On May 24, in all Slavic countries, saints Cyril and Methodius, the creators of Slavic writing, are solemnly glorified.

Among oldest monuments In Slavic writing, a special and honorable place is occupied by the biographies of the creators of the Slavic literacy - Saints Cyril and Methodius, such as “The Life of Constantine the Philosopher”, “The Life of Methodius” and “Praise to Cyril and Methodius”. Holy brothers Cyril and Methodius are Christian preachers and missionaries, enlighteners of the Slavic peoples.

Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius are called Slovenian teachers.

From sources we learn that the brothers were from the Macedonian city of Soluni. Now it is the city of Thessaloniki on the shores of the Aegean Sea. Methodius was the eldest of seven brothers, and the youngest was Constantine. He received the name Cyril when he was tonsured into monasticism just before his death. Father Methodius and Constantine held the high post of assistant to the governor of the city. There is an assumption that their mother was a Slav, because the brothers from childhood knew the Slavic language as well as Greek.

The future Slavic educators received an excellent upbringing and education. Constantine from infancy discovered extraordinary mental gifts. While studying at the Solunskaya school and not yet reaching fifteen years old, he had already read the books of the most thoughtful of the Church Fathers - Gregory the Theologian (IV century). As a man of great knowledge, Constantine was appointed Khartophilax (librarian) at the Patriarchal Library. But this occupation did not correspond to the mood of Constantine. The rumor about the talent of Constantine reached Constantinople, and then he was taken to the court, where he studied with the son of the emperor under the best teachers of the capital of Byzantium. The famous scientist Photius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople, Constantine studied ancient literature. He also studied philosophy, rhetoric ( oratory), mathematics, astronomy and music. Constantine expected a brilliant career at the imperial court, wealth and marriage to a noble beautiful girl... But he preferred to retire to a monastery “on Olympus to Methodius, his brother,” says his biography, “began to live there and incessantly pray to God, studying only books”.

In 857, both brothers were sent by the emperor to preach Christianity to the then mighty Khazar Kaganate, which threatened constant destructive raids by the Byzantine Empire. The task of converting this hostile people to the faith of Christ, making them an ally of Byzantium, was not an easy one. Arriving at the Khazars, the holy brothers had a friendly and loving conversation with them about the essence of Orthodoxy. The Khazar prince convinced by them, together with his entourage, adopted Christianity. The prince wanted to reward his teachers with gifts, but they only asked to release with them to their homeland the Greek captives captured by the Khazars during the raids. And he released 200 captives with them.

In 862, Prince Rostislav of Moravian (Moravia was then one of the strongest Slavic states in Europe) asked the Byzantine emperor to send Christian preachers.

In 863, the Byzantine emperor sent the brothers to Moravia to preach to the Slavs. Arriving in Moravia, the holy brothers created the Slavic alphabet, translated the Gospel, the Psalter and many liturgical books into the Slavic language. In Orthodox churches in Moravia, they began to serve in a language understandable to the local population. This was the main work of the life of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

After working for more than three years in Moravia, Constantine and Methodius with a group of their disciples went to Rome to present the Pope with information about their business. On the way, they stopped for a while in Pannonia, where they taught about 50 students Slavic books (the life of Constantine).

We need to deeply realize what God's gift was presented to the Slavs by the Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. To the protests of the Latins, who argued that worship and the Bible could not be defiled by the barbaric Slavic language, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril responded with the words of the Prophet David: "Let every breath praise the Lord."

In poor health, but imbued with a strong religious feeling and love for science, Constantine from childhood dreamed of solitary prayer and book studies. His whole life was filled with frequent difficult trips, heavy hardships and very hard work. Such a life undermined his strength, and at 42 he became very ill. Sensing his imminent end, he accepted monasticism, changing his worldly name Constantine to the name of Cyril. After that, he lived for another 50 days, the last time he read the confessional prayer himself, said goodbye to his brother and disciples, and quietly died on February 14, 869. It happened in Rome, when the brothers once again came to seek protection from the Pope for their cause - the spread of Slavic writing.

Immediately after the death of Cyril, his icon was painted. Cyril is buried in Rome in the church of St. Clement.

The holy brothers bravely endured trials and persecutions for their feat of enlightening nations. We still use the fruits of their deeds, they determined our spiritual and cultural direction. Therefore, probably, the first public Orthodox organization created in Russia after the end of the persecution of the Church was the Slavic Foundation for Writing and Culture named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles.

What is Cyrillic? Cyrillic is the same as the Cyrillic (or Cyrillic) alphabet: one of two (along with the verb) ancient alphabet for the Old Church Slavonic. Cyrillic - a writing system and alphabet for any language based on the Old Church Slavonic Cyrillic (they speak of Russian, Serbian, etc. Cyrillic; it is incorrect to call the “Cyrillic alphabet” a formal union of several or all national Cyrillic letters).

On the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet, the alphabets of many Slavic languages \u200b\u200bare built, as well as some non-Slavic languages \u200b\u200bthat previously did not have a written language or had other writing systems and were translated into Cyrillic at the end of the 1930s

Initially, the Eastern Slavs and part of the South, as well as the Romanians used the Cyrillic alphabet; over time, their alphabets diverged somewhat from each other, although the outline of the letters and the principles of spelling remained (with the exception of the Western Serbian version, the so-called bosanchitsa) as a whole the same.

Russia is a multinational state. In addition to Russians, over 180 other peoples live in the Russian Federation. Historically, Russian culture, based on the Russian language, dominates, but this dominance has never been complete. The culture of large nationalities of Russia, such as Tatars, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, and others, play an important role in the development of Russian culture.

Today the Cyrillic alphabet is the official alphabet of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, as well as Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan. Abkhazians and Ossetians use it in Georgia. In general, about 6% of the world's population consider the Cyrillic alphabet to be their native script, and the "Cyrillic" countries occupy more than 18% of the land.

The Cyrillic alphabet as a writing system for the native (Russian) language is the basis for the child's entry into the culture of the native people passed down from generation to generation. The native language and the Slavic alphabet are the basis for the formation of a child as a linguistic personality, his linguistic picture of the world, his linguistic consciousness; it is a cultural and historical environment that forms a national linguistic personality who is aware of his involvement in his native culture.

Through the comprehension of the alphabet, the socialization of the student's personality begins, his introduction to the life and culture of the society in which he was born and lives, as well as to the culture of mankind, world civilization as a whole: that is, the native language and the native alphabet are also the basis for the formation of a public, social person. ...

The mother tongue and the mother alphabet is the first system to be studied at school; they are a theoretical introduction not only to linguistics, but also to the world of scientific knowledge as a whole; it is the basis for the study of all school subjects, the foundation for the formation of a scientific picture of the world. The Cyrillic alphabet is the key to penetrating the richest world of Russian literature. According to some researchers, even visual recognition of the characters of the familiar Cyrillic alphabet plays a unifying role.

Mari writing. Since ancient times, the Mari people have used various geometric signs (tishte, tamga), carved on the bark (nymyshta) or on special wooden sticks (shereva toya) with a special knife (varash k? Z?). As a rule, these signs were used for economic information (property accounting, debts, etc.) and were used unchanged by the Mari until the 30s of the XX century.

For the first time, a script for the Mari language based on the Cyrillic alphabet was compiled in the middle of the 16th century to train priests who preached among the Mari. No information about this writing has survived.

The first example of the Mari writing, which laid the foundation for the Mari literary language, is considered "Works belonging to the grammar of the Cheremis language", published in 1775.

In the 1920s-1930s, all letters of the Russian alphabet were introduced into the Mari alphabet for writing words borrowed from the Russian language. Finally, the Mari alphabets for the mountain and meadow languages \u200b\u200bwere approved in 1938.

On December 10, the Republic of Mari El celebrates the Day of Mari Writing - Mari Tishte Keche. During the period of its existence, the Mari writing system has passed a long and difficult path of development, achieved certain successes. December 9, 2011 at the National Museum of the Republic of Mari El. T. Evseeva, the opening of the express exhibition "Mari writing yesterday, today, tomorrow", timed to coincide with the Day of Mari writing, took place.

Mordovian writing. Despite the use of the Latin alphabet in some early grammars, the Mordovian script itself was always based on the Cyrillic alphabet and was a Russian alphabet with the addition of some letters.

In 1920, all additional characters from the Mordovian alphabets were removed.

In 1927, the Mordovian alphabet was reformed again and took a modern form.

Udmurt writing. Since the 18th century, researchers have used letters of the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets to write words in the Udmurt language, but the Udmurt script itself has always been based only on the Cyrillic alphabet. The first Udmurt books were published in 1847. They were written using Russian graphics and spelling of the time (in fact, this system was a Russian practical transcription).

The Udmurt alphabet in its current form was finally approved in 1927.

From the above, we understand that many peoples of Russia have successfully used the Cyrillic alphabet for half a century. During this time, many literary works in national languages \u200b\u200bwere created, the culture of peoples developed, a new highly educated generation grew up, for which the Cyrillic alphabets were an organic part of their native languages.

Thus, we can say that the Cyrillic alphabet is a valuable national and cultural heritage of all peoples of Russia, one of the important elements of a single educational and cultural field. Russian Federation... Cyrillic will not be affected in any way. She has already made her truly invaluable contribution to the culture of peoples.

Each of us should be grateful to our people for their native language. After all, on it, dear, each of us pronounces the first words dear to our hearts: mother, father. Apparently, this is why it is also called the tongue soaked in mother's milk.

The development of this event is dedicated to the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture, which the entire Slavic world celebrates on May 24. The event was held at the MBOU "Kuzmichevskaya Secondary School" 05.24.2013. For pupils of the 6th, 8th and 10th grades, the holiday left only positive impressions and intensified their interest in the Russian language and its history.

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Municipal budgetary educational institution

"Kuzmichyovskaya secondary school"

At the origins of Slavic writing

To the day of Slavic writing

and culture

Prepared by

teacher of Russian language and literature

Kolobrodova L.I.

Date: 24.05.2013

2013

Objectives: the development of a respectful attitude towards one's country, culture and history, the native language through the awareness of oneself as a part of world culture

Introducing the younger generation to the culture and history of their country;

Formation among students of an awareness of kinship with the countries of the Slavic world;

Updating knowledge on the history of Slavic writing.

Tasks : 1) inform about the feat of Cyril and Methodius;

2) to acquaint students with the first alphabet using the example of individual letters, as well as "Alphabet Prayers";

3) explain the meaning of the concept of "Slavic world" and give an idea of \u200b\u200bhow the holiday is celebrated in these countries;

Equipment : posters (sayings about the language, "Alphabet Prayers", "Map of the Slavic World", the exhibition "Monuments to the Saints" (Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic)), portraits of Cyril and Methodius, drawings of students about heroism, alphabet, books (if desired, a competition in elementary school for the best class alphabet, etc.), a presentation about the life and work of the saints, an excerpt of congratulations from Patriarch Kirill 2011 on the holiday (connection with the roots, history, parting words of youth), holiday emblems, projector, computer, musical accompaniment.

Event progress

Teacher: Hello, hello, guests of today's holiday! The entire Christian world celebrates the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture on May 24. The friendly atmosphere, the decoration of the hall and the mesmerizing music of the gusli will take us today to the ancestors of the Slavs, to the country from which all the Russian people came. Today we learn about the great role of two saints, Cyril and Methodius, who brought a ray of faith and the ability to transmit knowledge through writing to our world. Let this holiday in our hearts leave a place for the history of the past, without which, as you know, there is no future.

Our today's holiday opens with a hymn to Saints Cyril and Methodius. I ask everyone to stand up. (The anthem sounds).

H: Every year on May 24, the Orthodox Church honors the holy apostles Cyril and Methodius, scientists and educators - after all, they created the Slavic letter for the first time in the world.

AND: The Day of Slavic Writing and Culture has a lot in common with the culture and religion of the Slavs: Cyril and Methodius were Orthodox Christians and monks. This way of life allowed them to make such a significant contribution to the history of the formation of Slavic culture.

H: Cyril and Methodius, during their life and service to the Lord in a Greek monastery, developed and imprinted for centuries the Slavic alphabet, which allowed us to pass on knowledge and accumulated experience from generation to generation.

AND: Officially today is not a day off, but events dedicated to this holiday are held in many cities of Russia and are not limited to one day.

The Day of Slavic Literature and Culture is the only church-state holiday in our country.

H: The holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, equal to the apostles, who brought writing to the Slavic land, thereby introduced the Slavic peoples of many millions to world civilization and world culture.

Biography

AND: The brothers Cyril and Methodius grew up in a noble family living in the Greek city of Soluni. Methodius was the eldest of seven brothers, Constantine the youngest. Methodius had a military rank and was the ruler of one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to the Byzantine Empire, Bulgarian, which gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language.

H: The future Slavic educators received an excellent upbringing and education. Constantine from infancy discovered extraordinary mental gifts. While studying at the Solunskaya school and not yet reaching fifteen years old, he had already read the books of the most thoughtful of the Church Fathers of the IV century - Gregory the Theologian.

AND: The rumor about the talent of Constantine reached Constantinople, and then he was taken to the court, where he studied with the son of the emperor under the best teachers of the capital of Byzantium. Constantine studied ancient literature under the famous scientist Photius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople.

Constantine perfectly comprehended all the sciences of his time and many languages, having received the nickname Philosopher for his intelligence and outstanding knowledge. He also comprehended philosophy, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy and music.

H: Constantine expected a brilliant career at the imperial court and wealth, but he preferred to retire to a monastery on Mount Olympus to see Methodius, his brother, - tells his life story, in order to constantly perform prayer and engage in pious reflections.

However, Constantine did not manage to spend time in solitude for a long time. As the best preacher of the faith, defender of Orthodoxy, he was often sent to neighboring countries to participate in disputes. These trips were very successful for Constantine.

AND: The whole life of Constantine was filled with frequent difficult, difficult trials and hard work. This undermined his strength: at 42, he became very ill. Shortly before his death, he accepted monasticism with the name Cyril and died quietly in 869.

It happened in Rome, when the brothers once again came to seek support from the Pope in their main business - the spread of Slavic writing. Before his death, Cyril said to his brother: “You and I, like two oxen, led the same furrow. I was exhausted, but do not think to leave the labors of teaching and retire to your mountain again. "

Pupil: "Great day ..." F.I. Tyutchev

H : Methodius outlived his brother by 16 years. Enduring hardships and vilification, he continued the great work - the translation of the Holy Books into the Slavic language, the preaching of the Orthodox faith, the baptism of the Slavic people. As his successor, he left the best of his disciples, the Archbishop of Gorazd, and about two hundred priests trained by him - Slavs.

Much is said about the beginning of Slavic writing in the main Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years".

AND: It tells how once the Slavic princes Rostislav, Svyatopolk and Kotsel sent ambassadors to the Byzantine Tsar Mikhail with the words: “Our land is baptized, but we do not have a teacher who would instruct and teach us, and explained the holy books. After all, we do not know either Greek or Latin; some teach us this way, and others differently, from this we do not know either the outline of the letters or their meaning. And send us teachers who can tell us about the words of the book and their meaning. " Then Tsar Michael summoned two learned brothers - Constantine and Methodius, and "the tsar persuaded them and sent them to the Slavic land ... When these brothers came, they began to compose the Slavic alphabet and translated the Apostle and the Gospel."

"And the Slavs were glad that they heard about the greatness of God in their own language."

H: Then the brothers translated the Psalms and other church books.

With the adoption of Christianity, the Slavic alphabet also came to Russia. And in Kiev, and in Novgorod, and in other cities, schools began to be created for teaching Slavic literacy. Teachers from Bulgaria appeared in the Russian land - the successors of the work of Cyril and Methodius.

Readers 1, 3-7 (grade 6)

1 reader:

Look back at our ancestors,

On the heroes of yesteryear.

Remember them with a kind word -

Glory to them, severe fighters!

Glory to our side!

Glory to Russian antiquity!

And about this old time

I'll start telling

So that people can know

About the affairs of the native land.

3rd reader

Across wide Russia - our mother

The bells ringing overflows.

Now brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius

They are glorified for their labors.

4th Reader.

Cyril and Methodius are remembered,

Glorious brothers equal to the apostles,

In Belarus, in Macedonia,

In Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia,

Praise the wise brothers in Bulgaria,

In Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia.

5th Reader.

All peoples that write in Cyrillic,

What have been called since ancient times Slavic,

They glorify the feat of the first teachers,

Christian educators.

6th Reader.

Fair-haired and gray-eyed

All bright faces and glorious hearts,

Drevlyans, rusichi, glades,

Tell me who are you?

All. We are Slavs!

7th reader.

Everyone's good in their article,

All different and all alike

Your name is now Russians,

Since ancient times, who are you?

All . We are Slavs!

Cyrillic

AND: Slavic writing was created in the 9th century, around 862.

The new alphabet was named "Cyrillic" after the name of the Byzantine Constantine, who, having taken monasticism, became Cyril. And his elder brother Methodius helped him in the charitable work of educating the Slavic peoples. Cyril created the Slavic alphabet based on the Greek, significantly changing it to convey the Slavic sound system.

H: Initially, there was a strong belief that only three languages \u200b\u200bare worthy for worship and writing of church books (Hebrew, Greek and Latin). The Pope, after the brothers introduced the new alphabet, approved the divine service in the Slavic language, and ordered the books translated by the brothers to be placed in Roman churches and to perform the liturgy in the Slavic language.

AND: Look closely at these Cyrillic letters. Do they remind you of already familiar letters? (children's answers). Each letter in the ancient Slavic alphabet was special. They had a name. Hear how the old alphabet sounds. (Reading individual letters). The names of the letters were supposed to remind people of such words that must not be forgotten: "good", "live", "earth", "people", "peace". Let these old letters now come to life with the help of our magic ABC.

The letters Az and Buki enter

Az ... Hello children! Guess which letter I am? That's right, my name is "Az". Name the words that begin with me. Children are called.

Beeches ... Now guess what my name is? That's right, my name is "Buki". Remember how many good words start with my letter. Name them. Now name us in order.

H: Let's name them in order. The word turned out ... "ABC". You, dear letters, are honored to be at the beginning of our alphabet. People say so: "First" az "and" beeches ", and then science." The path of each of you into the world of knowledge begins from the beginning. Guys, remember the proverbs about the benefits of teaching. Children are called proverbs. And one more letter is hurrying to us. Please introduce yourself!

AND: Let's continue our acquaintance with the Slavic alphabet.

Verb: Hello children! I am the letter "Verb".

AND: What a beautiful name you have! What does it mean? What do you guys think? To speak is to speak. But before you speak, you need to think carefully. The people said: "You say, you can't turn it back, and you would give dearly for a word, but you can't redeem it." Here you are, dear "Verb", you need to listen to the riddle, think and give the correct answer:

Patch on patch,

Not a single stitch. (cabbage.)

H: Look, another letter is hurrying to us!

Good ... Good afternoon, children! My name is "Good".

AND: What a good name you have! Kindness is the best character trait of a person.

8-10 reader (grade 6)

8 reader.

It's not easy to be kind

Kindness doesn't depend on growth

Kindness does not depend on color,

Kindness is not gingerbread, not candy.

9 reader.

You just need to be very kind,

So that in trouble do not forget each other.

And the peoples will live better friends

If we are kind to you.

10 readers.

Kindness brings joy to people

And in return does not require a reward.

Kindness does not age over the years

Kindness from the cold will warm you.

If kindness, like the sun shines,

Adults and children are happy.

H: Meet a new letter coming to us!

Thought ... Hello children! My name is "Myslete"

AND: What a wise letter has come to us!

Thought. I brought you riddles. Guess them.

Sat on the fence, singing and screaming,

And as everyone gathered, he took it and stopped talking. (cock).

One hundred and one brother, all in one row

Together they stand. (fence)

Rolled like a bun until he became a toe. (clew)

Three brothers went swimming

Two are swimming, the third is lying on the shore.

We swam, went out, hung on the third. (buckets, rocker)

Four brothers are running -

They won't catch up with each other: (wheels)

Was white and gray,

Came green, young. (winter spring)

Well done boys! All riddles were guessed.

H: According to the well-established folk ideas, Cyril and Methodius are two diamonds, two falcons, two pure lives. The lives and words of praise say that the Solun brothers are "the eternal root, which is honest and popular." 44 sister letters look at you from this ancient scroll and invite you to further acquaintance.

11 reader to 16 (grade 6)

11 reader.

Letter to letter - there will be a word

Word by word - the speech is ready.

And melodious and slender

It sounds like music.

12 readers.

So let us glorify these letters!

Let them come to the children

And let it be famous

Our Slavic alphabet!

13 reader.

We faithfully serve the Fatherland,

You are one of the sons.

Grow so that you are needed

Be dear to your Motherland!

14 reader.

A reward awaits you for your work -

A beautiful goal in the distance

But you have to look back

On the path that we have passed.

15 reader.

Nothing is better, more beautiful

Your sweet homeland!

Look back at our ancestors,

On the heroes of yesteryear!

16 readers.

Remember them with a kind word -

Glory to them, severe fighters,

Glory to our side!

Glory to the Russian

antiquity.

AND: The Slavic alphabet has existed in Russia unchanged for more than seven centuries. Its creators tried to make each letter of the first Russian alphabet simple and clear, easy to write. They remembered that the letters should be beautiful, so that a person who barely saw them would immediately want to master writing. The alphabet of Cyril and Methodius amazes us with its simplicity and convenience.

H: Only in Petrovskoe time, it was necessary to make changes to the alphabet.

A military man in a cocked hat enters the scene

Military: Gentlemen! The Tsar's decree ordered to simplify the spelling and abolish the letters "yus small", "yus big", "xi", "psi", "zelo", "omega", which became a burden in the Russian alphabet.

He removes the named letters from the stand, goes backstage, and then returns.

AND: In the second half of the 18th century, the Russian alphabet was replenished with new letters that were not in the Slavic alphabet.

Military: These are the letters Y and Y.

Attaches cards with these letters to the stand and leaves

H: At the beginning of the 20th century, a need arose in Russia to simplify the alphabet and spelling. This reform was carried out in 1918.

A girl in a leather jacket and a red scarf appears on the stage.

Girl: Comrades! The decree of the People's Commissar of Education abolished the letters: "and decimal", "yat", "fita", "Izhitsa", and the letter "er" at the end of words

Comes to the stand, removes outdated letters of the alphabet.

history of the holiday

AND: Even in the old days, the Slavic peoples celebrated the memory of the holy brothers, however, later, the celebration was forgotten, under the influence of various historical and political circumstances. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was a revival of the Slavic peoples, and at the same time the memory of the Slavic first teachers was renewed. And in 1863 in Russia, a decree was adopted on the celebration of the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius on May 11 (May 24 in a new style).

The idea of \u200b\u200bresuming a nationwide, public celebration of the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius and the Days of Slavic Written Language and Culture in Russia was born in 1985.

H: The works of these great enlighteners became the common property of all Slavs, laid the foundation for their moral and mental development. So great is the merit of the brothers Cyril and Methodius in the history of enlightenment and raising the general culture of the Slavic peoples.

Year after year, our cultures enriched and complemented each other, a spiritual and cultural community joined the linguistic community of the Slavic peoples, which gave the world outstanding scientists, literary and artistic figures.

AND: In Russia, since 1991, state and public organizations, together with the Russian Orthodox Church, began to hold the Days of Slavic Written Language and Culture.

The celebration does not have a once and for all approved script. Typical events over the 30 years of the Days in Russia have become scientific symposia or conferences dedicated to the problems of culture, civilization, the Slavic world, as well as concerts, meetings with writers and poets in parks, gardens, libraries, houses of culture and thematic screenings of feature films, and exhibitions, competitions and festivals.

H: The days of Slavic writing and culture also include divine liturgies, religious processions, children's pilgrimage missions to monasteries in Russia.

Today we have the opportunity to visit the celebration in the capital in absentia and hear a part of the congratulatory speech of Patriarch Kirill.

Video "Congratulations from Patriarch Kirill, 2011" (06:20).

8th grade. The composition "I saw a triumph for the glory of the language" (D. Kugultinov. An ode to the Bulgarian language.)

Teacher : Today is considered a holiday of Slavic writing and culture. All of us, Russians, Slavs, must remember our roots, promote our Russian culture, honor traditions. Today the holiday is coming to an end, but I really hope that such meetings will become a tradition in our native school. Thanks everyone!

Methodological materials for the Days of Slavic Written Language and Culture

1. I believe !: Method. recommendations for the days of the Slavs. culture and writing in library: Reference-inform. program / Obl. wt. internat. b-ka. - Yekaterinburg, 1994 .-- 24 p.
2. Library panorama: People. Events. Facts. Experience. Ideas. Forecasts. / NB im. A.S. Pushkin Rep. Mordovia. - Saransk, 1998 - Issue. 3 (4). - 45 p.
3. The verb is good !: For the Day of the Slavs. writing and culture: Scenario of the Day of Bibliography for Youth / Bezhanitskaya Central Library System; Method.-bibliographer. the Department. - Bezhanitsy, 1999 .-- 11 p. - Bibliography: p. eleven.
4. Glinskaya I.L. The Solun brothers Cyril and Methodius / I.L. Glinskaya // Culturology: Digest. - 1999. - S. 253-258
5. Day of Slavic Writing and Culture: Method.-bibliogr. materials to help librarians / Sakhalin. region scientific. b-ka, IBO, SNIKI; Comp. L.V. Podychan - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 1991 .-- 8 p.
6. [Days of Slavic Writing and Culture] // Art. - 1997. - No. 18.
   The entire issue is dedicated to the Slavs. culture.
7. Zhuravsky V. Gift of Cyril and Methodius / V. Zhuravsky // Echo of the planet. - 1992. - No. 19/20. - S. 30-35.
8. "And the eternal light ...": Slavic enlighteners - Cyril and Methodius: Material for the Day of the Slavs. writing and culture / Pskov. region young man. b-ka. - Pskov, 1999 .-- 4 p. - Bibliography: P.3.
9. ... And they wrote with both lines and cuts ...: Magician. runes of the Slavs: [Did the Slavs have writing before Cyril and Methodius] // Science and Religion. - 1993. - No. 11. - S. 36-39.
10. For the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture: Method. manual / Komi rep. b-ka; Komi rep. children b-ka. - Syktyvkar, 1992 .-- 10 p.
11. E. N. Klimov Bequeathed for centuries: (Recommendations for the Days of Slavic Writing and Culture) / Perm. culture fund. Council of Nar. festive culture, Perm. Slavs. cult. center, Perm. state Institute of Arts and Culture. - Perm, 1994 .-- 17 p.
12. Krongauz M. Where did the Slavic writing come from: [From the history of the activities of the Slavic first teachers] / M. Krongauz // Russian language (September 1). - 1997. - No. 20. - S. 1-4.
13. Lavrov A. "The Light of the Book's Understanding": In 863 the brothers Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet / A. Lavrov // Library. 1993. - No. 10. - S. 60-61.
14. Lyzhova L.K. Feast of Slavic Culture and Writing: [Materials for the oral journal] / L.K. Lyzhova // Russian language at school. - 1995. - No. 2. - S. 65-71.
15. Malaya N. Treasures of the green chest / N. Malaya // Education of schoolchildren. - 2001. - No. 2. - S. 64-68.
    

The Day of Slavic Writing and Culture is a holiday that calls to pay tribute to the Slavic writing, the customs of our ancestors and to honor the memory of the creators of the Slavic alphabets Cyril and Methodius. Celebrated on May 24.

Why is this holiday important

The Day of Slavic Writing and Culture is not celebrated like the New Year or March 8. Anyway, only schoolchildren, language and literature teachers, librarians and some officials know and remember about it.

However, the emergence of our own writing system plays a big role for us. It doesn't matter what language we write in - Ukrainian or Russian, they are both created on the basis of the Slavic Cyrillic alphabet.

Cyril and Methodius did a great job, giving the sounds of the Slavic language a graphic form. Thanks to their work, knowledge and translations of church books began to spread, which until then were available only in foreign languages. The creation of the Slavic writing system gave impetus to the development of the literary language and book publishing among many peoples.

Holiday history

In ancient times, this holiday was celebrated by all Slavic peoples. But over time, as a result of various historical and political events, it ceased to be celebrated. At first, Cyril and Methodius were revered only by the churches, as equal to the apostles saints who made a huge contribution to the development of Christianity.

The celebration of the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture was resumed by the Slavic countries at different times: the Czechs - in the XIV century, the rest of the peoples around the XIX century. In Ukraine, the event was legalized in 2004, although back in the 19th the Cyril and Methodius brotherhood reminded of the role of Cyril and Methodius in the development of culture and education of Kievan Rus.

Celebrating the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture

In addition to Ukraine, this holiday is celebrated by 8 more countries: Belarus, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Russia, Montenegro, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

On this day, various events are held in educational institutions and libraries: laying flowers at the monument to Cyril and Methodius, talks, conferences, quizzes and concerts.

In Bulgaria, this is a national event. There, citizens hang with wreaths of natural flowers portraits of the Equal-to-the-Apostles saints and remember their hymn. Book exhibitions and fairs are held.

After Bulgaria's accession to the EU, the Cyrillic alphabet was accepted into the ranks of its official alphabet.

Traditionally, linguistic teachers, literary men, librarians, and writers pay great attention to this date.

Interesting facts about Cyril, Methodius and Slavic writing

1) The Cyrillic alphabet was created on the basis of the Greek alphabet and consisted of 43 letters: 24 Greek and 19 special characters to denote the sound features of the Slavic language.

2) It is still not known exactly which of the alphabet was created first: Cyrillic or Glagolitic. Many scholars believe that Cyril created only the verb language, and the Cyrillic alphabet was written later by Methodius or the disciples of the brothers.

3) Methodius outlived his brother by 16 years. The location of his grave is not known.

4) It is believed that the Glagolitic and Proto-Cyrillic alphabet existed even before the birth of the Equal-to-the-Apostles saints. The first was used for church services, and the second was used in everyday life. Therefore, the Glagolitic alphabet has more complex and sophisticated letters than the Cyrillic alphabet. The Glagolitic alphabet retained its original appearance, and Cyril changed the Proto-Cyrillic alphabet.

5) Due to the lack of writing, the memory of ancient people was better developed than that of modern people. This is due to the fact that our ancestors had to memorize a large amount of information.

6) Among the Slavs, writing and reading books had a magical meaning and was perceived as a sacred act. They believed that the use of the sacred alphabet (Glagolitic) in everyday life leads to the loss of her magical abilities.

Cyrillic alphabets do not support all Slavic languages. Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Slovenia switched to the Latin alphabet long ago.In non-Slavic countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, the peoples of the North, the Caucasus, Buryatia, Bashkiria, Kalmykia and a number of other nationalities use the Cyrillic alphabet.

On May 24, Russia celebrates the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture. The history of the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture. It should be said that this is a holiday of Christian enlightenment, a holiday of the native word, native book, native literature, native culture. Studying various sciences in our native language, we, in the words of the ancient Russian chronicler, reap what was sown by the most ancient enlighteners of Russia, who adopted the writing from the first teachers of the Slavic peoples - Saints Cyril and Methodius.

For the first time, the day of Slavic writing began to be celebrated in Bulgaria in 1857. In Russia, in 1863. In our country, the holiday of Slavic writing and culture was revived in 1986 in Murmansk under the leadership of the writer Maslov Vitaly Semyonovich. Since 1991, by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the holiday was given state status.

All Slavs who preserve Orthodoxy and Orthodox culture sacredly honor Saints Cyril and Methodius equal to the apostles. For more than a thousand years, in all Orthodox churches in Russia, at every festive church service, Saints Cyril and Methodius have been remembered and glorified as the first "Slovenian teachers." The veneration of the enlighteners of the Slavic peoples especially increased in Russia in the 19th century. This was facilitated by a number of significant anniversaries, as well as the participation of the Russian people in the liberation movement of the Balkan peoples.

For the first time, Bulgarians came up with the initiative to hold a holiday of Slavic writing in 1857. On the initiative of the same Bulgaria, this holiday is also celebrated in other "Cyrillic" countries: Serbia, Montenegro, even in the Catholic Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Now in Russia, as well as in many former Soviet republics, cultural events and celebrations are held on this occasion. But only in Bulgaria is it a national holiday: this day is a non-working day, everyone goes to festive services, demonstrations, religious processions, concerts.

In Russia, the Day of Slavic Writing was first celebrated in 1863. Unfortunately, this tradition lasted only a few decades.

In 1869, 1000 years have passed since the death of Saint Constantine-Cyril. In all Slavic countries solemn services were performed to the Slavic first teachers, poets dedicated poems to them, and composers composed songs of praise in their honor and memory.

In 1877, the war between Russia and Turkey began for the liberation of the Balkan countries. Russia took the most active part in ridding the same-believing Bulgarian people from Turkish rule, and the Russian army brought many of its best soldiers to the altar of victory. The unity of the two Orthodox peoples was sealed by the Slavic blood shed near the Danube, on Shipka and near Plevna. On February 19 (March 3 Gregorian style), 1878, under the walls of Constantinople, in San Stefano, a peace treaty was signed, which proclaimed "truth and freedom where before that lie and slavery reigned."

The liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Ottoman yoke gave rise to the celebration of the "Day of Cyril and Methodius" (or, as this day is called in Bulgaria, the "Holiday of Letters") precisely because the national revival of the Bulgarians in the 19th century is directly related to the revival of the national writing, school education and the Bulgarian culture in general. On May 24, the day of remembrance of Saints Cyril and Methodius, it has become a tradition to hold demonstrations, literary evenings, concerts throughout Bulgaria every year.

In 1885, 1000 years have passed since the death of Saint Methodius. By this date, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church sent out a special festive Message throughout Russia, which spoke of the great feat of the first teachers of the Slavic peoples. P.I. Tchaikovsky wrote a hymn in honor of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Since 1901, by order of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, May 11 (24) has become a holiday for many educational institutions in Russia. By this day, in many schools, training sessions ended, solemn prayers were served and festive concerts and evenings were held.

After the 1917 revolution, the memory of Cyril and Methodius was kept only by the Church and Russian Slavists who studied the scientific heritage of Cyril and Methodius.

Two significant jubilees of the 20th century passed almost unnoticed by the general public: in 1969 - 1100 years since the death of Saint Cyril, and in 1985 - 1100 years since the death of Saint Methodius.

Only since 1963 in the Soviet Union (the year of the 1100th anniversary of the creation of the Slavic alphabet) scientific conferences dedicated to this holiday began to be held, and even then on an irregular basis.

Murmansk writer Vitaly Semenovich Maslov (1935-2001) was one of the first to advocate the revival of the tradition of celebrating the holidays of Slavic writing already in 1980, but he managed to do this only in 1986 in Murmansk. At the first holiday, it was decided to select a new city every year as the center of the celebrations - a kind of capital of the holiday, in which this day is celebrated with particular solemnity. In 1987 it was already Vologda, in 1988 - Novgorod, 1989 - Kiev, 1990 - Minsk.

The landmark 1991 became in the history of the holiday also the year when by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of January 30, May 24 was declared a public holiday - the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture. This year the holiday was held in Smolensk. In 1992, Moscow became the center of celebrations, in 1993 - Chersonesos, 1994 - Thessaloniki, 1995 - Belgorod, 1996 - Oryol, 1997 - Kostroma, 1998 - Pskov, 1999 - Yaroslavl, 2000 - Ryazan, 2001 - Kaluga, 2002 - Novosibirsk, 2003 - Voronezh, 2004 - Samara, in 2005 - Rostov-on-Don.

Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture celebrated everywhere. In terms of its content, the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture has long been the only state-church holiday in Russia. By decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II, Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna has been the co-chairman of the organizing committee of the holiday for several years.

There is good reason to speak about the uniqueness of this holiday of spirituality held with the Russian Orthodox Church. Without a doubt, he is a significant phenomenon in the cultural and political life of the entire Slavic world. The appeal to the origins of the national cultures of the Slavic peoples, their close relationship emphasize the organic unity and, at the same time, the diversity of Slavic cultural traditions.

IN last years the structure was formed and the main events of the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture were determined. Every year, regardless of the day of the week, the administration of the region hosting the holiday announces May 24 as a day off. In the morning, the Divine Liturgy in honor of Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius is served in the main church of the city, followed by the procession of the participants of the holiday. On one of the central squares, festively decorated and equipped for this occasion, addresses are heard to the audience of many thousands of the main organizers of the holiday: the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, as well as the co-chairs of the Organizing Committee - a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church and the head of the regional administration. As part of the holiday, public lesson for students of schools, secondary and higher educational institutions.

The International Scientific Conference "The Slavic World: Community and Diversity" is traditionally held. On this day, grandiose folk holidays are held on the streets and squares of cities in museums of wooden architecture, in protected architectural ensembles. Almost all folk art groups of the city and region take part in them, as a rule.

A kind of artistic dominant of the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture is the original evening solemn action held in the open air in the most significant historical part of the city. The Day of Slavic Writing and Culture is a holiday of Christian enlightenment, a holiday of the native word, native book, native literature, native culture. Studying various sciences in our native language, we, in the words of the ancient Russian chronicler, reap what was sown by the most ancient enlighteners of Russia, who adopted the writing from the first teachers of the Slavic peoples - Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The Day of Slavic Writing and Culture (Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius) is the Russian name for the holiday dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers Methodius and Cyril (IX).

Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius, Slovenian teachers

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Slavic teachers and enlighteners, brothers Cyril and Methodius came from a noble and pious family that lived in the Greek city of Soluni. Saint Methodius was the eldest of seven brothers, Saint Constantine (Cyril is his monastic name) - the youngest. Saint Methodius was at first in a military rank and was a ruler in one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to the Byzantine Empire, apparently Bulgarian, which gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language. After staying there for about 10 years, Saint Methodius then accepted monasticism in one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus. Saint Constantine from an early age was distinguished by great ability and studied together with the young emperor Michael under the best teachers of Constantinople, including Photius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople. Saint Constantine perfectly comprehended all the sciences of his time and many languages, he especially diligently studied the works of Saint Gregory the Theologian. For his intelligence and outstanding knowledge, Saint Constantine received the nickname Philosopher (wise). Upon completing his studies, Saint Constantine was ordained a priest and was appointed curator of the patriarchal library at the Church of Saint Sophia, but soon left the capital and secretly went to a monastery. Found there and returned to Constantinople, he was identified as a teacher of philosophy in the highest school of Constantinople. The wisdom and strength of faith of the still very young Constantine were so great that he managed to defeat the leader of the heretics-iconoclasts Annius in the debate. After this victory, Constantine was sent by the emperor to a dispute to debate the Holy Trinity with the Saracens (Muslims) and also won. Returning, Saint Constantine withdrew to his brother Saint Methodius on Olympus, spending time in unceasing prayer and reading the works of the holy fathers.

Soon the emperor summoned both holy brothers from the monastery and sent them to the Khazars to preach the gospel. On the way, they stopped for a while in the city of Korsun, preparing for a sermon. There the holy brothers miraculously acquired the relics of the Holy Martyr Clement, Pope of Rome (Comm. 25 November). In the same place in Korsun Saint Constantine found the Gospel and the Psalter, written in "Russian letters," and a person who spoke Russian, and began to learn from this person to read and speak his language. After that, the holy brothers went to the Khazars, where they won a victory in debate with Jews and Muslims, preaching the Gospel teaching. On the way home, the brothers again visited Korsun and, taking the relics of St. Clement there, returned to Constantinople. Saint Constantine remained in the capital, while Saint Methodius received abbess at the small monastery of Polychron, not far from Mount Olympus, where he had asceticised before.

Soon, ambassadors from the Moravian prince Rostislav, oppressed by the German bishops, came to the emperor with a request to send teachers to Moravia who could preach in the native language of the Slavs. The emperor summoned Saint Constantine and said to him: "You must go there, for no one can do this better than you." Saint Constantine, with fasting and prayer, began a new feat. With the help of his brother Saint Methodius and the disciples of Gorazd, Clement, Sava, Naum and Angelar, he compiled the Slavic alphabet and translated into the Slavic language books without which Divine services could not be performed: the Gospel, Apostle, Psalter and selected services. This was in 863.

After completing the translation, the holy brothers set off for Moravia, where they were received with great honor, and began to teach the Divine services in the Slavic language. This aroused the anger of the German bishops who celebrated Divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, and they rebelled against the holy brothers, claiming that Divine services can be performed only in one of three languages: Hebrew, Greek, or Latin. Saint Constantine answered them: “You recognize only three languages \u200b\u200bworthy of glorifying God with them. But David cries out: Sing to the Lord, all the earth, praise the Lord, all the nations, let every breath praise the Lord! And the Holy Gospel says: Come teach all languages \u200b\u200b... ". The German bishops were put to shame, but they became even more embittered and filed a complaint with Rome. The holy brothers were called to Rome to resolve this issue. Taking with them the relics of Saint Clement, Pope of Rome, Saints Constantine and Methodius set off for Rome. Having learned that the holy brothers were carrying holy relics with them, Pope Adrian with the clergy went out to meet them. The holy brothers were greeted with honor, the Pope approved the divine service in the Slavic language, and ordered the books translated by the brothers to be placed in Roman churches and to perform the liturgy in the Slavic language.

While in Rome, Saint Constantine fell ill and, in a miraculous vision, announced by the Lord about the approach of death, he accepted the schema with the name Cyril. 50 days after accepting the schema, on February 14, 869, Equal to the Apostles Cyril died at the age of 42. Departing to God, Saint Cyril commanded his brother Saint Methodius to continue their common work - to enlighten the Slavic peoples with the light of true faith. Saint Methodius begged the Pope of Rome to allow him to take away his brother's body for burial in his native land, but the Pope ordered to put the relics of Saint Cyril in the Church of Saint Clement, where miracles began to be performed from them.

After the death of Saint Cyril, the Pope, following the request of the Slavic prince Kotsel, sent Saint Methodius to Pannonia, ordaining him Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia, to the ancient throne of Saint Apostle Andronicus.In Pannonia, Saint Methodius, together with his disciples, continued to disseminate Divine services and books in Slavonic. ... This again angered the German bishops. They achieved the arrest and trial of Saint Methodius, who was exiled to prison in Swabia, where he endured many sufferings for two and a half years. Released by order of Pope John VIII and restored to the rights of archbishop, Methodius continued evangelical preaching among the Slavs and baptized the Czech prince Borivoj and his wife Lyudmila (Comm. 16 September), as well as one of the Polish princes. For the third time, the German bishops raised a persecution against the saint for rejecting the Roman teaching on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son. Saint Methodius was summoned to Rome, but justified himself before the Pope, preserving the purity of Orthodox teaching, and was again returned to the capital of Moravia, Velehrad.

Here, in the last years of his life, Saint Methodius, with the help of two disciple-priests, translated into the Slavic language the entire Old Testament, except the Maccabean books, as well as the Nomokanon (Rules of the Holy Fathers) and the patristic books (Paterikon).

Foreseeing the approach of death, Saint Methodius pointed to one of his disciples, Gorazd, as a worthy successor to himself. The saint predicted the day of his death and died on April 6, 885 at the age of about 60 years. The funeral service for the saint was performed in three languages \u200b\u200b- Slavic, Greek and Latin; he was buried in the cathedral church of Velehrad.

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life1038.htm

Slavic glorious day

The feat of Saints Cyril and Methodius - the creation of the Slavic alphabet in 863 - gave us not only writing, but also the opportunity to perform divine services and read Holy Scripture in our native language. The very formation of Russian statehood coincided with the birth of the Slavic alphabet. Cyril and Methodius celebrations in Russia and Moscow second half of XIX century can be partly compared with Pushkin's celebrations - they were the same comprehension of the origins of national identity and the Russian idea in the light of the feat of the Solun brothers.

The first celebration in honor of Cyril and Methodius coincided with the celebration of the millennium of Russia in 1862, since the next year, 1863, was celebrated the millennium of the Slavic alphabet. This combination was very symbolic and testified to the unity of the Church, nation and language. It is quite natural that in the foreshadowing of the state holiday they also remembered the "Slavic apostles", since, according to MN Katkov, language is the people. The holiday was especially "promoted" by the Slavophils. The eve of the celebration of the Solunsk brothers was marked by a kind of miracle - in 1855, the historian M.N. Pogodin presented a part of the holy relics of Cyril, once donated to him in Prague, where the first Cyril and Methodius celebrations took place in Russia.

The initiative was laid by the Church, and this first holiday was exclusively a church one. In the 17th century, due to the editing of Russian liturgical books according to Greek models, the oldest service to the first teachers was not included in the official printed Monthly. That is why, at the beginning of 1860, Bishop Anthony of Smolensk (Amphitheater) turned to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod with a request that the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, laid down by the Church on May 11, should be honored in a more appropriate manner, especially if we take into account their ancient celebrations in Russia. He proposed to compose a new solemn service and to time it in churches for the 1000th anniversary of Russia and the enlightenment of the Slavic peoples.

The service, compiled by Vladyka Anthony, was approved and included in the liturgical books on May 11, and was sent out to Russian churches.

"As an apostle of equal equality and the Slovenian countries, teachers, Cyril and Methodius of God-wisdom, pray to the Vladyka of all, affirm all Slovenian languages \u200b\u200bin Orthodoxy and like-mindedness, pacify the world and save our souls."

For the first time this service was performed in Russia on May 11, 1862. In Moscow, the first celebrations in honor of Cyril and Methodius took place in the home church of Moscow University - at the intersection of faith and science, for word, worship and enlightenment are interconnected. At the festive liturgy, the ancient canon of St. Cyril and Methodius, and at the end of the prayer a prayer service was performed. Then, at the suggestion of the professors, a collection was opened for the construction of the icon of Cyril and Methodius for the university house church.

The first celebrations were modest, but they marked the beginning of the return of the memory of the Slavic apostles in modern society and the initiation of the revival of the Slavic idea under the auspices of Russia, and most importantly, the understanding of national identity in the bosom of the Orthodox Church, which was a kind of opposition to militant liberalism and nihilism. ISAksakov called this holiday "a guarantee of the future spiritual reunification of all Slavs, and a link that binds the scattered brothers."

The rumor about the celebration of May 11 in Moscow will spread throughout all the Slavic countries with the joyful news of future liberation; because the spiritual revival of the Slavs is impossible without the participation of the multimillion-strong Russian tribe in the common feat of Slavic self-consciousness. " So let this holiday in the future spread from the Assumption Cathedral to the village church in the most remote backwoods.

The clergy called in the future to turn the holiday of Cyril and Methodius into a holiday of public enlightenment, for the holy brothers were national teachers, and to glorify them as patrons of public education. In the meantime, they decided that the best memory of them in modern times is the continuation of their work both in education and in the development of Slavic speech. In the same 1862, Alexander II ordered the establishment of the Cyril and Methodius scholarships - four individual scholarships for each Russian university. The sculptures of Cyril and Methodius were placed on the great monument "Millennium of Russia" in Novgorod.

In 1863, the 1000th anniversary of Slavic writing burst out, marked by a festive liturgy in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral. Not long before that, the Holy Synod adopted a decree, which on May 11 was again officially declared the day of the annual church celebration of the memory of the Solunsk brothers "in commemoration of the millennium from the initial illumination of our native language with the Gospel and the faith of Christ."

The time itself was conducive to such celebrations and moved Russia, and the entire Slavic world to rethink its own life in the light of the mission of the Slavic apostles, for the anniversary dates moved at an amazing speed. Already in 1869 a new millennium was celebrated: from the day of the death of St. Cyril. A miracle happened the day before: two years earlier, the governor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Leonid, during a trip to Athos, discovered the most ancient icon image of Cyril and Methodius there. They wrote an image from it, and brought it to Russia.

Now the holiday was celebrated not only in churches, but took on the character of a civil celebration. On that day, February 14, festive services were performed at the Kremlin's Chudov Monastery and many Moscow churches, followed by public ceremonies. An open meeting of the Slavic Charitable Committee was held at Moscow University, at which the establishment of the Kirillov Prize for young students was announced, "in order to encourage young people to engage in Slavicism," which was not particularly successful at that time. And then the director of the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev museums V.A. Dashkov promised to arrange a church of Cyril and Methodius at the university museum in architectural style X century (at the time of the baptism of Russia) and with a chapel in the name of St. Prince Vladimir the Great.

The historical situation was truly amazing. On the one hand, there were great anniversaries, marked by an outburst of Orthodox, national and social thought, the events in the Balkans on the eve of the Russian-Turkish war encouraged reflections on the true mission of the Solun brothers and their legacy. On the other hand, their memory did not manage to outgrow the church and scientific level and remain a national theme. After the end of the jubilees, the euphoria subsided, the memory subsided, all undertakings and plans fell into oblivion, and the Slavic mission, together with the legacy of Cyril and Methodius, remained as before an inheritance for the church and narrowly scientific environment.

However, after the Russian-Turkish war, the liberation of Bulgaria and the assassination of Alexander the Liberator, when the third great anniversary came on April 6, 1885 - the 1000th anniversary of the death of Methodius, the holiday was given the character of a state and pan-Slavic celebration, in which the mission of the Solun brothers was interpreted as pan-Slavic and exclusively in the bosom Orthodoxy. The situation was partly dictated by the fact that the Catholic Church also held the holiday at the Velehrad celebrations, for the Slavic Catholics, where Cyril and Methodius preached before the schism. In Russia, many considered it sacrilege to honor the memory of St. Methodius with a Mass in Latin. In addition, in the Catholic environment there were also "dreams" of uniting the Western and Eastern Slavs under their own auspices, as opposed to a similar desire in Russia. The creation by the Solun brothers of the Slavic Orthodox divine service - this was what they tried to emphasize at the celebrations in Russia. Indeed, before Cyril and Methodius, only ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew were considered worthy for the performance of divine services. (As explained, in these languages, by order of Pontius Pilate, an inscription was made on the Lord's cross of Calvary.)

Now the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod K.P. Pobedonostsev personally took up the preparation of the jubilee, who considered it necessary to arrange a grandiose Orthodox celebration. He wrote to Alexander III:

I think that this celebration will not remain without important consequences and will establish in the popular consciousness (which is especially important in the outskirts) a sense of nationality and the concept of enlightenment associated with the Church.

Pobedonostsev asked the sovereign to honor the triumph with his presence precisely in order to give the holiday the proper official status - not only church, but also state, national, and folk.

As a result, the celebrations of 1885 became the apogee in the history of honoring the memory of the Slavic apostles. The preparation was thorough and wise. First of all, the lives of the holy brothers were printed in accessible Russian, which were distributed to the people free of charge, scientific and popular biographies, even the ancient church services of St. Cyril and Methodius. Secondly, the broadest educational campaign was conducted. Moskovskie vedomosti was noted for the wisest article by MN Katkov, in which he, discussing the mission of the Slavic apostles and its significance for the world and Russia, urged, among other things, to preserve the language, to cleanse it of the introduced "monstrous forms" and not to forget that the Slavic language is Russian, only in its most ancient state.

Hence, in order to translate the Holy Scripture from Old Church Slavonic into Russian for the people, it is required to preserve its "warehouse", only replacing the "incomprehensible understandable", and not to translate "Our Father" as "Our Father" or instead of the Lord - the Lord. That is, do not transmit "sacred objects in the form of daily talk." (Katkov rarely loses his sense of modernity). The merit of the Solunski brothers is actually the birth of the Russian people.

They erected a new people who came into the world to a historical life, they created a new force in the world, which is destined to have its purpose in the economy of Providence, which, when the division of the Churches has arisen, is destined to remain in the East ... if Cyril and Methodius had not consecrated our primitive language, would not have erected our word to the Divine service organ, there would be no room and no vessel for the Eastern Orthodox Church, there would be no one to carry out the work of her destinies.

The celebrations in Russia were held with the participation of the imperial couple and foreign delegations from Slavic countries. On April 6, before the festive divine service in St. Isaac's Cathedral, the consecration of Archimandrite Mitrofan (Bana), who was delivered to the Metropolitan of Montenegro, took place. Pobedonostsev asked the sovereign to bestow upon him bishop's vestments, similar to those in which Russian bishops put on at the coronation.

And then a liturgy took place in the presence of the sovereign, chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, ministers and Slavic deputations, and the festive message of the Holy Synod was read.

By the grace of God, through them, the Gospel of Christ was sent down to us, through them we cognized the beauty of the church and were brought from darkness to light and from death to the eternal life

The next day, civil festivities took place. In the evening, a solemn meeting of the Slavic Charitable Society was held under the chairmanship of P.P. Durnovo. The same "Muscovite" ideas about the unity of the Slavic tribe, "whose firm foundation, a thousand years ago, was laid by Saints Cyril and Methodius" was repeated. There were also unexpected fresh thoughts. For example, V.I. Lamansky was very supportive of the idea of \u200b\u200bthe Catholic Slavs about the restoration of an independent Moravian archdiocese (St. Methodius served as Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia) with the Slavic dioceses and about the return of Latin Christianity to the apostolic traditions and customs of the ancient Roman Church. It was in this that he saw the beginning of real reconciliation and the resolution of many Slavic strife.

Moscow celebrated in its own way, crowded with thousands of pilgrims who surrounded the Kremlin, Red Square and the surrounding environs. The liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was celebrated by Bishop Alexy of Tauride, where, by the way, several students from each school were present - that is, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe patronage of Cyril and Methodius to public education began to come true. From there the procession went to the Kremlin. There, in the Assumption Cathedral, after the end of the liturgy, a grandiose procession began to the ringing of all the Kremlin bells. The spectacle was majestic - hundreds of banners swayed, bells were buzzing, golden vestments sparkled, a thousand-verbal prayer was read. The festive procession went through the Spassky Gate to Red Square, where the icon of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, walked to the Nikolsky Gate and through them returned to the Kremlin.

Then civil celebrations began. A solemn meeting was held at Moscow University, which opened with the singing "Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us." At the Katkovo Lyceum of Tsarevich Nicholas, after the liturgy in the home church, V.V. Nazarevsky, an outstanding historian of Moscow, made a commemorative speech. In the Moscow Theological Seminary, hymns to the Slavic apostles were sung to the music of P. Tchaikovsky and the priest V.F. Starorussky. Metropolitan Ioanniki proposed to honor the memory of the Slavic first teachers by establishing the “Brotherhood for the Aid to Parish Schools”. The brotherhood of Cyril and Methodius was created and existed until 1917, and it should not be confused with the Kostomarov society of the same name. Everyone on that day also took care of the national enlightenment holiday - lectures were organized for ordinary Muscovites in libraries and reading rooms.

And there was also a completely natural thought outlined in Katkov's article and in the speech of the Irkutsk Cathedral Archpriest Afanasy Vinogradov about the Catholic and Orthodox celebration, which was consonant with him. Can they be considered united and equal? Slavic Catholics, "Czechs, Moravians, Slovenes and Croats celebrate justly because the missionary activity of the brothers took place in their countries." However, the Western Slavs fell away from the Orthodox doctrine of the holy brothers (who preached before the split of the Churches), the rite of worship they introduced, and rejected the fruits of their educational activity. As a result, the service at the Velehrad celebrations is in Latin. As Katkov put it, the Russian people "put their cause at the forefront of their entire building - both church and state." The Eastern Slavs have preserved the teaching and worship in their original form, and although the Slavic dialects have already significantly moved away from one another, but "the language of the Church still remains common with them" - this is the guarantee of the spiritual unity of the Slavic world, "under the moral influence of the Russian people, as the eldest member of this family. "

Thus, Pobedonostsev, according to the modern researcher A. Popovkin, took a kind of revenge for the Berlin Congress, at which the achievements of the Russian-Turkish war were diplomatically failed. Now Russia is at the head of the Slavic celebrations, claiming "the status of the imperial center of Slavic civilization." The emperor was pleased.

And then everything began to decline again. The pre-revolutionary semi-liberal-semi-revolutionary Russian society, torn by political strife, turned out to be incapable of deep comprehension of the Slavic mission, and historical events this was not favored. It turned out to be easier to hold and attend one-time celebrations than to spiritually join them. The jubilee "ideas" were carried out for a long time and with difficulty, or even not. According to the historian V.F. Kozlov, in the place near the Senate Tower, where the Historical Museum almost appeared before, they were going to build the Moscow Church of Cyril and Methodius, but in the end they built only a mausoleum. The Encyclopedia of Slavic Philology was published a quarter of a century after the Methodius celebrations, but only in the form of the first volume. Only the idea of \u200b\u200bthe patronage of the holy brothers public education was gaining strength. In 1887, the house church in their name was consecrated at the Agricultural School on Smolensky Boulevard (later - the Military Veterinary Academy), and in 1911 - in the school church near the Danilovskoye cemetery. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Synod ordered a festive divine service to be held on May 11 (24) in house churches at all educational institutions of the spiritual department with the release of students from classes.

The thread of history stretches. In our time, the holiday for the creators of the Russian word has become a state holiday. In 1992, a wonderful monument to Cyril and Methodius was erected with an inextinguishable lamp on Slavyanskaya Square, which was happily renamed from Nogin Square. A monument as a symbol of the revival of Russia and as the same guarantee of Slavic unity.

Let us recall the words from the Tale of Bygone Years: "Yes, even if someone blasphemes the Slovenian letter, let him be excommunicated from the church."

Elena Lebedeva