the images of Cyril and Methodius are lost behind the abundance of ideological constructions and simple inventions. The Khazar Dictionary by Milorad Pavic, in which the enlighteners of the Slavs are embedded in a multifaceted theosophical mystification, is not the worst option.

Kirill, the youngest in both age and hierarchical rank, was simply a layman until the end of his life and received monastic tonsure with the name Kirill only on his deathbed. While Methodius, the elder brother, held great positions, was the ruler of a separate region of the Byzantine Empire, abbot of a monastery and ended his life as an archbishop. And yet, traditionally, Kirill takes honorable first place, and the alphabet - the Cyrillic alphabet - is named after him. All his life he bore another name - Constantine, and also a respectful nickname - Philosopher.

Konstantin was an extremely gifted man. “The speed of his abilities was not inferior to his diligence,” the life, compiled shortly after his death, repeatedly emphasizes the depth and breadth of his knowledge. Translating into the language of modern realities, Constantine the Philosopher was a professor at the capital's University of Constantinople, very young and promising. At the age of 24 (!), he received his first important government assignment - to defend the truth of Christianity in the face of Muslims of other faiths.

Missionary politician

This medieval inseparability of spiritual, religious tasks and state affairs looks bizarre these days. But even for it one can find some analogy in the modern world order. And today, superpowers, the newest empires, base their influence not only on military and economic power. There is always an ideological component, an ideology that is “exported” to other countries. For the Soviet Union it was communism. For the United States, it is a liberal democracy. Some people accept exported ideas peacefully, while others have to resort to bombing.

For Byzantium, Christianity was the doctrine. The strengthening and spread of Orthodoxy was perceived by the imperial authorities as a primary state task. Therefore, as a modern researcher of the Cyril and Methodius heritage writes A.-E. Tahiaos, “a diplomat who entered into negotiations with enemies or “barbarians,” was always accompanied by a missionary.” Constantine was such a missionary. That is why it is so difficult to separate his actual educational activities from his political ones. Just before his death, he symbolically resigned from public service and became a monk.

“I am no longer a servant of the king or anyone else on earth; Only God Almighty was and will be forever,” Kirill will now write.

His life tells about his Arab and Khazar mission, about tricky questions and witty and deep answers. Muslims asked him about the Trinity, how Christians could worship “many gods,” and why, instead of resisting evil, they strengthened the army. Khazar Jews disputed the Incarnation and blamed Christians for non-compliance with Old Testament regulations. Konstantin's answers - bright, figurative and brief - if they did not convince all opponents, then, in any case, they delivered a polemical victory, leading those listening to admiration.

"Nobody else"

The Khazar mission was preceded by events that greatly changed the internal structure of the Solun brothers. At the end of the 50s of the 9th century, both Constantine, a successful scientist and polemicist, and Methodius, shortly before appointed archon (head) of the province, retired from the world and led a solitary ascetic lifestyle for several years. Methodius even takes monastic vows. The brothers were already distinguished by their piety from an early age, and the thought of monasticism was not alien to them; however, there were probably external reasons for such a drastic change: a change in the political situation or the personal sympathies of those in power. However, the lives are silent about this.

But the bustle of the world receded for a while. Already in 860, the Khazar Kagan decided to organize an “interreligious” dispute, in which Christians had to defend the truth of their faith before Jews and Muslims. According to the life, the Khazars were ready to accept Christianity if the Byzantine polemicists “won the upper hand in disputes with the Jews and Saracens.” They found Constantine again, and the emperor personally admonished him with the words: “Go, Philosopher, to these people and talk about the Holy Trinity with Her help. No one else can take on this with dignity.” On the trip, Konstantin took his older brother as his assistant.

The negotiations ended generally successfully, although the Khazar state did not become Christian, the Kagan allowed those who wished to be baptized. There were also political successes. We should pay attention to an important incidental event. On the way, the Byzantine delegation stopped in Crimea, where near modern Sevastopol (ancient Chersonesos) Constantine found the relics of the ancient saint Pope Clement. Subsequently, the brothers will transfer the relics of St. Clement to Rome, which will further win over Pope Adrian. It is with Cyril and Methodius that the Slavs begin their special veneration of Saint Clement - let us remember the majestic church in his honor in Moscow not far from the Tretyakov Gallery.

Sculpture of the Holy Apostles Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Republic. Photo: pragagid.ru

Birth of writing

862 We have reached a historic milestone. This year, the Moravian prince Rostislav sends a letter to the Byzantine emperor with a request to send preachers capable of instructing his subjects in Christianity in the Slavic language. Great Moravia, which at that time included certain areas of the modern Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland, was already Christian. But the German clergy enlightened her, and all the services, holy books and theology were Latin, incomprehensible to the Slavs.

And again at court they remember Constantine the Philosopher. If not he, then who else will be able to complete the task, the complexity of which both the emperor and the patriarch, Saint Photius, were aware of?

The Slavs did not have a written language. But it was not even the fact of the absence of letters that presented the main problem. They did not have abstract concepts and the wealth of terminology that usually develops in “book culture.”

High Christian theology, Scripture and liturgical texts had to be translated into a language that did not have any means to do so.

And the Philosopher coped with the task. Of course, one should not imagine that he worked alone. Konstantin again called on his brother for help, and other employees were also involved. It was a kind of scientific institute. The first alphabet - the Glagolitic alphabet - was compiled on the basis of Greek cryptography. The letters correspond to the letters of the Greek alphabet, but look different - so much so that the Glagolitic alphabet was often confused with eastern languages. In addition, for sounds specific to the Slavic dialect, Hebrew letters were taken (for example, “sh”).

Then they translated the Gospel, checked expressions and terms, and translated liturgical books. The volume of translations carried out by the holy brothers and their direct disciples was very significant - by the time of the baptism of Rus', a whole library of Slavic books already existed.

The price of success

However, the activities of educators could not be limited only to scientific and translation research. It was necessary to teach the Slavs new letters, a new book language, a new worship. The transition to a new liturgical language was especially painful. It is not surprising that the Moravian clergy, who had previously followed German practice, reacted with hostility to the new trends. Even dogmatic arguments were put forward against the Slavic translation of services, the so-called trilingual heresy, as if one can only speak to God in “sacred” languages: Greek, Hebrew and Latin.

Dogmatics intertwined with politics, canon law with diplomacy and power ambitions - and Cyril and Methodius found themselves in the center of this tangle. The territory of Moravia was under the jurisdiction of the pope, and although the Western Church was not yet separated from the Eastern, the initiative of the Byzantine emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople (namely, this was the status of the mission) was still viewed with suspicion. The German clergy, closely associated with the secular authorities of Bavaria, saw in the brothers’ undertakings the implementation of Slavic separatism. And indeed, the Slavic princes, in addition to spiritual interests, also pursued state interests - their liturgical language and church independence would have significantly strengthened their position. Finally, the pope was in tense relations with Bavaria, and support for the revitalization of church life in Moravia against the “trilinguals” fit well into the general direction of his policy.

Political controversies cost the missionaries dearly. Due to the constant intrigues of the German clergy, Constantine and Methodius twice had to justify themselves to the Roman high priest. In 869, unable to withstand the overstrain, St. Cyril died (he was only 42 years old), and his work was continued by Methodius, who was ordained to the rank of bishop in Rome soon after. Methodius died in 885, having survived exile, insults and imprisonment that lasted several years.

The most valuable gift

Methodius was succeeded by Gorazd, and already under him the work of the holy brothers in Moravia practically died out: liturgical translations were prohibited, followers were killed or sold into slavery; many fled to neighboring countries themselves. But this was not the end. This was only the beginning of Slavic culture, and therefore Russian culture too. The center of Slavic book literature moved to Bulgaria, then to Russia. Books began to use the Cyrillic alphabet, named after the creator of the first alphabet. Writing grew and became stronger. And today, proposals to abolish Slavic letters and switch to Latin ones, which were actively promoted by People’s Commissar Lunacharsky in the 1920s, sound, thank God, unrealistic.

So the next time, dotting the “e” or agonizing over the Russification of a new version of Photoshop, think about what wealth we have.

Artist Jan Matejko

Very few nations have the honor of having their own alphabet. This was understood already in the distant ninth century.

“God has created even now in our years - having declared the letters for your language - something that was not given to anyone after the first times, so that you too would be numbered among the great nations who glorify God in their own language... Accept the gift, most valuable and greater than any silver, and gold, and precious stones, and all transitory wealth,” wrote Emperor Michael to Prince Rostislav.

And after this we are trying to separate Russian culture from Orthodox culture? Russian letters were invented by Orthodox monks for church books; at the very basis of Slavic book literature lies not just influence and borrowing, but a “transplantation” of Byzantine church book literature. The book language, cultural context, terminology of high thought were created directly together with the library of books by the Slavic apostles Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Cyril (in the world Constantine) (c.827-869)

Methodius (815-885) Slavic enlighteners

The names of the two enlightenment brothers are associated with the most important event in the history of Slavic culture - the invention of the alphabet, which gave rise to Slavic writing.

Both brothers came from the family of a Greek military leader and were born in the city of Thessaloniki (modern Thessaloniki in Greece). The elder brother, Methodius, entered military service in his youth. For ten years he was the governor of one of the Slavic regions of Byzantium, and then left his post and retired to a monastery. In the late 860s he became abbot of the Greek monastery of Polychron on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor.

Unlike his brother, from childhood Cyril was distinguished by his thirst for knowledge and, as a boy, was sent to Constantinople to the court of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. There he received an excellent education, studying not only Slavic, but also Greek, Latin, Hebrew and even Arabic. He subsequently refused public service and was tonsured a monk.

For several years, Cyril worked as a librarian to Patriarch Photius, and then was appointed as a teacher at the court school. Already at this time, his reputation as a talented writer was established. On behalf of the patriarch, he wrote polemical speeches and participated in religious debates.

Having learned that his brother had become abbot, Cyril left Constantinople and went to the Polychron monastery. Cyril and Methodius spent several years there, after which they made their first trip to the Slavs, during which they realized that in order to spread Christianity it was necessary to create a Slavic alphabet. The brothers returned to the monastery, where they began this work. It is known that the preparation for translating the sacred books into the Slavic language alone took them more than three years.

In 863, when the Byzantine emperor, at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav, sent the brothers to Moravia, they had just begun translating the main liturgical books. Naturally, such a grandiose work would have dragged on for many years if a circle of translators had not formed around Cyril and Methodius.

In the summer of 863, Cyril and Methodius arrived in Moravia, already carrying the first Slavic texts. However, their activities immediately aroused the discontent of the Bavarian Catholic clergy, who did not want to cede their influence on Moravia to anyone.

In addition, the appearance of Slavic translations of the Bible contradicted the regulations of the Catholic Church, according to which church services should be held in Latin, and the text of the Holy Scriptures should not be translated into any languages other than Latin.

Therefore, in 866, Cyril and Methodius had to go to Rome at the call of Pope Nicholas I. To earn his blessing, the brothers brought to Rome the relics of St. Clement, which they discovered during their first trip to the Slavs. However, while they were getting to Rome, Pope Nicholas I died, so the brothers were taken in by his successor, Adrian II. He appreciated the benefits of the enterprise they had conceived and not only allowed them to worship, but also tried to get them ordained to church positions. Negotiations about this dragged on for a long time. At this time, Cyril unexpectedly dies, and only Methodius, on the instructions of the Pope, was consecrated to the rank of Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia.

With the permission of Adrian II, he returned to Moravia, but was never able to begin his activities, because the Salzburg Archbishop Adalvin, taking advantage of the unexpected death of Pope Adrian, summoned Methodius to his place, ostensibly for an introduction, and then arrested him and put him in prison. There Methodius spent three years and only at the insistence of the new Pope, John VIII, was released. True, he was again forbidden to conduct services in the Slavic language.

Returning to Pannonia, Methodius violated this regulation and settled in Moravia, where he translated holy books and continued to perform divine services. Over the course of six years, the group of students he created did a tremendous amount of work: they not only completed the translation into Slavic of all the books of the Holy Scriptures, but also translated the most important documents that made up the collection Nomokannon. It was a collection of decrees that determined the norms for the performance of worship and all church life.

Methodius' activities gave rise to new denunciations, and he was again summoned to Rome. However, Pope John VIII realized that nothing could prevent the spread of the Slavic alphabet, and again allowed Slavic worship. True, at the same time he excommunicated Methodius from the Catholic Church.

Methodius returned back to Moravia, where he continued his activities. Only in 883 did he go to Byzantium again, and upon his return he continued his work, but soon died, leaving as his successor a student named Gorazd.

To this day, scientists continue to debate about what kind of alphabet Kirill created - Cyrillic or Glagolitic. The difference between them is that the Glagolitic alphabet is more archaic in its lettering, and the Cyrillic alphabet turned out to be more convenient for conveying the sound features of the Slavic language. It is known that in the 9th century both alphabets were in use, and only at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries. Glagolitic alphabet has practically fallen out of use.

After the death of Cyril, the alphabet he invented received its current name. Over time, the Cyrillic alphabet became the basis of all Slavic alphabets, including Russian.