New Catholic Dictionary – Saints Cyril and Methodius

[Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius]

Bishops, confessors (827-868 and 826-885), apostles of the Slavs, born Thessalonica. These two brothers renounced secular honors, entered a monastery on the Bosporus, and became priests. In 858 they went to Constantinople to teach. There they organized the Church and made numerous converts among the Khazars. In 863 they were sent on a mission to Moravia. Cyril invented an alphabet, called the Cyrillic, the basis of the Russian alphabet, and with the help of Methodius translated the necessary liturgical books and Gospels into Slavonic. They journeyed to Rome, were consecrated bishops, and there Cyril died. Methodius was appointed Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia. He encountered countless difficulties with the German bishops who deposed and imprisoned him for three years. Reinstated by Pope John VIII, he devoted himself to evangelizing the Bohemians and Poles in northern Moravia. He died at Constantinople. Cyril and Methodius are usually represented facing each other, supporting a church between them, recalling that they were the founders of the Slavonic Church, also holding the letters of the Slavonic alphabet. Relics in the church of Saint Clement, Rome, and in the church of Saint Bruno, Moravia. Feast, Roman Calendar, 6 July.

MLA Citation

  • “Saints Cyril and Methodius”. New Catholic Dictionary. 16 September 2012. Web. 28 January 2015. <>