At the end of 862, the prince of Great Moravia (the state of the Western Slavs) Rostislav turned to the Byzantine emperor Michael with a request to send preachers to Moravia who could spread Christianity in the Slavic language (sermons in those parts were read in Latin, unfamiliar and incomprehensible to the people).
863 is considered the year of birth Slavic alphabet.
The creators of the Slavic alphabet were the brothers Cyril and Methodius.
Emperor Michael sent the Greeks to Moravia - the scientist Constantine the Philosopher (the name Cyril Constantine received when he became a monk in 869, and with this name he went down in history) and his older brother Methodius.
The choice was not random. The brothers Constantine and Methodius were born in Thessalonica (in Greek, Thessaloniki) in the family of a military commander, received a good education. Cyril studied in Constantinople at the court of the Byzantine emperor Michael III, knew Greek, Slavic, Latin, Hebrew well, Arabic, taught philosophy, for which he received the nickname Philosopher. Methodius was in military service, then for several years he ruled one of the regions inhabited by the Slavs; subsequently retired to a monastery.
In 860, the brothers had already made a trip to the Khazars for missionary and diplomatic purposes.
In order to be able to preach Christianity in the Slavic language, it was necessary to make a translation of the Holy Scripture into the Slavic language; however, the alphabet capable of conveying Slavic speech did not exist at that moment.
Constantine set about creating the Slavic alphabet. Methodius, who also knew the Slavic language well, helped him in his work, since a lot of Slavs lived in Thessalonica (the city was considered half-Greek, half-Slavic). In 863, the Slavic alphabet was created (the Slavic alphabet existed in two versions: the Glagolitic alphabet - from the verb - “speech” and the Cyrillic alphabet; scientists still do not have a consensus which of these two options was created by Cyril). With the help of Methodius, a number of liturgical books were translated from Greek into Slavonic. The Slavs got the opportunity to read and write in their own language. The Slavs had not only their own, Slavic, alphabet, but also the first Slavic literary language, many words of which still live in Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian and other Slavic languages.
After the death of the brothers, their activities were continued by their students, who were expelled from Moravia in 886,
in the South Slavic countries. (In the West, the Slavic alphabet and Slavic literacy did not survive; Western Slavs - Poles, Czechs ... - still use the Latin alphabet). The Slavic literacy was firmly established in Bulgaria, from where it spread to the countries of the southern and Eastern Slavs(IX century). Writing came to Russia in the 10th century (988 - the baptism of Russia).
The creation of the Slavic alphabet was and still is of great importance for the development Slavic writing, Slavic peoples, Slavic culture.
The Bulgarian Church established the day of memory of Cyril and Methodius - May 11, according to the old style (May 24, according to the new style). Bulgaria also established the Order of Cyril and Methodius.
May 24 in many Slavic countries, including Russia, is a holiday of Slavic writing and culture.
“Take care of our language, our beautiful Russian language, this treasure, this property handed over to us by our predecessors!.. Treat this powerful tool with respect; in the hands of the skilful, it is able to perform miracles"
AND ABOUT. Turgenev
Slavic writing and culture are among the most ancient in Europe. The Slavs owe the appearance of writing to the holy apostles Cyril and Methodius. History has placed their names among the greatest sons of mankind. It is to them that the Slavs owe the appearance of writing.
In 863, by order of Emperor Michael, the brothers were instructed to go to Slavic Moravia to teach the locals how to worship in the Slavic language.
Cyril and Methodius. Kyrill und Method auf einer russischen Ikone des 18./19. Jh.
Methodius (c. 815 or 820 - 885) and Cyril (c. 826 or 827 - 869) were born and raised in Macedonia. The father of the brothers, according to legend, was a Bulgarian, and his mother was a Greek. Perhaps this to some extent explains the interest and that selfless devotion to the cause of Slavic enlightenment, which are so characteristic of both brothers.
Methodius at first was in military service, but then retired to a monastery.
Konstantin (in monasticism Cyril) from childhood showed extraordinary mental talents. Already at school, he achieved considerable success, in particular, in the study of theology. The abilities of Constantine became known in the capital of the empire, and Emperor Michael III invited him as a companion to his son. Studying at the court of the emperor, under the guidance of experienced teachers and mentors, he quickly mastered all the sciences, as well as many languages.
In Byzantium, Constantine had not only the best teachers empire, but also the book treasures of the patriarchal library. He decided to become a patriarchal librarian. Then he taught at the same Constantinople high school, which he himself graduated from and where he received the respectful name of the Philosopher, which remained behind him in history. He actively participated in various religious disputes with Muslims, Jews, Persians. Strengthened his oratorical skills. In a dispute, he defeated the patriarch to defend the icons. In Syria he defended Christianity, the idea of a single God. The brothers carried out a mission-journey to the Khazars, visited Chersonese, where Kirill found the Gospel and the Psalter in Russian writing.
Before starting his missionary work, Cyril developed and streamlined the Slavic alphabet. It has 43 letters. Most of the letters were taken from the Greek alphabet, because they are similar to them. To designate sounds characteristic only of the Slavic language, 19 signs were invented. However, there was one significant flaw in it: it contained six Greek letters, which were superfluous in the transmission of the Slavic language.
Josef Mathauser
In Moravia, Cyril and Methodius began active work. The brothers and their students opened schools in which they began to teach young people Slavic writing. Thanks to the efforts of the brothers in Moravia, the written translation of the entire annual cycle of worship, as well as the books necessary for it, was completed. Also during this time, several churches were built, in which worship was conducted in the Slavic language.
Slavs in their Original Homeland: Between the Turanian Whip and the sword of the Goths.1912.Galerie hlavního města PrahyMuseum template link
The secret of the success of the mission of Cyril and Methodius was that the service was held in the native language of the people. Cyril and Methodius translated texts from many Greek books, thereby laying the foundation for the formation of the Old Slavonic book business. The educational work of the Slavs contributed to the spread of literacy among these peoples. The brothers overcame a difficult path of struggle. Cyril's whole life was filled with frequent hard trips. Deprivation, hard work affected his health. Cyril's health worsened. He died before reaching the age of 42.
Methodius continues his work. And now not only in Moravia, but also in neighboring Czech Republic and Poland. Methodius, exhausted by the continuous struggle with the German feudal lords and churchmen in 885, dies.
The brothers left behind more than two hundred students, who contributed to the fact that the Cyrillic alphabet spread in the Balkans, crossed the Danube and reached the borders Ancient Russia. Cyril and Methodius are canonized by the church. The church equated their work with the apostolic feat. The day of their canonization - May 24, is proclaimed the Day of Slavic writing and culture in our today's calendars. This is one of the most important holidays of the fraternal Slavic peoples, in which the past and the present, spirituality and culture are organically combined.
The memory of Cyril and Methodius is immortalized in monuments in all corners of the Slavic land. The Slavic alphabet serves 10% of the world's population. She wrote "The Tale of Past Years", "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", other works Kievan Rus. The names of Cyril and Methodius are forever recorded in the history of the Slavic peoples.
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 military career and even was awarded 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 oratory skills helped young man occupy an important post. Since Christianity in those days played a serious political role, diplomats in negotiations with non-Christians were always accompanied by a missionary - and this 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 common culture, traditions, 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. There are excursions, educational programs, master classes.
The alphabet of the Old Slavonic alphabet, like any other alphabet, was a system of certain signs, to which a certain sound was assigned. The Slavic alphabet was formed on the territory of the peoples of Ancient Russia many centuries ago.
Events of the historical past
The year 862 went down in history as the year when the first official steps were taken in Russia to adopt Christianity. Prince Vsevolod sent ambassadors to the Byzantine emperor Michael, who were supposed to convey his request that the emperor send preachers of the Christian faith to Great Moravia. The need for preachers arose due to the fact that people themselves could not penetrate the essence of Christian teaching, because the Holy Scriptures were only in Latin.
In response to this request, two brothers were sent to the Russian lands: Cyril and Methodius. The first of them received the name Cyril a little later, when he took monastic vows. This choice has been carefully considered. The brothers were born in Thessalonica in the family of a military leader. The Greek version is Thessaloniki. The level of education for that time they had a very high. Konstantin (Cyril) was trained and brought up at the court of Emperor Michael the Third. He could speak several languages:
- Greek
- Arabic,
- Slavic
- Jewish.
For his ability to initiate others into the secrets of philosophy, he received the nickname Constantine the Philosopher.
Methodius began his activity with military service, tried himself as the ruler of one of the regions, which was inhabited by the Slavs. In 860, they made a trip to the Khazars, their goal was to spread the Christian faith and reach some agreements with these people.
History of written characters
Konstantin had to create written signs with the active help of his brother. After all, Holy Scripture was only in Latin. To convey this knowledge to a large number of people, the written version of the Holy Books in the language of the Slavs was simply necessary. As a result of their painstaking work, the Slavic alphabet appeared in 863.
Two variants of the alphabet: Glagolitic and Cyrillic are ambiguous. Researchers argue about which of these two options belongs directly to Cyril, and which one appeared later.
After the creation of the written system, the brothers were engaged in translating the Bible into the language of the Slavs. The meaning of this alphabet is enormous. The people could not only speak their own language. But also to write, and to form the literary basis of the language. Some of the words of that time have come down to our time and function in Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian languages.
Word symbols
The letters of the ancient alphabet had names that coincided with the words. The very word "alphabet" comes from the first letters of the alphabet: "az" and "beeches". They were the modern letters "A" and "B".
The first written symbols in the Slavic lands were scratched on the walls of the churches of Pereslavl in the form of pictures. It was in the 9th century. In the 11th century, this alphabet appeared in Kyiv, in St. Sophia Cathedral, where signs were interpreted, written translations were made.
A new stage in the formation of the alphabet is associated with the advent of printing. 1574 brought the first alphabet to the Russian lands, which was printed. It was called "Old Slavonic alphabet". The name of the person who released it entered the centuries - Ivan Fedorov.
The connection between the emergence of writing and the spread of Christianity
The Old Slavonic alphabet was more than a simple set of characters. Her presence made it possible a large number people to get acquainted with the Christian faith, to penetrate into its essence, to give it their heart. All scholars agree that without the appearance of writing, Christianity in the Russian lands would not have appeared so quickly. Between the creation of letters and the adoption of Christianity - 125 years, during which there was a huge leap in the self-consciousness of the people. From dense beliefs and customs, people came to faith in the One God. Exactly Holy books, which spread throughout the territory of Russia, and the ability to read them, became the basis for the spread of Christian knowledge.
863 is the year of the creation of the alphabet, 988 is the date of the adoption of Christianity in Russia. This year, Prince Vladimir announced that a new faith was being introduced in the principality and a struggle began against all manifestations of polytheism.
The mystery of written symbols
Some scientists believe that the symbols of the Slavic alphabet are secret signs in which religious and philosophical knowledge is encrypted. Together they represent a complex system based on clear logic and mathematical relationships. There is an opinion that all the letters in this alphabet are an integral, inseparable system, which is why the alphabet was created as a system, and not as separate elements and signs.
The first such signs were something between numbers and letters. The Old Slavonic alphabet was based on the Greek uncial writing system. The Slavic Cyrillic alphabet consisted of 43 letters. The brothers took 24 letters from the Greek unique, and the remaining 19 were invented by themselves. The need to invent new sounds arose due to the fact that the Slavic language contained sounds that were not characteristic of Greek pronunciation. Accordingly, there were no such letters. Constantine either took these symbols from other systems or invented them himself.
"higher" and "lower" part
The whole system can be divided into two distinct parts. Conventionally, they received the names "higher" and "lower". The first part includes letters from "a" to "f" ("az" - "fet"). Each letter is a symbol-word. Such a name was completely focused on people, because these words were clear to everyone. The lower part went from "sha" to the letter "Izhitsa". These symbols were left without digital correspondence, were filled with negative connotations. “In order to penetrate the essence of the cryptography of these symbols, they need to be carefully studied, analyzed all the nuances. After all, in each of them lives the meaning laid down by the creator.
Researchers also find the meaning of the triad in these symbols. A person, comprehending this knowledge, must achieve more high level spiritual perfection. Thus, the alphabet is the creation of Cyril and Methodius, leading to the self-improvement of people.
Kostin Pavel 3 class
May 24 is the day of Slavic culture and writing. 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
Celebrated Slavic writing and culture. The year of birth (creation) of the Slavic
brothers Cyril (before becoming a monk Constantine) and Methodius.
Cyril (years of life - about 827-869) and his older brother Methodius (about 825-885)
were born in the Greek city of Thessalonica (now Thessaloniki). Father named Leo
famous Greek official. About the mother in one of the later sources it is said,
that she was originally a Slav named Maria. And although, presumably, the family spoke
Greek, Slavic words, the music of the language, the brothers listened to in the house from childhood. Yes and no
only in the house. There were many Slavic merchants in the shopping districts of Thessalonica. Many
Slavs settled in Greece several centuries before the birth of the brothers. Not without reason for 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 it better than you. Go
together with Abbot Methodius, since you are Thessalonians, and the Thessalonians all speak
pure Slavic" (beginning of 863).
Having been educated in hometown, Methodius served ten years as a military leader in
one of the Slavic provinces of Byzantium. Constantine studied in the capital of the empire
Constantinople and showed a brilliant philological talent. He has mastered
several languages, including Latin, Syriac and Hebrew. When Constantine
graduated from college, he was offered a very honorary position as a librarian at
patriarchal bookstore. At the same time he became the secretary of the patriarch. working
in the library (the best library in the world), he constantly replenished his knowledge by comparing
one language with another, Yuri Loshchits wrote in one of the magazines in the article "Prophetic Rumor".
Only having an ear for music, developing it, you can hear in an unfamiliar
Greek of someone else's speech separate sounds and sound combinations. Konstantin was not shy
is called looking into the mouth of the speaker in order to figure out exactly what position
lips, teeth and tongue of the interlocutor, a sound escapes from his mouth, outlandish for
Greek hearing. Such outlandish unusual seemed to the Greeks the sounds "z", "zh","sh",
"u" and others. We, the Russian people, and those for whom the Russian language is native, it seems funny,
when these and other sounds are hardly pronounced by foreigners. Sounds in Slavic speech
turned out to be much more than in Greek (later the brothers had to
create 14 more letters than in the Greek alphabet). Cyril was able to hear
sounds of Slavic speech, isolate them from a smooth, coherent flow and create them for these
sounds signs-letters.
When we talk about the creation of the Slavic alphabet by the brothers Cyril and Metholius, then
name the youngest first. So it was during the life of both. Methodius himself said:
"He served, like a slave, his younger brother, obeying him." The younger brother was brilliant
a philologist, as we would say now, a brilliant polyglot. He had many times
engage in scientific disputes, and not only scientific ones. At the new business of creating writing
numerous Slavic people found many enemies (in Moravia and Pannonia -
on the lands of modern Hungary, the former Yugoslavia, Austria). After the death of the brothers
about 200 of their students were sold into slavery, and their closest and most capable
associates are thrown into prison.
The tragic personal fates of the disciples of Cyril and Methodius did not stop
the spread of Slavic writing from one Slavic people to another. From
Moravia and Pannonia, she moved to Bulgaria, and in the X century, after the adoption
Christianity, and in ancient Russia.
What was the Slavic alphabet? This needs to be told in more detail.
since this writing was used in Russia until the 18th century. Under Peter I and
then a few more times in the 18th century. the alphabetical composition changed, i.e. number of letters and
graphics (writing). The last reform of the Cyrillic alphabet took place in 1917-1918. Total was
12 letters were excluded, and two new ones were introduced - "i" and "ё". Looking at the letter names
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" also occurred - from the first two letters of the Greek
Alpha and Vita languages.
All the Slavs from the Baltic spoke, wrote, created literature in the "Slovenian language"
to the Aegean Sea, from the Alps to the Volga. For six long centuries, until the 15th century,
only three ancient languages (Slavic, Greek, Latin) were accepted in the world
as the main languages of international communication. And now it's a matter of honor for millions of people
carriers Slavic languages- protect, preserve and develop it.
How did distant ancestors learn to read and write?
Education at the 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 scare how
bears", "They teach the alphabet, they shout at the whole hut."
It was not possible to learn the Old Slavonic alphabet a simple matter. No sounds were made, but
the names of the letters are complex in themselves. Having memorized the alphabet, they proceeded to syllables, or
warehouses, first of two letters: "beeches", "az" - the student called the names of the letters, and
then pronounced the syllable "ba"; for the syllable "in" it was necessary to name "lead", "he". Then
they taught syllables of three letters: "beeches", "rtsy", "az" - "bra", etc.
The complex names of the letters were not taken, as they say, "from the ceiling." Every title
carried great meaning and moral content. The literate person absorbed
moral concepts of great depth, worked out for himself a line of conduct in
life, received concepts of goodness and morality. I can’t even believe it: well, letters and letters.
But no. When a person who was learning to read and write repeated after the teacher "az, beeches, lead," he
said a whole phrase: "I know the letters." Then followed d, d, e - "Verb good
is ". In the enumeration of these letters in a row, there is a commandment to man, so that in vain
I didn’t throw words, I didn’t fornicate, 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 in pronunciation and in responsibility for the spoken word.
After memorizing syllables, reading began. The second proverb reminds of order
work: the teacher pronounced the letters, and the students in chorus, in a singsong voice, repeated them until
until you remember.
Literature:
Big Encyclopedia of Primary School
Excerpts from historical sources"The Tale of Bygone Years" and "The Life of Constantine-Cyril