Saints Cyril and Methodius, our venerated "Apostles of the Slavs", had a deep influence on our cultural and spiritual heritage. With the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet and the translation of the sacred texts into the Old Slavic language they are crucial in the process of inciting literacy, education and cultural unity among the Slavic peoples.
Cyril and Methodius were born in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, as Constantine and Methodius. The most significant part of their life path is the Moravian mission, which was set in motion at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav to solve the political and ecclesiastical issues in the country. He requested to send him teachers who would preach the word of God in an understandable Slavic language. The missionaries were Cyril and Methodius. The Slavs had no letters, so Cyril had to compile an alphabet of 38 letters and translate the necessary books into the Slavic language. In compiling this first Slavic alphabet (the Glagolitic alphabet) used in the first translations from Greek into the Slavic language, Cyril turned to the language of the Macedonian Slavs from Thessaloniki and the surrounding area. In the Bregalnica mission, according to legend, he baptized 54,000 Slavs. Cyril died in Rome in 869 and today his relics rest in the Roman Church of St. Clement. Methodius died in 885 and was buried in the Moravian capital of Velegrad.
On this day we celebrate our substantial historic and cultural roots and remember the enlightenment and mutual understanding. The Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Macedonia is celebrated as a national holiday and Day of Slavic Literacy and Culture.
May the legacy of Ss. Cyril and Methodius continue to inspire and guide us towards a brighter and more enlightened future!
The State Archives has documents of a number of registered schools that have the name of the first Slavic educators and philosophers Ss. Cyril and Methodius.