What holiday is celebrated on May 24 by the Slavic peoples. Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius: the day of Slavic writing and culture
Cities and villages dressed in greenery, as if preparing for an important holiday for all of us - the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, annually celebrated on May 24 in all Slavic countries as a token of gratitude and veneration for two brothers - Cyril and Methodius, the creators of Slavic writing.
Initially, a holiday that existed in Bulgaria back in X-XI centuries, celebrated only by the church. In Russia, it was also a church holiday. The Church canonized Cyril and Methodius as saints, and on May 18, 1863, the Holy Synod adopted a decree proclaiming May 24 according to the new style church holiday Salun brothers.
At the state level, for the first time officially Day of Slavic Writing and Culture was solemnly celebrated in Russian Empire in 1863, in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the creation of the Slavic alphabet by Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Unfortunately, during the Soviet era, the Day of Slavic Literature was canceled as a holiday that unites all Slavs, and was not celebrated for many decades. And only in 1986 the holiday was revived.
And in the Union, for the first time, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture was celebrated in 1986 in the city of Murmansk, and then in Vologda, Novgorod, Kyiv and Minsk. Since 1987, the holiday has already become widespread in society, the name "Day of Slavic Writing and Culture" has been assigned to it. On January 30, 1991, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, May 24 was declared the Holiday of Slavic Literature and Culture. And in 1992, a monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius was solemnly opened in Moscow on Slavyanskaya Square. The creator of the monument is the sculptor V.M. Klykov.
In our time, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture is the only state-church holiday in Russia. On May 24, the Church honors the memory of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius.
Slavic writing was created in the 9th century, around 862. First, two alphabets were created - Glagolitic and Cyrillic.
Now about the great teachers themselves. It is known that the brothers were Orthodox monks and the Slavic alphabet was created in a Greek monastery. Among the surviving to this day ancient monuments Slavic writing also preserved the biographies of the creators of Slavic writing - Saints Cyril and Methodius. Of greatest interest are "The Life of Constantine the Philosopher", "The Life of Methodius", " Eulogy Cyril and Methodius.
From the biographies of Saints Cyril and Methodius, we know that Cyril and Methodius, Greeks, brothers, were born into the family of a Byzantine commander in the Macedonian city of Thessalonica (Thessalonica). Now this city belongs modern Greece and is on the coast. In addition to Cyril and Methodius, there were five more brothers in the family. Methodius was the eldest of the seven brothers, and Constantine the youngest. Methodius was supposedly born around 815. His secular name, alas, is unknown. According to the assumption of many researchers, the mother of the brothers was Slavic, and it is for this reason that the brothers knew the Slavic language from childhood as well as Greek. Most likely it was one of the dialects of the ancient Bulgarian language. Cyril was born around 827. And before being tonsured into monasticism, he bore the secular name Constantine. He became Cyril almost before his death.
Both brothers received an excellent education and a good upbringing. Methodius first followed in the footsteps of his father and decided to make a military career, but then around 852 he took monastic tonsure, and later became abbot of the Polychron monastery on the Bithynian Olympus (Asia Minor). Cyril, gifted with philological abilities from birth, with young years gravitated toward the sciences. Already at the Thessalonica school at the age of 14, he read the books of one of the fathers of the Church of the 4th century - Gregory the Theologian. Then Constantine was educated in Constantinople by the greatest scholars of his time, such as Leo the Grammarian and Photius (the future patriarch), studying ancient literature, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, rhetoric and music. After completing his studies, Cyril took the priesthood and began working as a librarian in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
Neither wealth, nor marriage with a beauty seduced the young man, who then bore the name Konstantin. His favorite pastimes were meditation and prayer. But Constantine turned out to be a very sought-after person, in 851-52 he had to go to the court of the Arab caliph Muttawakil as part of the embassy of the asikret George, where the future educator had theological disputes with Muslim scientists. Returning to Constantinople, Constantine went to his brother in the monastery. But soon after returning, both brothers - both Cyril and Methodius - at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav (Rastica), were sent by the Byzantine emperor to Great Moravia (863-866).
From "Tales of Bygone Years" we learn that once the Slavic princes Rostislav, Svyatopolk and Kotsel sent ambassadors to the Byzantine king Michael with a request to send a teacher, "who would instruct and instruct, and explain the holy books." Further it is reported: “... sent them Constantine the Philosopher, named Cyril, a righteous and true husband. And he created 38 letters for them - some according to the pattern of Greek letters, others according to Slavic speech. From the very first he began in Greek: after all, they are from “alpha”, he is from “az” ... ”.
The brothers translated the Apostle, the Gospel, the Psalter, the Octoechos and other church books. But at that time, Great Moravia was subordinated to the Bishopric of Passau in Bavaria, and the activities of the brothers of the Enlightenment ran into the fierce resistance of the German clergy, who were categorically against Slavic writing and Slavonic liturgy, insisting that the liturgy be performed only in Latin. Despite the fact that Cyril and Methodius prepared disciples, none of them managed to become priests under such conditions, and the brothers left Moravia together with 867 disciples, going to Venice, hoping to ordain their disciples in Byzantium in Constantinople.
Having received an invitation from the pope in Venice in 868, Constantine and Methodius set off for Rome. In Rome, Pope Adrian II consecrated Slavic books, and the disciples of Constantine and Methodius became priests and deacons. And then a misfortune happened: still not at all old Constantine, who was only 42 years old, became seriously ill and died in Rome on February 14, 869. Before his death, Kirill told his brother: “You and I, like two oxen, led the same furrow. I am exhausted, but don’t you think to leave the work of teaching and retire to your mountain again.
They buried the great Slavic teacher in the Basilica of St. Clement. Methodius outlived his brother by 16 years and carried out his order. At the end of the same 869, Methodius was appointed archbishop of Pannonia (Great Moravia). However, in 870 Great Moravia was occupied by the troops of the East Frankish kingdom, and Methodius was arrested and exiled to one of the monasteries in Swabia. Only the uprising of the people of Moravia and the intervention of Pope John VIII helped in 873 the new Moravian prince Svyatopolk achieve the release of Methodius. But Pope John VIII forbade Methodius to celebrate the liturgy in the Slavic language. Then Methodius went to Rome in 880, where he managed to achieve the abolition of the discriminatory ban.
Methodius died on April 8, 885, the location of his grave is unknown. He left as his successor the best of his students, Archbishop Gorazd, and about two hundred Slavs trained by him. But the disciples of Methodius, who defended the Slavic liturgy after his death, were expelled from Moravia and settled in Bulgaria. It was in this country that a new Slavic alphabet based on Greek; in order to convey the phonetic features of the Slavic language, the alphabet was supplemented with letters borrowed from the Glagolitic alphabet. This alphabet, having spread among the Eastern and Southern Slavs, later received the name "Cyrillic" - in honor of Cyril (Konstantin).
Although some scientists express doubts about the correctness of assigning a name to the alphabet, referring to the fact that in the Life of Methodius there is such a phrase: “Cyril persuaded his brother to go with him, because he knew Slavic". In addition, evidence has been preserved that Methodius translated the works of Constantine from Greek into Slavic, so it is possible that it was the eldest of the brothers who became the creator of the new alphabet. However, there is no solid evidence for this yet.
With the adoption of Christianity, Ancient Rus' switched to the Slavic alphabet, inviting from teachers - the successors of the work of Cyril and Methodius. And in Kyiv, and in Novgorod, and in other cities, schools were created for teaching Slavic literacy.
Today in the world there are about 60 peoples whose writing was based on the Cyrillic alphabet. And many thanks to the two great brothers for leaving us a legacy that will continue to unite the Slavic world.
F. I. Tyutchev
Great day of Cyril's death -
What a warm and simple greeting
millennial anniversary
We honor the holy memory?
What words to capture this day,
As not with the words spoken by them,
When I said goodbye to my brother and friends,
He reluctantly left his ashes to you, Rome...
Involved in his work
Through whole line centuries, through so many generations,
And we, and we pulled a furrow
Among temptations and doubts.
And in turn, like him, without completing the work;
And we will get off it and, holy words
Remembering him, we then exclaim:
"Do not change yourself, great Russia!"
Do not believe, do not believe strangers, dear land,
Their false wisdom or their impudent deceptions,
And, like Saint Cyril, you don't leave
Great service to the Slavs.
The origin of the holiday is inseparably linked with the memory of the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet - the Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius.
Cyril and Methodius were born into a noble and pious family that lived in Thessaloniki (now Thessaloniki). The elder brother Methodius chose a military field, served in a dependent Byzantine Empire Slavic principality, where he learned the local language. After 10 years of service, he became a monk, and then became the abbot of a monastery in Bithynia.
Kirill s early age was interested in science, studied languages, and communicated with prominent personalities of that time, such as the Byzantine chronicler Leon Grammatikos and Patriarch Photius. After completing his studies, he received the rank of priest, taught philosophy in Constantinople, and later moved to Methodius in a monastery, where he prayed and read a lot.
The reason for the creation of a new script was the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav to send teachers to him so that they preached in the native language of his subjects. Those were the times when Slavic peoples they were just entering the historical stage and needed convincing sermons and public worship. In 863, the brothers begin to create a new alphabet. They significantly change the Greek alphabet and try to more accurately convey Slavic sounds. Using the new script, they translate books, texts from the Gospel, psalms, hymns for liturgies. As soon as the word of God sounded in the Slavic language, the need for local clergymen immediately arose, so the most worthy were prepared for ordination. Listening to the texts of the Holy Scriptures on mother tongue, people began to accept Christianity, and with it writing. Having inherited their own alphabet, the culture and spirituality of the Slavic countries experienced an unprecedented rise.
The Orthodox Church deeply honors the memory of the brothers. Already in the XI century. the day of May 11 (May 24 according to the Gregorian calendar) is declared the day of memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and later, when science and education flourished, this day became a holiday Slavic writing. In Rus', the custom of remembering Cyril and Methodius has developed a very long time ago, but at the state level the holiday was approved only in 1863, almost 1000 years after the introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet. IN Soviet times it was generally forgotten about, but on May 24, 1986, several events were held in Murmansk dedicated to the Day of Writing, and already in next year it was celebrated in Kyiv, Minsk and Novgorod. In 1991, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR legalized the holiday as the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture.
Now in Russia the holiday is celebrated by both the church and the secular community. Together with commemorative services, processions and pilgrimages to monasteries, exhibitions, presentations, literary readings, competitions and festive concerts. This holiday is an occasion for joy and pride in their national culture, both for believers and convinced atheists in many countries.
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Slides captions:
Day of memory of the first teachers of the Slavic peoples - the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius
Our ancestors knew how to do everything: to plow the land, to weave canvases, and to chop tower houses. They knew how to do a lot of things, but they didn’t know letters, they didn’t know books. And someone had to teach them.
The word “alphabet” comes from the names of the first two letters of the Slavic alphabet: A (az) and B (beeches): ABC: AZ + BUKI and the word “alphabet” comes from the name of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: ALPHABET: ALPHA + VITA The alphabet is much older alphabet. In the 9th century there was no alphabet, and the Slavs did not have their own letters. And so there was no writing. The Slavs could not write books or even letters to each other in their own language.
The origins of Russian writing ABC: AZ + BUK Greek letters: Aa Bb Gg Dd Ee Kk Ll Mm ALPHABET: ALPHA + VITA Slavic letters: Aa Vv Gg Dd Her Kk Ll Mm
Cyrillic
In the 9th century in Byzantium, in the city of Thessalonica (now the city of Thessaloniki in Greece), there lived two brothers - Constantine and Methodius. The city of Thessalonica (now called Thessaloniki). Greece
St. Methodius St. Methodius is a high-ranking warrior who ruled for about 10 years one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to Byzantium, which gave him the opportunity to learn the Slavic language
St. Cyril St. Cyril from an early age was distinguished by mental abilities. Studying at the Thessalonica school and not yet fifteen years old, he already read books
Using the new alphabet, Cyril and Methodius translated a number of liturgical books into Slavonic.
The merits of Cyril and Methodius compiled the Slavic alphabet, translated liturgical books from Greek into Slavonic, and contributed to the introduction and spread of Slavic worship.
Saints are remembered and honored
Across wide Rus' - our mother The bell ringing spills. Now the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius are glorified for their labors. They remember Cyril and Methodius, the Glorious Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers, In Belarus, Macedonia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Praise the wise brothers in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia. All the peoples that write in Cyrillic, Which are called Slavic since ancient times, Praise the feat of the first teachers, their Christian enlighteners.
Preview:
Class hour script
on this topic
"Day of Slavic Literature and Culture"
Sheujen Fatima Chemalevna
teachers primary school MBOU secondary school No. 4 named after. D.S.Skhalyakho
Explanatory note.
Every nation has the right to be proud of its language. Russian language is the richest, beautiful language among those existing on earth and should be proud of it, protect it as a unique cultural and spiritual phenomenon.
Therefore, today an appeal to the origins of spirituality, the moral revival of society, attentive and careful attitude to the Russian language, the preservation and enhancement of its richest heritage,preservation of centuries-old traditions based on the strengthening of patriotism, citizenship, responsibility for the fate of the country and small motherland are of great relevance and importance. Concern for the revival of national culture based on moral ideals and values, the development of centuries-old folk traditions are the most important tasks of society.
The Day of Slavic Literature and Culture provides an opportunity to turn our mind's eye to the past, to realize the spiritual value and actual cultural significance of the feat of the Thessalonica Enlighteners.
Target: introduce the history and features of the holiday
Tasks to achieve the goal:
- Open the mind: about the origin of writing, about the origins of Russian writing, about Slavicalphabet and its creators, about cultural heritage Russian people, about the celebration of the DaySlavic writing and culture;
- develop personal qualities: tolerance, morality; mental processes: memory, perception, thinking and cognitive processes;
- to cultivate a sense of love and respect for the culture of the Russian people;
Classroom script.
slide 1:
Mark him as
Slide 2:
Teacher: Saints' DayEqual-to-the-ApostlesCyril and Methodius, enlighteners
Slavyan.
Slide 3:
(Showing the textbook "ABC" by V. G, Goretsky and others)
What is this textbook? (-ABC.)
What does this book teach?
(-This book introduces letters, teaches to read.)
When you were little, your parents read books to you. When you went to school, you yourself learned to read and write. Do you think our ancestors could read and write?
(children's answers)
Slide 4:
Listen to the poem by N. Konchalovskaya "How a church clerk taught children in the old days."
Student: In the old days, children learned
They were taught by a church clerk.
Came at dawn
And they repeated the letters like this:
A yes B like AZ yes BUKI,
B - as VEDI, G - VERB.
And a teacher for science
I beat them on Saturdays.
This is how they wrote with a pen
From goose wing.
This knife is not without a reason.
It was called feather
They sharpened their pen,
If it wasn't spicy.
It was difficult to get a diploma
Our ancestors in the old days,
And the girls were supposed to
Don't learn anything.
Only boys were taught.
Deacon with a pointer in his hand
In a singsong voice I read books to them
in church language.
How did they learn to read and write in the old days?
(children's answers)
Have letters always existed?
(-No, they didn’t exist before, ancient people didn’t even learn to speak right away.)
It's hard to believe, but once our ancestors - the Slavs did not have books at all, because there were no letters that could be used to write Slavic speech.
After acceptance Christian religion Slavs began to use Latin and Greek letters instead of their simplest signs. But this was not very convenient, since these letters could not convey all the features of Slavic speech.
Have you ever wondered where and when the letters appeared? Today we will try to answer this question. But first, let's compare the words ALPHABET and ALPHABET. Is there a difference between them? If there is, what is it?
(-The words ALPHABET and ALPHABET mean the same thing: a group of words arranged in a certain established order. But their origin is different.
In the Old Slavonic alphabet, each letter has its own name. Opens the Old Slavonic alphabet AZ, which denotes the sound [a]. AZ is the name of God. In the Bible, the Lord says: "I am God" - "I am God."
The name of the second letter is BUKI. It denotes the sounds [b] and [b, ]. BUKI - this is the letters. The word "letters" comes from the name of the beech tree. The ancient Germans made beech boards and used them for writing.
Add the first and second letters. What happened?
AZBUKA - a Slavic word, comes from the name of the first two letters of the Slavic alphabet: AZ and BUKI. AZ + BUKI = ABC.
The word alphabet came to us from Greek and comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. ALPHA + VITA \u003d ALPHABET.
Slide 5, 6:
AZ, BUKI, VEDI... For several centuries, the first acquaintance of a person with a book began with these letters. And more than a thousand years ago, this alphabet, later named Cyrillic in honor of its creator, became the basis of writing.
Slide 7:
Look carefully at the Old Slavonic alphabet and tell me if there are letters unfamiliar to you in it?
(-There are letters in the Old Slavonic alphabet that are no longer in the Russian language.)
Name these letters.
How and where did our alphabet come from, and why is it called Cyrillic?
Slide 8:
In the 9th century in Byzantium, in the city of Thessalonica (now the city of Thessaloniki in Greece), there lived two brothers - Constantine and Methodius.
slide 9, 10.
Scene.
Teacher: Everything at school seemed interesting and surprising to Konstantin, and he kept pestering his older brother with questions:
Kirill. - Why does the teacher speak Greek all the time? I heard that in the shop he spoke excellent Slavonic.
Methodius. - So it's in the store. And at school it is possible only in Greek. Because books, knowledge - everything is from the Greeks.
Kirill. - Why don't the Slavs have their own books?
Methodius. - Because it is impossible to write in the Slavic language.
Kirill. - Like this? So I'll take it and write "house".
Methodius. - And you won’t write “I live in the house” anymore, because you won’t have enough letters.
Cyril (shouting) - So I'll figure it out!
Teacher : At this time, their school teacher passed by. He heard the brothers talking.
Teacher. - Don't you know that only cultural languages worthy of ink and parchment - Latin and Greek. All other languages are crude and barbaric and cannot be written in!
Kirill. - No, you can! So I will grow up and come up with letters for the Slavs. They will write, and no worse than the Greeks.
Teacher: Years have passed. The brothers grew up and learned. But the dream to create the Slavic alphabet did not leave his younger brother. He worked hard and came up with initial letters, and from them he compiled the alphabet.
But coming up with is half the battle. It is necessary to translate books from Greek into Slavonic so that the Slavs have something to read. It turned out to be a very difficult task, and Kirill alone could not cope. His elder brother Methodius began to help him.
Student: After praying to God in the morning,
Bent over the holy leaf
He brought the letters to his pen
Luminous golden angel.
And the letters of the Slavic ligature lay down,
And line after line
Becoming a great book
sent by the divine hand.
And it seemed the brilliance of heavenly stars
This book keeps
And it seemed like Jesus Christ himself
He speaks Slavic to us!
Slide 11.
Slide 12:
The great work of creating the Old Slavonic alphabet was done by the brothers Cyril and Methodius. The main merit in this matter belongs to Cyril. Methodius was his faithful assistant. Compiling the Slavic alphabet, they were able to catch the main sounds in the sound of the Slavic language and found letter designations for each of them. In memory of the great feat of the brothers, May 24 is celebrated in all Slavic countries as the Day Slavic culture and writing or memorial day to Cyril and Methodius.
The holy brothers not only gave the Slavic people the alphabet and laid the foundation for literature, writing and culture in general.
Previously, this holiday was considered a church holiday. IN modern world The Day of Slavic Culture and Literature is a holiday of enlightenment, native word, native book, native culture and literature.
Slides 13, 14.
Student: Across wide Rus' - our mother
The bell ringing is spreading.
Now brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius
Glorified for their labors
Student: Remember Cyril and Methodius,
Brothers glorious, equal to the apostles,
In Belarus, in Macedonia,
In Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia,
Praise the wise brothers in Bulgaria,
In Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia.
Student: All nations that write in Cyrillic,
What are called from ancient times Slavic,
Praise the feat of the first teachers,
Christian enlighteners.
Every year on May 24, the Church commemorates and glorifies the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius, the creators of Slavic writing. On this day, in many Slavic countries, festive concerts and events dedicated to this event are held.
Will open the celebration Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow. The service will be led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', who will celebrate on this day the memory of his heavenly patron, St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril.
According to the tradition that has developed over the past few years, on this day, an all-Russian festive concert will be held simultaneously in all regions of the country from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. Entrance to the concert is free. Holiday programs in all cities will begin at 13.00 Moscow time. The main celebration will take place on Red Square in Moscow, with live broadcasts from Novosibirsk, Kaliningrad and Kazan.
The organizers of the festive event are the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ministry of Culture Russian Federation and the government of Moscow.
IN holiday concert children's and youth academic choirs will take part in the Great consolidated Moscow choir. Also participating in the program will be: the Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (symphonic and wind ensembles), the Ensemble of Russian folk instruments"Russia" them. L.G. Zykina, famous soloists leading musical theaters countries, popular film and stage artists.
This year the main theme of the holiday will be the key historical event- creation of the primary source of Slavic writing - the ABC and Primer. The repertoire basis of the concert will be popular children's songs. The concert program will feature songs from famous feature and animation films dedicated to the Year of Cinema declared in Russia.
The Moscow Cinema chain of cinemas will hold special free screenings dedicated to the date. The action will take place in the cinemas Sputnik, Saturn, Cosmos, Zvezda, Fakel.
Day of Slavic writing. history of the holiday
The history of the holiday goes back to the church tradition that existed in Bulgaria in the 10th-11th centuries.
The celebration of the memory of the holy brothers took place in ancient times among all Slavic peoples, but then, under the influence of historical and political circumstances, it was lost. IN early XIX century, along with the rise of Slavic cultures in Europe, the memory of the Slavic first teachers was also revived.
In 1863, the Russian Holy Synod determined, in connection with the celebration of the millennium of the Moravian mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius, to establish an annual celebration in honor of Saints Methodius and Cyril. After the 1917 revolution, the tradition was interrupted.
In the Soviet Union, official interest in the personalities of Saints Cyril and Methodius was limited to the scientific community. Since 1963, there have been irregular scientific conferences dedicated to this holiday. For the first time on the day of remembrance of the saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, official celebrations took place on May 24, 1986 in the cities of Murmansk and Severomorsk, in the Kola and Lovozero regions.
Photo: k-istine.ru On January 30, 1991, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted a resolution on the annual holding of the Days of Slavic Culture and Literature. The capital of the holiday every year was some new locality Russia (except for 1989 and 1990, when Kyiv and Minsk were the capitals, respectively).
Since 2010, Moscow has become the center of festive celebrations.
Last year, the celebrations were consecrated to several anniversaries Russian history. Firstly, this is the millennium from the day of the death of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, Baptist of Rus'. Then, in the concert, the music of P.I. Tchaikovsky, whose 175th birthday was celebrated in 2015, as well as Georgy Sviridov, whose centenary was celebrated in the country and abroad.
Part of the literary and concert composition was devoted to the work of M.A. Sholokhov: last year marked the 110th anniversary of the birth of the great writer. Found in the concert program and another anniversary - the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
In those years when there was a split between the Western Church and its Eastern Orthodox sister, on Slavic lands the process of Christianization of peoples began to grow with redoubled force. Looking back into the past, we see that the Lord called them to replenish the ranks of their church, sending them wise mentors from the educated and advanced, at that time, Byzantium. Thanks to them, the light of Orthodoxy shone in full measure for all Slavs.
Brethren from Thessaloniki
Celebrated annually on May 24, the Day of Culture has been a holiday since ancient times. And although it had a different name, it had the same meaning - veneration of the memory of two great educators, who by their labors acquired the crowns of holiness. These teachers of the Slavic peoples were born in the 9th century, in one of largest cities Byzantium - Thessaloniki (otherwise - Thessalonica), but they accomplished the main work of their lives in the Slavic lands, to which the Lord vouchsafed them to go.
Cyril (baptized Konstantin) and Methodius were brothers and grew up in a wealthy and educated family. Their father, a professional military man, served the emperor and held high positions at court. WITH early childhood the brothers, in addition to their native Greek, also heard the Slavic language, which was spoken by many representatives of the tribes that lived around. Over time, the young men mastered it to perfection. The elder brother Methodius, having decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, became a military man and even made significant progress in this area, but eventually abandoned military career and became a simple monk.
Future enlighteners of the Slavs
His younger brother Konstantin, having received an excellent education, while still at home, became the creator of the Glagolitic alphabet - the Slavic alphabet - and began translating the Gospel into this language. It is known that while in Constantinople, he studied philosophy, dialectics, mathematics and a number of other sciences from the best teachers of his time. Soon, having become a priest, he received a position as a library keeper at the famous and a year later - a teacher at the University of Magnavra, which he graduated shortly before. He largely replenished his education during his stay in Korsun, where he spent a considerable time together with Byzantine diplomats.
Brothers Mission in Bulgaria
But the main thing was ahead of the brothers. In 862, a delegation from the local ruler arrived in Constantinople from Moravia, asking for mentors to be sent to him, capable of conveying the teachings of Christ to the people in their native language. In response to this, the emperor and patriarch sent brothers to carry out this great mission. A year later, Constantine, together with Methodius and his students, became the creators of the alphabet, which was based on Old Slavonic language, and translated into Bulgarian a number of books from the Holy Scriptures.
While in Moravia, the brothers carried out extensive educational activities among the local population. They not only taught literacy, but also helped to organize worship services for their mission. Their mission lasted about three years, during which they created the necessary basis for the baptism of Bulgaria, which took place in 864. In 867, while already in Rome, Constantine fell ill from serious illness, and shortly before his death, he took the vows as a monk under the name Cyril.
Feast of the Holy Brothers
In memory of the deeds of these great enlighteners and was established on May 24 and culture. Its roots go back to the 10th-11th centuries, when in Bulgaria it became a custom to commemorate them every year on May 24th. The days of memory of each of them separately were also established. All this speaks of the recognition of the invaluable merits of the brothers before national culture Slavic peoples. Starting from the 18th - 19th centuries - a period that went down in history as the Bulgarian revival - Slavic writing began to be noted.
In Rus', the celebration of this day became a custom quite late. Only in 1863 it was introduced into use by a special decree. And in the recent past, in 1985, in connection with the 1100th anniversary of the repose of Saint Methodius, it was decided to consider this day not only a religious holiday, but also a national one. That is why the Day of Slavonic Literature is celebrated on May 24th.
Government and church initiatives
In 1991, the celebrations were given official status. At a government meeting held on January 30, a resolution was adopted, according to which the whole country began to celebrate new holiday― May 24, Day of Slavic Literature and Culture. It is interesting that every year some regular settlement is chosen as its capital.
It is symbolic that on the night preceding the Bright Resurrection of Christ this year, the Patriarch lit a candle of the Slavic procession aimed at popularizing and preserving cultural property Slavic peoples. This good action is a kind of expedition along the main transport arteries, linking the most important historical centers countries.
Celebration in Moscow
Initially, it was decided not to tie May 24 - and cultures - within the framework of any particular scenario, but to give full freedom of creativity to its organizers in each specific case.
This opened up a wide scope for holding various conferences, folklore concerts, meetings with writers, festivals and other events aimed at further development national Slavic culture.
In Moscow, the holiday of May 24 (Day of Slavonic Literature) began this year with a solemn address to all Russians by the head of the church, and then followed by a concert under open sky, which has become an all-Russian event in terms of the scale of the event and the number of participants who performed in it. It was covered by leading media representatives from around the world. Such events are an excellent way to strengthen mutual understanding between representatives of different nations.
Celebrations in the city on the Neva
May 24, 2015, the Day of Slavonic Literature, was celebrated brightly and interestingly in St. Petersburg. Here, on the steps of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which is one of the symbols of the city on the Neva, a choir of three thousand people performed, which, along with professional musicians, included members of amateur groups. Interestingly, two years ago, on the same steps, Petersburgers and guests of the city heard the singing of the choir, which consisted of 4335 people.
This year, a huge team performed seventeen well-known and beloved songs among the people. However, the events for the Day of Slavic Literature (May 24) this year were not limited to this. There were also held traditional meetings with writers, whose works have managed to fall in love with Petersburgers, as well as performances in many city parks. folk groups. This day will be remembered for a long time by everyone who took part in the celebrations.
