by Fr. Athanasius Pekar, OSBM

Fr. Athanasius Pekar, OSBM wrote this series of articles on the
occasion of the 1,100th anniversary of the death of St. Cyril (869),
published in the Byzantine Catholic World from March 9 through May
4, 1969, and later issued by the Byzantine Seminary Press, Pittsburgh,
"with ecclesiastical approval." The source's own index page lists nine
numbered chapters; Chapter 7, "Our Slavic Bible," is missing from the
live site itself, not only from this preservation -- a genuine gap in
the source, disclosed honestly rather than filled in.

Our Slavic Heritage

Today, we are witnessing an interesting phenomenon. The Czechs, Slovaks and
Croats, who abandoned Cyrillo-Methodian ideals in the past are making a
concerted effort to restore, in their history, the spiritual heritage of the
Slavic Apostles, SS. Cyril and Methodius, while we, Carpatho-Rusyns, whose
cultural and spiritual life has its roots in Cyrillo-Methodian Christianity, are
indifferent about their ideals and sacred trust.

February 14th of this year (1969) completed the eleventh centenary of the
death of St. Cyril, who died in Rome in 869. In our circles once again it
passed unnoticed. It would be good to re-examine our past and rediscover the
very roots of our national and religious heritage. We are not without history,
but the history of our people is studied very little, and even more, is less
known to us. The ignorance of our past is our greatest enemy, because a people
without a past cannot have a future.

Our people have their own history. And it is an ancient and glorious one.
We are descendants of the glorious race os Slavs, meaning just that -
Glory. Why is there such great apathy as to our own history? After one
hundred years the words of our enlightened poet, Father Alexander Dukhnovich
(1803-1865) remain still a voice of one crying in the desert: "Carpatho-Rusyns,
awaken from your deep slumber - do not forget your own!"

Our Slavic Origins

Our people belong to the Slavic group of the Indo-European family of
nations, which settled sown in its European cradle about 2,000 years before
Christ. The primitive habitat of the Slavs can be roughly outlined in the North
by the Baltic Sea, to the East by the River Bug, in the South by the Carpathian
Mountains, and on the Western frontier by the River Elbe (cfr. the map, borrowed
from F. Dvornik, The Slavs, Boston, Mass, 1959, p.4).

The archeological excavations prove that our Slavic ancestors possessed a
very high culture. They were peace-loving people, dedicated to their soil, since
agriculture was their main occupation. Some of the nomadic tribes, like the
Scythians, Sarmathian Croats and Turkish Bulgarians, accepted the Slav culture
and became assimilated by them, while retaining their tribal names.

The Greek historian Procopius of Caesarea, who came into contact with the
Slavs during the military campaign of the Byzantine General Belisarius
(538-552), in his memoirs praises the democratic way of life: "They are not
ruled by one man, but since ancient times they have lived in a democracy. This
is the reason why they discuss in common the pleasant events and the harassing
troubles of importance, and the whole people decide upon these things"
(cfr. his History of Wars, b. 7, ch. 14).

The primitive Slav culture, generally speaking, can be divided into two
periods: 10 Lusatian and 20 Venedian. Lusatian culture, embracing the period of
time from 2,000 - 500 B.C., was violently interrupted by the invasion of nomadic
Scythians in about 500 B.C. It took the Slavs almost 400 years to restore their
pristine culture as is witnessed by the Venedian period from 100 B.C. until
about 400 A.D.

Believing in the life beyond the grave, the Slavs developed their religion
under the influence of the Iranian belief as it was recently proved by
comparative philology. To designate a deity, the Slavs used the term "Bog,"
"Boh," while the other Indo-European peoples used "Deus" or
its derivatives. Slavic "Boh" (originally "Bogu") is closely
related to the Iranian "Baga" meaning the source or giver of all good
things. Thus man with plenty of good things is called by the Slavs "bogat",
"Bohatyj" (same root - bog, boh).

The Iranian religion was dualistic, i.e. admitting two supreme
principles-deities: " Baga" - the principle of good and "Dauva"-the
principle of evil. The second left its traces in the Slavic "Div" -
bad spirit, and "divyj"-wild, untamed. The Slavs, subjecting the evil
spirits to the Supreme God, slowly discarded the dualistic philosophy of life.
They believed also in the free will of man. The freedom of choice they called "vira"
from the Iranian "var" meaning choice. After the conversion to
Christianity they used the term "vira" to designate faith i.e. choice
of good, adherence to God.

for many centuries the Slavic tribes used the same common language. It was
only during the third and fourth centuries that some dialectical differences
began to develop among the various tribes, but until the tenth century they were
not too noticeable. Thus, at the time of SS. Cyril and Methodius we can still
talk about a common language among the Slavic tribes.

The Slavs lived up to the third century in their original settlement,
relatively speaking, in a compact mass. They were ruled by their ancients or
tribal princes, called by various names. The most common were: kahan, kniaz,
zhupan and ban. It was only under the pressure of nomadic hoards in the fourth
century that some Slavic tribes crossed the Carpathian Mountains and pushed
their way down to the Balkans. Others moved westward toward the upper Danube,
and still others eastward toward the River Dniper and Black Sea. Thus, from the
fourth through the eighth centuries, we have a definite tribal division among
the Slavs, giving birth to the various Slavic peoples.

Generally, the linguists divide the Slavs into three main groups, called: 10
Western Slavs 20 Southern or Yugoslavs, and 30 Eastern Slavs. The Western Slavs
embrace modern nations of Czechs, Slovaks, Lusitian Serbs and Poles. To the
group of Southern Slavs belong Serbs, Croats, Slovenians, Macedonians and
Bulgarians. The Eastern Slavs are subdivided into three separate branches,
forming as many nationalities: Russians (originally Muscovites), White or
Bielo-Russians and Rusyns, most of whom are commonly called Ukrainians today.

From the above classification one can see that our ancestors, who came to
the United States mostly from the eparchies of Mukachevo, Prjashev and
Przemyshyl, are known in history as "Rusyns" and in our language as "Rusiny."
They belong to the group of the Eastern Slavs and, therefore, they should not be
confused with any ethnic group of the Western Slavs or even with a non-Slavic
nationality.

The slavic tribe, which during the eighth century settled on both slopes of
the Carpathian mountains (north and south) bore the name of White Horvaths - "Bil'l
Horvaty" (not to be confused with the Croats in Yugoslavia). They were
ruled by their own princes, vassals of some stronger Slavic ruler of Bulgaria,
Moravia, and later Kievan Rus'. It was only in the eleventh century that some of
them became subjects of the king of Hungary. From the Kievan Rus' they adopted
their national name of "Rusiny", "Rusi Syny," meaning - Sons
of the Rus'. It became the common name of all southeastern Slavic tribes from
the Poprad River in Prjashevschina all the way to the Caspian Sea and the River
Don.

Since the Greek historians were the first to show their interest in our
ancestors, they adapted our national name, making some phonetic changes
according to the exigency of their language. Changing our dental sound "s"
into their "th" and adding their own ending, the Greek historians
called our people "Ruthenoi". In Latin our national name became "Rutheni:,
from which it was adapted into the English language as "Rusyns."

Since many of our ancestors lived for many centuries under the Hungarian
suzerainty, they were also called "Uhors'ki Rusiny," i.e. Rusyns of
Hungary. After World War I, they were called from their habitat "Podkarpats'ki
Rusiny," meaning Rusyns living under the Carpathians.

The majority of the Rusyns in order not to be confused with the Russians
(known in history as Muscovites until 1713), began to call themselves Ukrainians
and their land Ukraine. Under the influence of these changes and political
tendencies, our people at home and abroad developed three various denominations;
10 Carpatho-Rusyns, 20 Carpatho-Russians, and 30 Carpatho-Ukrainians, each
giving the opportunity to further alterations. In his recent inquiry, the Rev.
John Slivka of Brooklyn NY enumerates 21 different names extracted from our
various periodicals and publications (cfr. his Who Are We?, 1968 p. 4).

To avoid further confusion and to give our people here in the United States
their badly needed national identity, our civic and religious leaders should
adapt our historical name of "Rusiny" in English "Rusyns."
It is high time to tell our people who they are and where they come from!

Our Slavic Apostles

Our ancestors were Christianized at the end of the ninth century, while
they were under the suzerainty of the Moravian empire, by the disciples
of SS. Cyril and Methodius. With Christianity, the holy brothers gave us
our beautiful Byzantine-Slavonic Rite and tied us into the sphere of Slavic
culture. Justly then we venerate them as our Slavic Teachers and Apostles.
They are remembered in our Liturgy on May 11.

The birthplace of our Slavic apostles was the city of Thessalonica,
capital of the Macedonian province of the Byzantine empire. During the
eighth century, some Slavic tribes settled in Macedonia and slowly pushed
out all alien elements, thus making the whole province predominately Slavic.
The Macedonians were soon Christianized by the Byzantine missionaries accepting
their Rite.

St. Methodius was born in 815 A.D., and chose for himself an administrative
career as a magistrate. But soon he abandoned his promising position and
in 855 retired to a monastery called "Polychron" on Mt. Olympus
in Bithynia, Asia Minor. His biographer tells us that after Methodius "received
his monastic tonsure and was invested into a religious habit, he eagerly
practiced humility, faithfully observing the monastic rules and devoting
himself to his books." Eventually, after his return from the mission
to the Khazars, he became a superior of the said monastery.

Constantine, generally known under his religious name Cyril, was born
in 826 A.D. From his youth he was interested in learning and made for himself
a brilliant career in the court of Constantinople as a scholar and philosopher.
Soon he became disgusted with the cunning court intrigues and retired into
solitude. Later, he followed his older brother to the monastery on Mt.
Olympus, as it can be inferred from his biography: "He went to Olympus
where he joined his brother Methodius. There he began to lead a monastic
life, praying without ceasing to God and having conversation only with
his books."

News of their learning and holy life soon spread, reaching eventually
the imperial court. Emperor Michael III (842-867), sending a delegation
to the Khazars to strengthen their friendship, chose both brothers as members
of the delegation. There is no doubt that during such political missions,
religious questions were also discussed. The official language of the Khazars
was Hebrew with which St. Cyril became well acquainted.

During their journey, in the winter of 858, they were stranded in the
Greek city Kherson in the Crimea, and there they discovered the holy relics
of the martyred Pope Clement I (about 88-100). Pope Clement was exiled
to Crimea by the emperor Trajan to work at the stone quarries of Kherson
and there suffered a martyr's death. In 868, SS. Cyril and Methodius took
these relics to Rome and deposited them in the basilica dedicated to St.
Clement.

After their return from a highly successful mission to the Khazars,
in the autumn of 861, St. Methodius retired again to his monastery on Olympus,
while St. Cyril remained at the court of Constantinople as a teacher of
philosophy. There he also wrote his Memoirs of the mission to the Khazars
which were later translated by St. Methodius into Slavonic.

During the summer of 862 the Moravian Prince Rostislav (846-869) sent
his delegation to Constantinople in order to seek an alliance with Byzantium
against the threatening Franks. To secure the Emperor's assistance, the
prince also insisted that missionaries be sent to him "to explain
to us the Christian truths in our own language." Emperor Michael III,
signing the alliance with Rostislav, sent to Moravia two missionary brothers,
SS. Cyril and Methodius, who were already familiar with the Slavic tongue
and customs from their native Tessalonica. Having translated parts of the
Holy Scriptures and Liturgical Books into the Slavonic language, they arrived
in Moravia in 863. In a short time they achieved great success among the
Slavs. They gathered around themselves many disciples, preparing them for
missionary work in their Slavic tongue.

Because of Byzantine intervention in Bulgaria, the campaign of Louis
the German, King of the Eastern Franks, in 864 against the Moravian prince
was unsuccessful. But the Frankish and German missionaries began their
own campaign against SS. Cyril and Methodius and their "heretical
Slavic Liturgy." Both brothers were then summoned to Rome, where they
completely justified themselves and Pope Adrian II sanctioned the use of
the Slavonic language in the Liturgy. In Rome, after having received the
religious habit, St. Cyril died on February 14, 869, and was buried with
great solemnity in the basilica of St. Clement.

Pope Adrian II consecrated St. Methodius as a bishop and, appointing
him a Metropolitan of an ancient see of Sirmium (modern Sriem, Yugoslavia),
made him a Papal Legate fro the Slavs.

Unfortunately, by the time of his return to Moravia, the Franks again
took an upper hand there, since Rostislav's nephew, Prince Svatopluk (870-894)
made an alliance with the Eastern Franks. These Franks blinded Prince Rostislav
and imprisoned him in one of their monasteries. On his return to Moravia,
St. Methodius was arrested by the Bavarian troops and tried by the local
synod on charges of being an imposter and usurper of episcopal powers.
The synod, in which several German bishops took part, was presided over
by the Archbishop of Salzburgh. It was three years later that St. Methodius
was released from the prison after Pope John VII threatened to suspend
all the responsible bishops.

At that time the political situation in Moravia changed once again,
this time in favor of St. Methodius. When people revolted against the Frankish
nobles, Prince Svatopluk tried to placate them by supporting the rebellion.
Thus in 874 Svatopluk became once again the undisputed master of the Moravian
empire which was ratified by the peace treaty with the Franks. There followed
a period of great political expansion under the Moravian prince, at which
time the Carpathian region was also incorporated into the Moravian realm.
The missionary work of St. Methodius again began to flourish.

The ambition of Svatopluk to extend his power into Frankish territory,
unfortunately, made him subservient to the German missionaries, headed
by Wiching of Nitra, in Modern Slovakia. They again used smear tactics
against St. Methodius in Rome, accusing him of: a) heresy b) illegal usurpation
of archepiscopacy, and c) scandalous use of the Slavonic language in the
Liturgy. St. Methodius cleared himself before Pope VIII, who became his
staunch defender. In 880, Pope John VIII sent to Svatopluk a bull, Industriae
Tuae," by which he approved the juridiction and work of St. Methodius
among the Slavs, sanctioning also the Slavonic Liturgy.

To placate the prince, the pope appointed Svatopluk's protege, Wiching,
a bishop of Nitra, who carried on his intrigues and campaign against St.
Methodius and his followers.

In 882 St. Methodius, in order to inform the Emperor and the Patriarch
about the progress of his mission, made a journey to Constantinople. It
was undertaken in the atmosphere of peaceful reconciliation between Rome
and Constantinople, after the Pope cleared Photius from his suspension
from the patriarchal see. St. Methodius became a champion of the reunion
between Western and Eastern Churches, having approval from both for his
missionary work in Moravia. Thus, he secured the pepetuation of our Byzantine-Slavonic
Rite.

Having a premonition of his approaching death, St. Methodius recommended
as his successor one of his most capable disciples, Gorazd, native of Moravia
and well instructed in Greek, Latin and Slavic letters. But when on April
6, 885 St. Methodius died in Velehrad, bishop Wiching of Nitra hastened
to Rome and, forging some documents, induced Pope Stephen VI (895-891)
to condemn St. Methodius and the Slavonic Liturgy and appoint him as the
administrator of the Metropolitan See of Moravia instead of Gorazd.

Wiching, taking control of the ecclestiastical affairs in Moravia, began
the persecution of the disciples of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Many of them
were sold into slavery, others exiled, while some of them had to flee the
country. Finally, Svatopluk had enough of Wiching's intrigues and expelled
him from his realm. But it was too late to save Moravian suzerainty. In
906 the Franks invited the Magyars, who destroyed the rising Moravian power
in Central Europe, and permanently settled between the Danube and Tisa
Rivers which is the Hungary of today.

Since our ancestors inherited both Slavic Christianity and Slavic culture
from the Thessalonian Brothers, we justly refer to them as our Slavic Apostles
and Teachers and should try to emulate their veneration with other Slavic
nationalities.

Our Slavic Language

The language used by our people in the Liturgy is called Church- or
Old-Slavonic. It is called Church- Slavonic, since its use is
limited to the Church for the liturgical services. It is also called
Old-Slavonic, since in former times it was the common language of Slavic tribes.
Some Slavists refer to it as the "Old-Bulgarian" language, but
incorrectly.

The Slavonic language was introduced into the Byzantine liturgy by the
Apostles of the Slavs, SS. Cyril and Methodius, during their missionary activity
in Great Moravia. The missionary brothers were sons of a high ranking officer
(Gr. "drungarious") Leo, who was attached to the governor of
the Macedonian province. During the eighth century this whole province became
occupied by the Slavic tribes. Thus SS. Cyril and Methodius were familiar with
the Slavic dialect as spoken at that time in Macedonia.

Constantine, known mostly by his religious name Cyril, was one of the finest
linguists in the whole Empire. Commanding a sufficient knowledge of the Slavic
dialect of Macedonia, he created the first Slavic alphabet, called ''Glagolitic"
(Sl. "hlaholati"-to speak). From the testimony of the monk
Khrabr in the tenth century, we read:

"Being still pagans, the Slavs did not have their own letters, but read
and communicated by means of tallies and sketches. After their Baptism they were
forced to use Roman and Greek letters in the transcription of their Slavic words
but these were not suitable ... At last, God, in his love for mankind, sent them
St. Constantine the Philosopher, called Cyril, a learned and upright man, who
composed for them thirty-eight letters, some (24 of them) similar to the Greek,
but some (14 of them) different, suitable to express Slavic sounds" (cfr.
E. Sabov, Khristomatia, Ungvar 1893, p. 174-175).

Inscription in Glagolitic

"JEVA (N) HELIE OT LUKI"

Having devised the Slavic alphabet, St. Cyril, along which his brother and
disciples, began to translate Liturgical Books and excerpts from the Holy
Scriptures, which he brought with him in Moravia in 863. The literary work of
both brothers was indeed a wondrous and far reaching event in the religious and
cultural life of the Slavic peoples, especially those who retained the Cyrillic
alphabet and the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite.

We consider the literary work of SS. Cyril and Methodius sacred,
since it was motivated by a most sacred cause, namely, the evangelization of the
Slavic peoples, a magnanimous response to the sacred commission of Christ: ''Preach
the Gospel to every creature" (Mr. 16:15).

It was done not without God's assistance, as we read in Constantine's
Life: "The Philosopher (i.e. St. Cyril) withdrew and, according to his
custom, had recourse to fervent prayer with his several companions who shared
his ideas. Presently God, Who always hears the prayers of His servants, revealed
to him what he desired to know. At once he formed the letters and proceeded then
to write the words of the Gospel in Slavonic: 'In the beginning was the Word'
(Jn. 1:1)." Pope Adrian II ascribed the invention of the Slavic letters to
the "grace of God and the intercession of St. Clement" (cfr. his breve
"Gloria in Excelsis," of 869).

The invention of the Slavic letters and introduction of the Slavonic
language into worship could be considered a genial work, a real miracle, since
it surpassed all the literary attempts made in the Middle Ages. We have to bear
in mind that the literary work of the brothers was revolutionary, for which they
suffered humiliations, persecutions and even imprisonment. By introducing the
Slavonic language into the divine worship, SS. Cyril and Methodius infuriated
the powerful and very influential Frankish clergy, and lost the support of the
Prince. And yet, these two dedicated missionaries, who did not even belong to
the Slavic people, were able to fashion a literary language for the Slavs, which
until today is our common heritage and pride.

Even non-Slavic linguists, experts in comparative philology. cannot find
adequate words in in praise of the beauty and perfection of Slavonic, admiring
its flexibility, nuances and force of expression. They unanimously agree that "the
greatness of the Slavonic language, even from the standpoint of philological
workmanship. can not be surpassed" (cfr.
*Van Wijk, Nahtigal, Brueckner,*etc.). A great admirer of SS. Cyril and
Methodius, the Rev. Francis Grivec, University professor in Zagreb, Yugoslavia,
wrote an entire '"Meditation" on the excellence, sacredness
and geniality of the Slavonic tongue, concluding: "The whole Old-Slavonic
literature, not only by its origins, but also by its contents is entirely
Christian and spiritual. Therefore, not without foundation, the linguists call
it a Church Slavoniclanguage" (cfr. *Acta Academiae
Velehradenis,*Olomouc 1947, p 75-84).

The Old-Slavonic language, as it was devised by the Apostles of the Slavs,
underwent some changes and morphological modifications during the course of
centuries. First of all, the elaborate (glagolitic alphabet was simplified by
one of St. Cyril's eminent disciples, probably the presbyter Constantine. He
called this new alphabet Cyrillic, in honor of his inspired teacher.
Thus, during the tenth and eleventh centuries a more practical and simpler
Cyrillic alphabet came into common use. It is the very same alphabet used in our
liturgical Books even today.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Cyrillic alphabet was
simplified even more by the Russians and somewhat modified according to the
exigences of the spoken language. In 1713, Czar Peter the Great, ordered its use
in all "*civil *(hrazhdanski") matters, hence it was
called the *Civil Alphabet *("Hrazhdanka"). The Civil
alphabet spread from Russia to other Slavic peoples. Thus today we have, really,
two Cyrillic alphabets, one-Church-Cyrillic, used in Liturgical Books
and another-Civil-Cyrillic-Alphabet, used for profane purposes.

The Old-Slavonic language also underwent some morphological and lexical
changes being influenced by various spoken dialects. Until the tenth century the
dialectical differences of Slavonic languages were negligible and the
Old-Slavonic language was used as a literary language by all the Slavs. But
during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when the evolution of various Slavic
languages took its full course, the Old-Slavonic was somewhat modified by each
particular group, introducing it into their literature-. At the present time the
linguists distinguish various types of Old-Slavonic, recognizing
*Serbian, Bulgarian, Croatian-Glagolitic, Russian and Ruthenian *(Rusyn
and Ukrainian) types

In our churches the Rusyn type of the Slavonic language is used, as it
developed in Kievian Rus'. It took its definite shape in 1619, when Meletius
Smotricky published his famous Grammar of the Church Slavonic language.

The spoken language supplanted the Old-Slavonic in profane literature during
the fifteenth, limiting its use only to the Church. Hence the change of its name
to Church Slavonic. In the Carpathian region, where the Church was the
only bulwark of our national and cultural life, until the middle of the last
century the Church-Slavonic was considered as our national literary language. In
1805, announcing the publication of the Old-Slavonic Bible, our enlightened
Bishop Andrew Bachinsky wrote:

"Ready, at last, is the Bible, namely the Books of the Holy Scriptures,
published in our Rusyn language (in fact--in Church-Slavonic)...
If you will diligently read it and explain it to the people, you will not only
guide them toward the knowledge of the truth, but also you will preserve and
strengthen our native tongue, literature, nationality and
religion" (cfr. his Pastoral Letter, in Naukovyj Zbirnyk,
Svidnyk 1967, p. 213- 241).

From the above quotation we can conclude that our great Bishop Andrew
Bachinsky (+1809) still identified liturgical language with literary language,
calling the Church-Slavonic our nativeand nationaltongue.

Another example is the Rev. Michael Luchkay's "Grammatica
Slavo-Ruthena," written in Latin and published in Budapest, 1830. In
the Preface, Luchkay affirms that our spoken language differs from Polish,
Bohemian or Russian, therefore, we should accept as our literary language Church-Slavonic,
which "is considered to be our native language, easily understood by other
Slavs" (N.B.-Accidentally, I discovered Luchkay's Grammar of 1810 in the
Chicago Public Library).

It was only during the period of our re-awakening, after 1848, that our
writers began to introduce the spoken language into our literature (for the
various samples of our language cfr. Sabov's Khristomatia). Due to the
super-conservatism of our clergy, who lacked education in their native tongue,
the influence of Church-Slavonic on our literary language remains strongly felt
until this day. What a pity that such a great treasure, our Church- Slavonic
language, is completely neglected in our parochial schools. No wonder, that with
the language, our Slavonic Rite also becomes neglected and obsolete.

Our Slavic Rite

Our Slavonic Rite

The life of our ancestors, including their religion, was closely connected
with nature, which they venerated as "Mother Earth". They
also worshipped natural forces as many deities, the most potent of whom
was the god of lightning, called *"Perun."*It was only
during the seventh and eighth centuries, after the Slavic tribes moved
out of their original habitat, that the came in contact with Christianity.

At first, Christianity was presented to our ancestors by Roman, German
or Greek missionaries, who came from their neighboring countries. But "Slavic"
Christianity with the Slavonic Liturgy came to the Slavs from SS. Cyril
and Methodius, whom we rightly venerate as the Apostles of the Slavs. Their
missionaries activity was limited mostly to the realm of Great Moravia,
to which, at the end of the ninth century, the Carpathian region also belonged.

The Moravian prince Mojmir I (+846) succeeded in uniting, under his
suzerainty, the Slavic tribes living at that time in Central Europe and
founded an empire, known in history as "Great Moravia".
His successor, Prince Rostislav (846-869), extended his power southward
to Pannonia and eastward to the Rivers Tisa and Bug, Thus, the Carpathian
region was also incorporated into the Moravian Empire (cfr. map from F.
Dvornik, The Making of Central and Eastern Europe, London, 1949.
p.40).

The growing power of Prince Rostislav aroused the jealousy of the neighboring
Eastern Franks and Bulgarians. From the Franks, Rostislav took Pannonia
and from the Bulgarians, the Carpathian region, thus making the River Tisa
the border line between Moravia and Bulgaria. In 862, the king of the Eastern
Franks, Louis the German (843-876), and the Bulgarian Khgan (later czar)
Boris I (852-888), signed an alliance in order to crush Moravian power.
In search for help, Prince Rostislav offered his alliance to the Byzantine
Emperor, Michael III (842-867). Seeing an opportunity to halt the expansion
of the Bulgarians into his territory and to extend the influence of Byzantium
into Central Europe, the Emperor willingly accepted Rostislav's proposal
and signed an alliance with Moravia.

On this occasion Rostislav asked the Emperor to send him some Byzantine
missionaries who would be able to evangelize his people in a Slavic tongue.
Thus, he intended to free himself from the influence of the Frankish and
German missionaries. It should be kept in mind that in the Middle Ages
the political ambitions of the rulers were usually enhanced by the missionary
efforts of their subjects.

In 863, the Emperor sent to Moravia two dedicated missionaries, SS.
Cyril and Methodius, natives of the Slavic city of Thessalonica in Macedonia.
Provided with the Gospel and Liturgical Books translated into the Slavonic,
they began their missionary work among the Slavs.

The Moravian prince, Rostislav, received the missionary brothers with
great honor and commissioned them to instruct some of his youth in the
Slavonic letters. SS> Cyril and Methodius also introduced the Slavic
tongue into divine worship. Thus, the year of 863 can be considered as
the year of *the birth of the Byzantine Slavonic Rite, *which became
also our own treasured heritage.

The diplomacy of Price Rostislav paid off. He successfully averted the
Frankish threat after the Byzantines invaded Bulgaria in 864. Nevertheless,
Frankish missionaries continued the fight on the religious field, fiercefully
opposing the Slavic Liturgy. Under their instigation the saintly brothers
of Thessalonica were summoned to Rome in 868. SS. Cyril and Methodius,
since they brought with them the holy relics of the martyred Pope St. Clement,
were received by Pope Adrian II (867-872) with great honor and joy.

Having heard the arguments in favor of the Slavonic Liturgy, Pope Adrian
personally blessed the Slavonic Books and placed them on the altar, while
the missionary brothers, in his presence, chanted the Divine Liturgy in
Slavonic. Shortly thereafter, on February 14, 869, St. Cyril died in Rome
and was buried in the Basilica of St. Clement. Pope Adrian II then consecrated
St. Methodius as a bishop and sent him back to Moravia as a Papal Legate
to the Slavs, providing him with a breve, entitled* "Gloria in Excelsis,"*
which he addressed to the Slavic rulers of Moravia and Pannonia:

"We have heard about you what we have been wishing to hear and
what we have long prayed for on account of your salvation. Namely, that
God has stirred your hearts to seek the Lord, and has shown you that we
must serve God not only by faith but also by good deeds. Faith without
works is dead and they delude themselves who think that they know God but
in their deeds do not follow Him."

"You have requested a teacher not only from this Holy See but also
from the devout Emperor Michael. The Emperor sent you the blessed Constantine,
The Philosopher, and his brother, before we were able to do so. These two,
realizing that your lands belonged to the Apostolic See, did not violate
the Canon Law but came to us, bringing with them the relics of St. Clement.
Filled with a three-fold joy we have decided, after a long deliberation,
to send you our son Methodius, together with his disciples, whom we have
consecrated, a man of great learning, steadfastly holding to the true faith,
to teach you as you have requested, *translating and using the sacred
books in your language in all ecclesiastical functions, in the Holy Mass
or Eucharistic Liturgy, as well as in Baptism, *as it was first done
by Constantine the Philosopher with God's grace and the intercession of
St. Clement."

"Likewise, if anyone can translate and use the sacred books in
a correct and worthy manner, let his work be holy and blessed by God, Us,
and the entire Catholic and Apostolic Church, so that you may more easily
learn the commandments of God. Observe, however, this one prescription:
At the Mass of the Epistle and the Gospel are to be read first in Latin
and then in Slavonic, so that the words of the Holy Scripture may be fulfilled:
'Praise the Lord all ye nations', and again: "All the various nations
will praise the wonderous works of God as the Holy Spirit shall give them
to speak.'

"If any incoming teacher turns the people away from the truth,
or dares to reverse these regulations, condemning the books in your language,
let him be excluded from communion and from the Church, until he amends.
Such are wolves and not sheep, by their fruits you shall know them. Keep
away from them."

"But you, my dear children, listen to the commandments of God and
do not disobey the teachings of the Church, that you may have found true
in the worship of God, our heavenly Father with all the Saints, Amen."
(cfr. M. Lacko, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Rome, 1963, p. 156-158).

In 880, St. Methodius was forced once again to defend himself and the
Slavonic Rite before the Vicar of Christ. He found in Pope John VIII (872-882)
a staunch defender, who on that occasion issued the bull *"Industriae
Tuae,"*dated June, 880 (cfr. the bull in F. Grivec-F. Tomsic,
Fontes, Zagreb, 1960, p 72-73). The Pope absolved St. Methodius
of all false accusations of heresy and confirmed him once again as Archbishop
of Moravia and Pannonia. He also imposed on Methodius' adversary, Bishop
Wiching of Nitra, to submit to the jurisdiction of St. Methodius as to
his Metropolitan. Pope John VIII also reconfirmed the use of the Slavonic
Liturgy:

"We rightly approve the Slavic letters devised by Constantine the
Philosopher, that by their means God may be truly praised. We also direct
that the words and acts of our Lord Jesus Christ (i.e. the Gospel) be explained
in that language. For not only in three languages, but in all, we must
praise God according to the Holy Scripture, which says: 'Praise the Lord
all nations, praise Him all peoples'.

"It is not in any way against true faith or doctrine to chant the
Liturgy or to read the Holy Gospel or the Sacred Lessons of the New Testament
in the Slavonic language, provided they are well translated and interpreted,
or to chant other canonical hours (i.e. Liturgical Services)>"

These two papal documents, the breve of Pope Adrian II "Gloria
in Excelsis", issued in 869, and the bull of Pope John VIII "Industriae
Tuae", issued in 880, are the canonical basis of our Slavonic
Rite, which was initiated by the Apostles of the Slavs, SS. Cyril and Methodius,
at the dawn of their Moravian mission in 863.

Our Slavonic Liturgy

From SS. Cyril and Methodius we inherited also the Old-Slavonic Liturgy. Our
"Hospodi, pomiluj" became part our religious consciousness and
we feel deeply moved every time we hear it chanted.

During the second World War an American soldier from Philadelphia, Pa., came
to our Seminary of St. Josaphat in Rome to attend the Divine Liturgy. When the
Liturgy was over, he vividly described to us his great nostalgia to hear once
more the Divine Services in Old-Slavonic. While in Rome, it took him three days
to find the Greek Catholic church. And indeed, it was Greek, the church of St.
Athanasius, connected with the Greek Seminary in Rome.

In desperation, he asked one of the seminarians where he could find the
church where they sing "Hospodi, pomiluj." Since the Greek
seminarians, during the war, stayed temporarily with us in the Seminary of St.
Josaphat, the seminarian immediately brought him "home." Sgt.
Peter S. continued: "Reverend Fathers, you don't know how much I longed for
our Slavonic Liturgy. When in the chapel I heard our "Hospodi, pomiluj"
for the first time in three years, my heart exulted and I began to cry for sheer
joy."

Yes, every Divine Service, every celebration of the Holy Liturgy in our
Slavonic tongue fills our hearts with a deep spiritual experience and some
nostalgic longing for God, even if we do not understand the meaning of the
words. Our Slavonic Liturgy is indeed a precious gem in our Cyrillo-Methodian
heritage.

Since SS. Cyril and Methodius came to us from Constantinople, they brought
to us Christianity in their native Byzantine Rite. In Moravia they found traces
of the Latin Rites ( Roman, Gallican or, even, Ambrosian ) and under the
pressure of the Frankish-German missionaries they partially used the Roman
Liturgy of St. Peter, which they translated into the Slavonic. Nevertheless, it
is beyond any doubt that SS. Cyril and Methodius in their ritual and worship
followed the Byzantine Rite.

The Liturgical Books, brought by SS. Cyril and Methodius to Moravia were
translated by them into the Slavonic tongue and were also Byzantine. Thus, in
Moravia, they implanted the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite, which became the common
heritage of our ancestors, too.

In the ninth century there were already two types of liturgical services in
Byzantium: *monastic *and cathedral. The latter was a more
elaborate type with complicated ceremonial and solemnities. It was suited more
for large cathedral churches, hence its name. It comprised only morning ("Utrenya"-Matins
) and evening ("Vechernya"-Vespers ) services. On the eve of
more solemn festivities, Vespers were joined with Matins by the penitential or
rogatory processions, during which various prayers, psalms and hymns were
chanted. It became known as "Litiya" (Gr. litajno-to
entreat, to supplicate) or better, as "All-night Vigil."

The monastic type of worship was longer, but much simpler in its ceremony.
Besides Vespers and Matins, it included: Chasy (the Hours ), Povecherije
(Compline) and *Polunoschnicja *( Midnight Service). This type of service
was adapted also by the rural churches.

From the Slavic Life of Constantinewe learn that St. Cyril, after
having "translated all the Liturgical Books, taught his disciples the
Matins, Hours, Vespers, Compline, and Misturgical Liturgy." From these
words we can conclude that SS. Cyril and Methodius introduced into Moravia a
Monastic order of services (i.e. Typikon) and gave us all the services
practiced in the Byzantine Rite. Even to this day in our churches we follow--the
Monastic Typikon.

The main reason for translating the liturgical books into the Slavonic
tongue was the apostolic desire to reach the hearts and the minds of a common
people, since Slavonic culture developed outside the sphere of Latin and Greek.
The only possible way to reach Slavic peoples was through their own language.

Giving the Slavs their own alphabet and liturgical books, the missionary
brothers considerably enhanced the Slavic culture and made it genuinely
Christian. Thus, Christianity, through its Slavonic Liturgy, made a deep
impression on the cultural and spiritual development of the Slavs.

After the death of St. Methodius (+885) His disciples in Moravia were
persecuted and exiled. They found new haven in Bulgaria and Macedonia, where
they were gladly received by the enlightened Czar Boris I (+888) and generously
supported by his successor, Czar Simeon the Great (+927), By far the most
learned monarch of his times. Thus, Bulgaria became a bulwark of the
Byzantine-Slavonic Rite and Slavonic culture, especially at the monastery of
Ochrida, where many distinguished disciples of SS. Cyril and Methodius
settled down (see the map-Lacko, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Rome, 1963).

Ochrida and Preslav, where Cyrillo-Methodian ideals were perpetuated.

Since the persecution of Slavic missionaries an Moravia did not extend to
the border regions of the realm the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite continued to
flourish in Galicia and Carpathia. Thus the Slavonic Liturgy became an integral
part of our spiritual heritage since the Cyrillo-Methodian times.

Among all the liturgical services the prominent place was always given to
the Divine Liturgy. It was handed down to us in triple form: 1) Liturgy of St.
John Chrysostom, 2) Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, and 3) Liturgy of
Presanctified Gifts.

The oldest liturgical tetx is from the eighth century, called "Codex
Barberini". It is written in Greek and at the present time it is
preserved in the Vatican Library. Besides the above mentioned three Divine
Liturgies, the code contains some prayers from Vespers, Midnight Service and
Matins, as well as some parts of the Euchologion (the administration of
the Sacrements and Sacrementals). In the monastery of Mt. Sinai, there is
preserved another code, also in the Greek language, called "Codex
Porphirianus," from the time of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Thus we know
exactly how the Apostles of the Slavs celebrated their Divine Liturgy.

From Cyrillo-Methoddian times we have some excerpts of the Holy Scripture in
Slavonic, but not a text of teh Holy Liturgy. The oldest formularies of the
Old-Slavonic Liturgy are from the twelfth century: 1)Liturgikon of Anthony
Romanovichand 2) Liturgikon of Barlaam Chutnicky, both from the
Eparchy of Novgorod, in Russia. It was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Cyprian
Tsamvlak (1370-1406) who, after the Philotean Liturgical Reform
rearranged the Old-Slavonic Liturgy to its present form.

The Cyprian Liturgical Reformbecame more effective after the
invention of printing. The first Litugikon in the Slavonic language was printed
in Venice, in the yera 1519, according to Serbian tradition. According to the
Rusyn recension the first Liturgikon was printed in 1617, at the printery of
Vilno, White-Russia. But it was only in 1629 that the Rusyn tradition became
somewhat stabilized by the Liturgikon of Peter Mohyla, published in
Kiev.

The second edition of the Mohylian Liturgikon, published in 1638, was
somewhat improved and became a typicla formularyof the Divine Liturgy
among all Ruthenains in union with Rome (including Ukrainians and White
Russians). Since subsequent editions began to introduce some liturgical changes
without any authority, the Liturgical Commission of Romepublished in
1940 a typical text of the Holy Liturgy, which binds all the Rusthenians to the
present time. Thus our liturgical services were once again brought back to the
standards of the Kievan tradition.

In our rite an important is played by the Liturgical Chant. SS.
Cyril and Methodius were both very well educated in music, and they indeed "enriched
the Moravian Church with chant and spirtual songs" (cfr.
Slavic Eulogych. 13). MOst probably, the brothers applie the MAcedonian
liturgical chant, as also their dialect, to the Slavonic worship. The chant was
furthur developed by their disciples in Ochrida, Macedonia.

While the liturgical chant in Galicia developed under the influence of Kiev
or rather Potchaiv, our ancestors, adhering closely to the Cyrillo-Methodian
tradition developed their liturgical chant according to Macedonian patterns. Of
course, through the years, our melodius singing, because of lack of musical
education on the part of our cantors, became somewhat spoiled. Nevertheless, the
enchantment of spiritual mysticism is still preserved.

Let us cherish and preserve our great spiritual treasure, our Slavonic
Liturgy with its melodius chant, as a sacred trust of our venerable ancestors.

(Chapter 7, "Our Slavic Bible," is missing from the source and not reproduced here — see the colophon.)

Veneration of SS. Cyril and Methodius

Only fifty years after the death of the Apostles of the Slavs did Pope John
IX (914-328) canonize them. However, devotion to them did not become universal
until 1880, when Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) extended the feast of SS. Cyril and
Methodius to the Catholic Church as a whole by his encyclical "Grande
Munus."

The Slavs initiated the veneration of their Apostles, right after their
death. But because of the adverse political and religious climate over the
centuries, they were forgotten. It was not until the Cyrillo-Methodian
millennial celebrations, at the end of the last century, that devotion to the
saintly Brothers was once again restored.

Unfortunately, this restoration coincided with the millennial celebration
of the Hungarians, who were determined to destroy our national life. They
denounced the renewal of veneration of SS. Cyril and Methodius by our people,
since "it could easily develop into a Slavic national holiday, of which on
Hungarian territory there is no need" (cfr. art. "Oborona Kiriliki,"
in Naukovyj Zbirnyk Prosvity, Uzhorod 1936, p. 109). For this reason our
magyarized clergy boycotted the feast and failed to perpetuate the veneration of
the Slavic Apostles. Consequently, the Cyrillo-Methodian cult was not known in
our Mukachevo and Prjashev Eparchies until after World War I.

St. Cyril "fell asleep in the Lord" on February 14, 869, after
making his monastic vows. During his last illness he had "a heavenly
vision" and began to sing: "My heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
because they said to me: 'We will go up to the house of the Lord' (comp. Pss.
15:9; 121:1)."

As the hour of his death drew near, lifting up his hands to the Lord and
weeping, he prayed:

"O Lord, my God, Who has created the Angelic Choirs and all the Heavenly
Powers, Who brought all things from non-being to being, You always hear the
prayers of those who do Your Holy Will and who in fear of You keep Your
Commandments. Hear, therefore, O Lord, my humble prayer, preserve Your faithful
flock You have entrusted to me, a humble and unworthy servant. Deliver them from
the godless and heathen malice of those who blaspheme against You, destroy
trilinguistic heresy, expand Your Church and keep her firmly united. Make Your
chosen people unanimous in the profession of their Faith and inflame their
hearts with the truth of Your Word. You bestowed on us a great favor by calling
us to preach the Gospel of Your Christ and they (i.e. Methodius and his
disciples) are now ready to do their good work pleasing to You. All those, whom
You have placed in my care, I render up to You, since they are Yours. Guide them
by Your strong right hand and protect them that all may praise and glorify Your
Holy Name, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit Amen."

After having exchanged a kiss of peace with all present, St. Cyril
continued: "Blessed be the Lord, Who did not leave us a prey to our
enemies, but breaking their snares has set us free" (comp. Ps. 123:6-7).
Saying these words, he expired.

St. Methodius intended to return his brother's remains to their native
land, as they had promised their mother, but Pope Adrian II insisted that St.
Cyril be buried in Rome. His relics were placed "on the right hand side of
the main altar in the basilica of St. Clement and soon many miracles were
reported." Grateful people "painted his image over his grave and
burned candles in front of it." In this manner the veneration of St. Cyril
began. (The above description of St. Cyril's death was taken from-the Slavic
Life of Constantine).

With similar reverence and sobriety the Slavic Life of Methodius
describes the death of the older brother, who ended his earthly pilgrimage on
April 6, 885 and was buried in his cathedral at Velehrad, Moravia.

After having appointed one of his best disciples, the priest Gorazd, as his
successor, St. Methodius became ill. Nevertheless, on Palm Sunday he went yet to
church, where he bade farewell to the prince, the clergy, and the people. Three
days later, uttering Christ's words: "Lord, into Your hands I commend
my soul" (Lk. 23:46), he died surrounded by his clergy.

St. Methodius was buried with great solemnity in the presence of a great
multitude, who accompanied his bier with the burning candles all the way to his
resting place in the cathedral. Men and women, young and old, poor and rich,
free and bonded, widows and orphans mourned their "Good Shepherd and
Teacher" who truly had been "all things to all men, that he
might save all" (comp. I Cor. 9:22).

As in Rome at the grave of St. Cyril, so also at Methodius' sepulchre in
Velehrad many miracles were wrought. His resting place became the center for
numerous pilgrims, who came from near and far to implore his intercession.

In a short time the veneration of the saintly Brothers became common among
the Slavs. However, the Byzantine Church, which was their "Alma Mater,"
never inscribed their names into the diptychs of her Saints. For their fidelity
to Rome, the Church of Constantinople completely ignored two of her most
prominent sons.

Early devotion to SS. Cyril and Methodius can be proven by Slavic liturgical
manuscript ("Sluzhby"), dating from the XI and XII centuries,
but preserving much earlier tradition. They may have originated even at the end
of the IXth century. There are services composed separately as well as some
common offices in honor of St. Cyril and St. Methodius. The Slavists Lavrov,
Pavic, and Kostic analyzed the offices preserved in Codex Zographensis and
Menologion of Moscow, both from the XIIIth century and concluded, that they
most probably were composed by the disciples of SS. Cyril and Methodius.

In the canon of the office honoring St. Methodius, Professors J. Pavic and D.
Kostic independently discovered an acrostic, the first letters of which formed
the sentence: "I sing of you well, Methodius!-Constantine."
Thus the author of the Methodian Office would be Presbyter Constantine, who had
come from Constantinople with the Brothers. Having been exiled from Moravia
after the death of St. Methodius, he became bishop of Preslav, Bulgaria. The
office must have been composed about 833, when Constantine became Bishop. It was
written exactly according to the Byzantine pattern of liturgical veneration of a
Saint.

From internal criteria and the somewhat corrupted acrostic of St. Cyril's
office, Professor Kostic concluded, that it was most probably composed by his
disciple Sava, at the end of the IXth century. The common office, as it can be
derived from the internal criticism of text, was composed either in Bulgaria or
Macedonia, during the tenth or eleventh century.

Parallel with the Byzantine-Slavonic offices Roman- Glagolitic offices were
also composed in honor of SS. Cyril and Methodius, as early as the Xth century.
They contain in their "Lectionaries" rich historical
information on the life and work of the saintly Brothers. Written in the
Glagolitic alphabet, these manuscripts more faithfully preserved the original
text, although the manuscripts are dated from the XVth century (e.g. Glagolitic
Breviaryin the Vatican, dated 1465; another in Moscow's Lenin Museum, dated
1443). These copies were made from the manuscripts originating in Bohemia and
later transferred to Croatia.

Because of Schism and the Byzantine influence, the Slavs ceased to venerate
SS. Cyril and Methodius. It was only in the middle of the last century, under
the influence of the Panslavic movement, that the Holy Synod of Moscow in 1863
restored the veneration of the Slavic Saints and reprinted their common office
from an old Menea. Their common feast was established on May 11th, believed to
be the day of Methodius' death (cfr. Bulgakov, Nastolnaja Kniga, Kharkov
1900, p. 167-168).

Pope Leo XIII, in 1880, ordered the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius to be
celebrated by the Catholic Church on July 5th. But in 1885, the Holy Synod on
the occasion of the millennial celebrations of St. Methodius' death, issued the
following liturgical decree for the Eastern Rite:

1. Since St. Methodius died on April 6 and not on May 11, his commemoration
   will be made in the Menologion on April 6th.

2. The 14th of February, the anniversary of St. Cyril's death and
   the 6th of April, the anniversary of St. Methodius' death, will be
   celebrated with the Polijelej.

3. The common commemoration of SS. Cyril and Methodius will be celebrated
   on *May 11th,*as a feast-day of middle solemnity.

4. The common office will be taken according to the services reprinted in
   1869,'Sluzhba Prepodobnym Methodiju i Kirillu, Uchitelem Slovianskim'
   (cfr. Nikolskij, Ustav Bogosluzhenija, S. Peterburg 1900, p. 524-525)."

These changes were accepted by the Liturgical Commission in Rome and introduced
into our Menologion, in 1950 (cfr. Chasoslov, Rome-Grotta Ferrata,
1350). They bind us today. We used to observe a Seminary Day in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania on May 11th as the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius. We only hope
that this practice will be revived again and spread among our people in the
United States.

Cyrillo-Methodian Ideals in Carpathia and Conclusion

Cyrillo-Methodian Ideals in Carpathia

Veneration of SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs, was not
revived among our people until after World War I, since the Hungarian
government, fearing our national reawakening, curtailed all efforts to restore
their feastday in the Mukachevo and Prjashev Eparchies. They interpreted the
Papal Encyclical of 1880 as binding only Roman Catholics, thus succeeding in
isolating our people from the Cyrillo-Methodian cult. Instead Bishop John Valyi
of Prjashev (1883-1311) was exalted as the "Hungarian Methodius,"
since he headed a "patriotic movement" among the Greek Catholics to
introduce the Hungarian language into our liturgy.

In 1891, the Provincial Synod of Lviv declared, that Pope Leo XIII's
Encyclical "Grande Manus" bound also the Byzantine Rite
Catholics and introduced the celebration of the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius
with Polijelej. The Synod's decision influenced Bishop Julius Pirczak of
Mukachevo (1831-1912), who ordered that this feastday be inserted also in out
liturgical calendar on July 5th (cfr. Molitvoslov, Ungvar 1895, p.
816-818).

Although devotion to SS. Cyril and Methodius was officially revived, the
feast was almost completely ignored by the clergy in both our eparchies. In the
Seminary, the professor of Liturgics did not stress such an "innovation"
(cfr. Dr. A. Mikita, Tserkovnyj Typikon, Ungvar 1890, p. 17, n. 1) and
several years later did not even mention it (cfr. 2nd edition of the same Typikon,
Ungvar 1901, p. 12). Our people were virtually prevented from celebrating the
feast of their own Apostles.

After World War I, when our people joined the newly-formed Czechoslovak
Republic, an Orthodox movement was initiated in the two eparchies as an
opposition of the previous violent policy of magyarization. Bishop Anthony Papp
(1912-1924) received the sympathy and support of the Latin Rite Hierarchy of
Czechoslovakia, but advised him to counteract the Orthodox movement with the
ideals of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The Bishop, as a great Hungarian "patriot,"
had rather chosen resignation than support a Slavic movement among our
faithful.

When Bishop Dionysius Nyaradi of Krizhevtsi became the Apostolic
Administrator of the Prjashev Eparchy in 1922, he introduced the solemn
celebration of
the Feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Acquainted with the
Cyrillo-Methodian cult in Velehrad since 1907 (1st Ecumenical Congress of
Velehrad), the Bishop founded a Society of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Prjashev.
To popularize the ideals of the saintly Brothers among our people, he even wrote
the Life of SS. Cyril and Methodius (cfr. Dr. D. Nyaradi, Zhit'e sv.
Krilla i Methodija, Uzhorod 1921), in which he strongly urged the people to
have devotion to their Apostles.

Under the influence of Bishop Nyaradi, the Cyrillo- Methodian cult spread
also to the eparchy of Mukachevo. Bishop Papp's successor, Monsignor Peter
Gebey, was consecrated Bishop of Mukachevo during the Ecumenical Congress at
Velehrad on August 3, 1924. Regretfully, the Cyrillo-Methodian cult did not
receive a greater support from our clergy even then and consequently it quickly
died out.

The Apostolic See was concerned about our clergy's apathy and during a
private audience, granted by Pope Pius XI to the newly consecrated Bishop of
Prjashev, Paul P. Gojdich, OSBM., the Holy Father inquired how our eparchies
were planning to celebrate the 1,100th Anniversary of St. Cyril's birth
(827-1927). In reporting this event our eparchial paper remarked: "The Holy
Father expressed his concern about us, our people, and our religious attitude"
(cfr. Dushpastyr, 1927, p. 285- 286).

As a result of the Pope's concern, our Bishops finally decided to celebrate
the Feast of SS. Cyril and Methodiuswith full liturgical solemnities on
the Sunday, closest to July 5th (cfr. liturgical regulations in Dushpastyr,
1927, p. 338). The Society of SS. Cyril and Methodiuswas also
established in the Mukachevo Eparchy (Ibid., p. 317-321); both our Bishops took
an active part in the*
Ecumenical Congress at Telehrad*, with the Seminary choir (Ibid., p.
355-356); two of our professors delivered enlightening lectures at the Congress
(Ibid., p. 360-361),and a pilgrimage to Velehrad was organized by Father
Methodius Trchka, C.SS.R., from our eparchies.

Establishing the Society of SS. Cyril and Methodius in his eparchy, Bishop
Gebey wrote: "SS. Cyril and Methodius are our Saints par excellence. We
have preserved their beautiful Rite in our liturgical books, thus keeping intact
their Slavic language and alphabet. It is, therefore, fitting and proper that we
love them in a special way and try to spread devotion to them" (cfr.
Dushpastyr, 1927, p. 212). Regretfully, the Bishop's words went almost
unheeded.

The celebration of the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius yielded better
results. Introducing the feast in his eparchy, the Bishop wrote: "I
strongly stress the importance of celebrating this feast with the greatest
possible solemnity. Certainly, we most of all should be grateful to the Apostles
of the Slavs. It is their alphabet and Old- Slavonic language that has preserved
the true faith and sense of national heritage among our people." (cfr.
Dushpastyr, 1927, p. 138).

The feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius was celebrated in out eparchies with
the degree of solemnity, depending on "sympathies" of local pastors.
In 1928, the entire liturgical office, as approved by the Synod of Lviv (1891),
was reprinted by the Basilian Fathers in Uzhorod and was distributed by the
Bishop's Chancery (cfr. Dushpastyr, 1928, p. 184). Thus the liturgical
veneration of SS. Cyril and Methodius finally began to flourish among our
people.

CONCLUSION

In writing a series of articles on "Our Slavic Heritage,"
I intended to stir up the interest of our clergy and seminarians in the
Cyrillo-Methodian ideals. Our former Bishop Daniel Ivancho (1948-1954), when he
established our eparchial Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius in N.S.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, intended to make it a cultural and ecumenical center
for fostering the spirit and ideals of our Slavic Apostles. The Cyrillo-
Methodian Seminary Days began to flourish and some attempts were made to spread
the movement among our people in the United States. But all these initial
attempts failed and today are only history.

This year, when we celebrate the 1,100th Anniversary of St. Cyril's death,
it would be feasible to reawaken the Cyrillo-Methodian cult in our eparchies and
spread their devotion to our parishes. Pope Paul VI has imposed on us, "the
spiritual heirs of St. Cyril," an obligation to remain faithful to the
sacred trust of our Slavic Apostles (cfr. The Pope's Homilyat St.
Peter's Basilica, February 14, 1969).

Athanasius Pekar - OSBM

Colophon

Fr. Athanasius Pekar, OSBM's series "Our Slavic Heritage" (Byzantine
Catholic World, March 9-May 4, 1969; Byzantine Seminary Press
Publications, Pittsburgh, PA, 1969, "with ecclesiastical approval") is
hosted at carpatho-rusyn.org (Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base). Captured
2026-08-05 from http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org/spirit/chap1.htm through
chap9.htm (chapter 7, "Our Slavic Bible," was never present on the
live site -- confirmed missing there too, not a capture failure).
Published here under permission held by the New Tianmu Anglican Church
for this material, recorded 2026-08-05; all rights remain with the
original author, Fr. Athanasius Pekar, OSBM, and the Byzantine Seminary
Press. Distinct from the four Byzantine Leaflet Series bishop-confessor
biographies already in this room ("Confessor Bishops of the Greek
Catholic Church") -- a different series by the same press.

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