Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in Bulgaria

The Slavic protomasters, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, were canonized as saints by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for the dissemination and translation of the liturgical books in Old Slavic and for their work as preachers of Christianity among the Slavs.

Declared co-patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul II, the Isoapostles Cyril and Methodius brought about a cultural revolution in the 9th century, destroying the myth of the three sacred languages for preaching the New Testament (Latin, Greek and Hebrew). Thanks to their translations, the holy brothers paved the way for Christian enlightenment not only for the Slavs, but for all medieval peoples.

After their mission of enlightenment in Great Moravia and Pannonia, the work of Saints Cyril and Methodius culminated with their arrival in Rome in 868.

Scholars explain the success of the two brothers with the personality of St. Cyril, whose worldly name was Constantine and was called the Philosopher. Thanks to his excellent education, the saint dispelled doubts that the translations of the sacred books could generate heresies. A happy circumstance was also the fact that the two brothers brought and gave to the Vatican the mortal relics of St. Clement, who was one of the first popes of Rome and a pupil of the apostles Peter and Paul.