Almighty and everlasting God, who by the power of the Holy Spirit didst move thy servant Cyril and his brother Methodius to bring the light of the Gospel to a hostile and divided people: Overcome, we pray thee, by the love of Christ, all bitterness and contention among us, and make us one united family under the banner of the Prince of Peace; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Although these feast day threads hardly ever attract much notice, this one deserves some attention. While the secular culture knows of Feb. 14th only as Valentine’s Day, it is good for Christians to remember the incredible lives and witness of the two remarkable missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius. They are much better known and appreciated by Eastern Christians, but the fact is that they point back to a time long ago when it was still possible to represent both the eastern and western traditions. Back before the parting of the ways was complete.
Suffice to say that the very name for the alphabet used to this day by the Russians, Serbians, etc., is the Cyrillic alphabet, devised by the great Bible translator. Enough said?
David Handy+
Yes, these are two of the great missionaries of the church. It couldn’t have been easy to leave the comforts of ordered Byzantine society to head north into the Slav lands but like so many missionaries before and after them, they answered the call.