Slavic alphabet: history of origin. Cyril and Methodius: why is the alphabet named after the youngest of the brothers? Who is considered the founders of the Slavic alphabet

The heirs of Charlemagne divided Europe, the Muslim states crowded out Byzantium, and in Russia they still prayed to Perun, when the founders of our culture, Cyril and Methodius, were working on the creation of Slavic writing. Philologists and linguists are still carefully studying the biographies of the Enlightenment brothers and all possible evidence - how else to preserve such a significant legacy? Nevertheless, if we discard ideology and fiction, we know catastrophically little about the lives of perhaps the most significant people in Russian history ...

Biography of the Enlightenment Brothers

Cyril (in the world Constantine) and Methodius (presumably Michael) were born in the 9th century in the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki - or Thessaloniki. There were seven sons in the family, with Methodius being the eldest and Cyril the youngest. Byzantium at that time was a multinational empire, so the Greeks and Bulgarians argue about which of the peoples the brothers come from. However, the number of people living in Byzantium played a positive role: in addition to Greek, Cyril and Methodius were fluent in the Slavic language.

Methodius followed in the footsteps of his father, an officer, began to build a military career and even received the title of commander in chief in one of the Byzantine provinces, but then took the monastic vows. The younger one was fascinated by science, having received the nickname Philosopher for his sharp mind and extraordinary thoughts. Excellent oratorical skills helped the young man to take an important post. Since Christianity played a serious political role in those days, diplomats in negotiations with non-Christians were always accompanied by a missionary, and that was our Philosopher. His bright and imaginative answers, if not to convince opponents, then at least aroused admiration.

In the 50s of the IX century, both brothers - a successful polemicist and the head of the province - retire from the world and lead an ascetic life. Cyril is soon sent on a missionary mission to the Khazar court. It was beneficial for Byzantium to cooperate with this medieval state, so it became necessary to paint colorfully the advantages of Christianity. After a successful trip, a group of students joined the enlightener, with whom he returned to the monastery. In the future, the brothers exercised their minds in prayers and translations of liturgical texts into Slavic languages.

Creating a new alphabet

Meanwhile, the Christian church was already moving towards a split. Patriarch Photius defended his religious and political convictions too zealously, which is why he constantly quarreled with the Roman throne. The princes of the Slavic lands watched what was happening from afar, periodically giving preference either to bishops from Rome or from Constantinople, depending on the benefits pursued. So, Prince Rostislav from Great Moravia (a Slavic state in the region of the Middle Danube) asked Slavic preachers to come to him. The choice fell on Cyril and Methodius, since the brothers, with the help of their students, managed to translate the main liturgical texts from Greek into Slavonic. Their mission in Moravia, and then in Bulgaria, ends with a grand success: in the process of teaching the subjects of the prince to read, write and worship, a new alphabet was created, called "Cyrillic" - in honor of his younger brother.

Mission Success

It became a kind of compromise: the Moravian nobility wanted to conduct worship in the local language, while the Greek clergy insisted on monopolizing the "sacred" language. Prior to this, the Slavs used the Glagolitic alphabet with letter styles that are difficult for a modern person. The inhabitants of Moravia did not have their own alphabet at all, and the arrival of the learned brothers was a gift from above for them. Bulgaria after the activities of the Moravian mission was baptized. Of course, some representatives of the clergy took the new liturgical language with hostility. So, Pope Nicholas I immediately accused the brothers of heresy and demanded to come to Rome, but died suddenly during their journey. The successor Andrian II turned out to be more loyal and welcomed Cyril and Methodius cordially, allowing them to serve in the new language in several churches in Rome. The disciples of the brothers-enlighteners became the priests in these temples.

Gratitude of descendants

Cyril fell ill during a trip to Rome and, upon arrival at home, found himself on his deathbed. He died on February 14, 869. By the way, there is a myth that the Catholic Church celebrates Valentine's Day on February 14 - this is not true. Western Christianity reveres the enlighteners as a symbol of the cultural self-determination of the Slavic peoples, and February 14 is clearly stated in the liturgical calendar: the feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, according to the date of death of the youngest of the brothers. Methodius, until his death, continued to engage in translations and teaching, rising to the rank of archbishop. By joint work, the brothers translated the Bible, collections of teachings for church holidays, and even compiled the “Law Judgment for People” - the first legal document in the Slavic language. Cyril and Methodius were canonized for their activities. The Orthodox Church celebrates their memory according to the tradition established in Bulgaria - on May 24th. On the same date, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture was established, which is celebrated in Russia, Bulgaria, Transnistria and Macedonia.

Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village

On a live map of the territory of the ethnographic park-museum "ETNOMIR", Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are the closest neighbors, inextricably linked by a common culture, traditions, and long-standing historical relations. At the moment, there are museums, ethnic hotels, the Korchma restaurant, the Khlebnaya Izba bakery, and a soap-making workshop on the territory. Guided tours, educational programs, master classes.

The emergence of Slavic writing originates in IXcentury ad. In the 50s or early 60s of this century, the Moravian prince Rostislav decided that an alphabet specially developed for the Slavs would contribute to a more convenient conduct of Christian ceremonies. In Moravia (eastern part of the Czech Republic), Christianity was new at that time, and therefore it had to be spread quickly, until the small centers of the Christian faith went out under the onslaught of paganism.
With this thought, the prince Rostislav asked the emperor Byzantium of Michael III equip someone to compile such an alphabet, and then translate some church books into this new language.
Michael III agreed. If the Slavs had their own written language, the spread of Christianity among the Slavic peoples would have happened faster. Thus, not only Moravia would join the Christian camp, but also the rest of the Slavs (at that time the languages ​​of the Slavs were still quite similar). At the same time, the Slavs would have adopted the eastern, Orthodox form of this religion, which would only strengthen the position of Byzantium, which was the center of Eastern Christianity until the 15th century. Therefore, he agreed to fulfill the request of Rostislav.
The emperor received the task of compiling such writing to two monks from Greece - brothers Cyril and Methodius. AT 863 brothers formed the Slavic alphabet based on the Greek alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet, familiar to us and still used today, appeared a little later. The first version of the Old Slavonic language was called Glagolitic. It differed from the Cyrillic alphabet in writing letters (often they were very different from their Greek counterparts).
The Greeks tried to instill the Glagolitic alphabet into the Moravian Slavs in their missions, but they did not succeed there. It happened because of the Catholic protest. It is known that Catholicism strictly obliges parishioners to conduct services in Latin. Therefore, in Catholic Germany, which was close to Moravia, the practice of worship in the local language was immediately condemned. The King of Germany invaded Moravia and began radically inculcating Catholic rites. The Catholic tradition is still strong in the Czech Republic thanks to this pivotal event.
But the case of Cyril and Methodius did not perish. Immediately after the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria decided to found the world's first Slavic book school - Book school in Preslav. This institution was engaged in translating Christian letters from Greek into Slavonic.
Being a Christian, Boris wished, by all means, to spread his faith to all pagan Bulgaria, in order to find an ally in the person of Byzantium. He managed to do it soon. Bulgaria became the center of Slavic writing, from here the Old Slavonic language spread to Russia, to Serbia, and then to many other Slavic countries. In, for example, Poland and the Czech Republic, the Latin alphabet is used, which has become entrenched in everyday life thanks to the deep Catholic tradition of these countries.
Church Slavonic(the Russian version of the Cyrillic alphabet, which did not change at all for a long time) was fully used in Russia until the 18th century, when Peter I introduced a new standardized script to replace the outdated church script. He extracted several letters from the alphabet, redrawn the spelling and introduced many other rules. Peter the Great actually founded the Russian language, which we still use in a very shabby form of time. Church Slavonic, however, is still used in churches today. You can watch and listen to how people used to talk in Ancient Russia in any church during the service.
Cyril and Methodius for their mission were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint. They are still one of the most popular saints in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, even today's youth knows these historical figures.

On May 24, the 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 with great honor and began to teach Divine Liturgy 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 holy baptism from him. 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

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Problem: Most students do not know the history of the creation of the Slavic alphabet.

Purpose: to increase the number of students who know about the origin of the Slavic alphabet.

collect material on the origin of the Slavic alphabet;

prepare a presentation on the origin of the Slavic alphabet;

INTRODUCTION

Language and writing are the most important factors in the formation of the culture of any people. When people begin to forget about the origins of their native language, this is the heaviest blow to their native culture.

Throughout most of their lives, people have used the alphabet to read and create various text documents. If most of the older population can still name the creators of the Slavic alphabet, then the younger generation (students), unfortunately, rarely name the authors. And only a few can tell about who these people were, where and why they became the creators of the Slavic alphabet. I am sure that it is necessary to know the past, because this knowledge helps to understand the present. From time immemorial, messages have been sent to us. It is extremely important to hear the voice of the ancestors, to find answers to eternal questions, to feel like a part of the historical flow. All this determinesrelevancethis study, since the language is an indicator of the spiritual culture of the people.

Hypothesis: a large number of students do not know the history of the creation of the Slavic alphabet.

Research methods: study of literature on the topic, observation, comparison, generalization.

Theoretical and practicalsignificancework is determined by the possibility of using the results of the study in the process of studying the Russian language in the classroom, as well as when conducting further research in this direction.

5. bulk

5.1. The founders of the Slavic alphabet: Cyril and Methodius.

The brothers Constantine (that was the name of St. Cyril before he became a monk) and Methodius were born in the Macedonian region of Byzantium, namely in the main city of the region - Thessaloniki. The father of the future compilers of the Slavic alphabet was from the upper stratum of the Byzantine people.

Constantine was the youngest of the seven brothers, and Methodius was the oldest brother. The year of birth of each of the brothers is not exactly known. It is assumed that the year of birth of Methodius refers to the second decade of the 9th century. Konstantin learned to read very early and surprised everyone with his ability to learn other languages. He received a good education at the court of the emperor in Constantinople under the guidance of the best Byzantine mentors, such as the future Patriarch of Constantinople Photius and Leo the Grammar, a connoisseur of ancient culture, the creator of a unique bibliographic code, mathematician, astronomer and mechanic.

The ancient heritage and all modern secular science were considered by the teachers of Constantine to be a necessary preliminary stage to the comprehension of the highest science - Theology. This also corresponded to the ancient church Christian scientific tradition.

After completing all the sciences at the Magnavra High School of Constantinople, Constantine took the chair of philosophy, where he had previously studied himself, also acting as the patriarch's librarian.

Returning to Byzantium, Cyril went to seek peace. In a monastery on the coast of the Sea of ​​Marmara, Mount Olympus, after many years of separation, the brothers met again to open a new page in history.

5.2. The history of the emergence of the Slavic alphabet.

In 863, ambassadors from Moravia arrived in Constantinople. Moravia was one of the West Slavic states of the 9th-10th centuries, which was located on the territory of the present Czech Republic. The capital of Moravia was the city of Velehrad, scientists have not yet established its exact location. The ambassadors asked to send preachers to their country to tell the population about Christianity. The emperor decided to send Cyril and Methodius to Moravia. Cyril, before setting off, asked if the Moravians had an alphabet for their language. The answer to the question was negative. The Moravians did not have an alphabet. Then the brothers began to work. At their disposal were not years, but months. In a short time, an alphabet was created for the Moravian language. It was named after one of its creators "Cyrillic".

There are various assumptions about the origin of the Cyrillic alphabet. Some scholars believe that in the 9th century, the Slavs had two writing systems almost simultaneously: one was called the Glagolitic alphabet, and the other, the Cyrillic alphabet. Which alphabet was invented by Constantine? Perhaps the first teachers of the Slavs created both of these writing systems, but later the Cyrillic alphabet became the most widespread, which became the basis of the modern Russian alphabet. These writing systems existed in parallel and at the same time differed sharply in the shape of the letters.

"Cyrillic" was compiled according to a fairly simple principle. First, all Greek letters were included in it, which among the Slavs and Greeks denoted the same sounds, then new signs were added - for sounds that had no analogues in the Greek language. Each letter had its own name: “az”, “beeches”, “lead”, “verb”, “good” and so on. In addition, numbers could also be denoted by letters: the letter “az” denoted 1, “lead” -2, “verb” - 3. In total, there were 43 letters in the “Cyrillic alphabet”.

With the help of the Slavic alphabet, Cyril and Methodius very quickly translated the main liturgical books from the Greek alphabet into Slavonic. The first words written using the Slavic alphabet were the opening lines from the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The successful mission of Cyril and Methodius caused sharp discontent among the Byzantine clergy, who tried to discredit the Slavic enlighteners. They were even accused of heresy. To defend themselves, the brothers went to Rome and were successful: they were allowed to continue the work they had begun.

A long and long journey to Rome, a tense struggle with the enemies of Slavic writing undermined Cyril's health. He became seriously ill. Dying, he took the word from Methodius to continue the enlightenment of the Slavs.

Endless hardships fell upon Methodius, he was persecuted, put on trial, imprisoned, but neither physical suffering nor moral humiliation broke his will, did not change his goal - serving the cause of Slavic enlightenment. Shortly after the death of Methodius, Pope Stephen 5 banned Slavic worship in Moravia under pain of excommunication. The closest associates of Cyril and Methodius were arrested and expelled after torture. Three of them - Clement, Naum and Angelary - found a favorable reception in Bulgaria. Here they still translated from the Greek alphabet into the Slavic alphabet, compiled various collections, and instilled literacy in the population.

It was not possible to destroy the work of the Orthodox enlighteners Cyril and Methodius. Their alphabet began its march through the countries. The introduction of the Slavic alphabet into worship was of particular importance, because at that time the liturgical language was at the same time the language of literature. With the Baptism of Russia, books in the Slavic language began to spread very quickly in Kievan Rus.

5.3. Reforms of the Slavic alphabet

The Cyrillic alphabet existed in the Russian language without change almost until Peter I, during which changes were made to the outline of some letters. He removed the obsolete letters: "Ѫ, ѫ" (yus big), "Ѧ ѧ" (yus small), "Ωω" (omega) and "uk". They existed in the alphabet only by tradition, but, as it turned out, it was perfectly possible to do without them. Peter I deleted them from the civil alphabet - that is, from a set of letters intended for secular printing. In 1918, several more obsolete letters “left” the Russian alphabet: “Ѣ, ѣ” (yat), “Ѳ, ѳ” (fita), “V, ѵ” (Izhitsa), “Ъ, ъ” (er) and "b, b" (er).

For a thousand years, many letters have disappeared from our alphabet, and only two have appeared: “y” and “ё”. They were invented in the 18th century by the Russian writer and historian N.M. Karamzin.

Comparative analysis of the modern Russian alphabet and the Cyrillic alphabet of the pre-Petrine era

The modern Russian alphabet has 33 letters. We compared the Cyrillic alphabet with the modern Russian alphabet and got an interesting picture. For clarity, we have compiled a table.

Table 1

Modern alphabet	Cyrillic letter name	Comment
		preserved
	beeches	preserved
	lead	preserved
	verb	preserved
	good	preserved
	there is	preserved
		added
	live	preserved
	green	lost
	Earth	preserved
	lower (8-decimal)	preserved
		added
	and (decimal)	lost
	what	preserved
	people	preserved
	think	preserved
		preserved
		preserved
	peace	preserved
		preserved
	word	preserved
	firmly	preserved
		preserved
	firth	preserved
		preserved
	omega	lost
		preserved
	worm	preserved
		preserved
		preserved
		preserved
	er	preserved
		preserved
		lost
		added
		preserved
		added
	And iotized	lost
	E iotized	lost
	yus small	lost
	yus big	lost
	yus small iotated	lost
	jus big iotated	lost
		lost
		lost
	fita	lost
	izhitsa	lost

It turned out that during the existence of the Russian alphabet, based on the Cyrillic alphabet, 28 letters were preserved, 4 were added and 14 letters were lost. However, philologists may recognize my conclusions as inaccurate, because the added letters are not reinvented, but only replace sounds or combinations of sounds. For example, the lost letter "E iotized" can be recognized as the prototype of the modern letter "E", and the letter "small yus" - the prototype of the letter "I". But in any case, my research will make someone think and look at the usual letters of the alphabet from a slightly different angle. I, in turn, am sure that each of the Russian letters deserves a separate study.

6. Conclusion

It is difficult even to imagine what a nation without an alphabet would be like. Ignorant, ignorant, and simply - people without memory, without a past. It is with the help of writing that you can transmit information, share experience with descendants.

More than 1000 years ago, the Slavic scribes brothers Cyril and Methodius became the authors of the Slavic alphabet. Nowadays, one tenth of all existing languages ​​(about 70 languages) are written in Cyrillic.

Every spring on May 24, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture is celebrated all over Russia. Every person who does not want to lose his connection with the past and history of his people should know and honor the history of the emergence of the Slavic alphabet.

Bibliographic list

Artemov V. V. Slavic Encyclopedia / V. Artemov. - Moscow: OLMA Media Group, 2011. - 304 p. : ill.

Vereshchagin E. M. Cyril and Methodius book heritage: interlingual, intercultural, intertemporal and interdisciplinary research: with two applications: [dedicated to the 1150th anniversary of the beginning of the book activity of St. Cyril and Methodius] / E. M. Vereshchagin; Ros. acad. Sciences, Institute of the Russian Language.

Days of Slavic Literature and Culture: Materials of the Intern. scientific-practical. conf., May 23, 2008, Vladimir / [editor. : V. V. Gulyaeva (editor-in-chief)]. - Vladimir: VlGU, 2008. - 231 p.

Baiburova, R. How did the writing of the ancient Slavs / R. Baiburova / Science and life. - 2002. - No. 5. - S. 48-55.

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

Brethren 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 Muslim states were strengthening, crowding out Byzantium, and in the young Slavic principalities, the 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 are commented on many times, and pundits argue about the details of the biographies and acceptable interpretations of the information that has come down. And how could it be otherwise when it comes to the creators of the Slavic alphabet? And yet, until now, the images of Cyril and Methodius are lost behind an abundance of ideological constructions and mere inventions. The Khazar dictionary of Milorad Pavic, in which the enlighteners of the Slavs are built into a multifaceted theosophical hoax, is not the worst option.

Cyril, the youngest both in age and in hierarchical ranks, was just a layman until the end of his life and took monastic tonsure with the name Cyril only on his deathbed. While Methodius, the elder brother, held high positions, was the ruler of a separate region of the Byzantine Empire, the abbot of the monastery and ended his life as an archbishop. And yet, traditionally, Cyril takes an honorable first place, and the Cyrillic alphabet is named after him. All his life he had a different name - Konstantin, and another respectful nickname - the Philosopher.

Konstantin was an extremely gifted man. “The speed of his abilities was not inferior to diligence,” the life, compiled shortly after his death, repeatedly emphasizes the depth and breadth of his knowledge. Translating into the language of modern realities, Konstantin the Philosopher was a professor at the capital's Constantinople University, very young and promising. At the age of 24 (!) he received the first important state task - 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 today. But even for it one can find some analogy in the modern world order. And today the superpowers, the newest empires, base their influence not only on military and economic strength. 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. Someone accepts the exported ideas peacefully, somewhere you have to resort to bombing.

For Byzantium, the doctrine was Christianity. The strengthening and spread of Orthodoxy was perceived by the imperial authorities as a paramount state task. Therefore, as the modern researcher of the Cyril and Methodius heritage A.-E. Tahiaos, "a diplomat who negotiated 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 activity from his political one. Just before his death, he symbolically resigned from public service, taking monasticism.

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

His life story tells about his Arab and Khazar mission, tricky questions and witty and profound answers. Muslims asked him about the Trinity, how Christians could worship "many gods" and why, instead of resisting evil, they strengthened the army. The Khazar Jews disputed the Incarnation and accused Christians of non-observance of the Old Testament prescriptions. Konstantin's answers - bright, imaginative and short - if they did not convince all opponents, then, in any case, delivered a polemical victory, leading the listeners into admiration.

"Nobody else"

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

But the worldly bustle receded for a while. Already in 860, the Khazar Khagan decided to arrange an "inter-religious" dispute in which Christians had to defend the truth of their faith in front of Jews and Muslims. According to the expression of the life, the Khazars were ready to accept Christianity if the Byzantine polemists "won the upper hand in disputes with the Jews and Saracens." They again found Constantine, 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 adequately take it upon themselves.” On the journey, Konstantin took his older brother as an assistant.

The negotiations ended on the whole 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 also pay attention to an important passing event. On the way, the Byzantine delegation visited the Crimea, where, near modern Sevastopol (ancient Chersonese), Constantine found the relics of the ancient holy Pope Clement. Subsequently, the brothers will transfer the relics of St. Clement to Rome, which will additionally win over Pope Adrian. It is with Cyril and Methodius that the special veneration of St. Clement among the Slavs begins - let us recall 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

The birth of writing

862 year. We have reached a historic milestone. This year, the Moravian prince Rostislav sent 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 separate regions of the modern Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland, was already Christian. But the German clergy enlightened her, and all divine services, sacred books and theology were Latin, incomprehensible to the Slavs.

And again at the court they remember about Constantine the Philosopher. If not him, then who else would be able to accomplish 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 even the fact of the absence of letters was not the main problem. They did not have abstract concepts and the richness of terminology that usually develops in "book culture".

High Christian theology, Scripture and liturgical texts had to be translated into a language that had no means of doing so.

And the Philosopher coped with the task. Of course, one should not imagine that he worked alone. Konstantin again called for help from his brother, and other employees were also involved. It was a kind of scientific institute. The first alphabet - Glagolitic - 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 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, verified expressions and terms, translated liturgical books. The volume of translations carried out by the holy brothers and their immediate disciples was very significant - by the time of the baptism of Russia, a whole library of Slavic books already existed.

The price of success

However, the activities of the enlighteners could not be limited only to scientific and translational research. It was necessary to teach the Slavs new letters, a new bookish language, a new divine service. The transition to a new liturgical language was especially painful. It is not surprising that the clergy of Moravia, who until then had followed German practice, took the new trends with hostility. Even dogmatic arguments were put forward against the Slavonic transposition of services, the so-called trilingual heresy, as if one could speak with God only in "sacred" languages: Greek, Hebrew and Latin.

Dogma intertwined with politics, canon law with diplomacy and power ambitions - and Cyril and Methodius found themselves at 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 Church, 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 connected with the secular authorities of Bavaria, saw in the undertakings of the brothers the realization of Slavic separatism. Indeed, in addition to spiritual interests, the Slavic princes also pursued state interests - their liturgical language and church independence would significantly strengthen their position. Finally, the pope was in tense relations with Bavaria, and support for the revival of church life in Moravia against the "tri-pagans" fit perfectly into the general direction of his policy.

Political controversy cost the missionaries dearly. Because of the constant intrigues of the German clergy, Constantine and Methodius twice had to justify themselves before the Roman high priest. In 869, unable to withstand the strain, St. Cyril died (he was only 42 years old), and Methodius continued his work, shortly after that he was ordained in Rome to the episcopal rank. Methodius died in 885, having experienced exile, insults and imprisonment that lasted several years.

The most valuable gift

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

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

Artist Jan Matejko

Very few nations have been honored to have their own alphabet. This was understood already in the distant ninth century.

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

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