St.+Cyril++and+St.+Methodius

**St. Cyril and St. Methodius **


As missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodios brought many Slavic countries into the Christian church throughout their lives. Constantine and his brother Methodios were brothers born in the ninth century in the years 825 and 827. As young men, Constantine was ordained a priest and became a librarian, and Methodios served the Byzantine emperor for many years. After they finished their services, they both entered a monastery. Soon, they were summoned by Emperor Michael II to go and be missionaries in Moravia. They reached Moravia in 863 and immediately began to start their work.

At first, the brothers began to preach in the native Moravian vernacular. Then they started a school for young men to train to be priests. They held church services in the Slavic language, and translated the Bible into the the vernacular of the Moravians. Also, they translated the liturgy into what is now called the Cyrillic alphabet. They were later both made bishops by Pope Nicholas I, and then later on, authorized to carry on their work, again by Nicholas. One of their biggest accomplishments was the time when they convinced the King of Bohemia to convert along with his family, which caused many of the Bohemians to follow the example of their king.

Cyril died, but Methodios carried on his work. In 870, he was arrested by a group of Charlemagne's German Bishops. In 873, Methodios was released when a new pope came to power. In the next 12 years, Methodios was able to strengthen the Byzantine church in many Slavic countries. After Methodios died in 885, his disciples were persecuted and jailed. After they were released, they went off and started Orthodox churches in Bulgaria and Serbia. As missionaries, Cyril and Methodios had a huge impact on the spread of Orthodoxy in Slavic territories.

Works Cited
 * Bourgoin, Susan M. “Saints Cyril and Methodius.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. N. pag. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.
 * “Cyril and Methodios, Sts.” The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. William Chester Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 16-17. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Mar. 2010.
 * Zograf, Zahari. “File:Cyril-methodius-small.jpg.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 1848. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. .

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