NOTE: Commemoration of the Death of Methodius is ommitted this year on April 6th, because of Holy Thursday, or it may be transferred to Bright Monday, April 10th, at the option of the pastor. The information below is shared if you are interested.
On this day (usually April 6th), we commemorate St. Methodius, older brother of St. Cyril, who died in 885 A.D. Historically, Methodius and his brother were missionaries who popularized Christianity among the Slavic peoples. Such was their influence that they are now known as the “Apostles to the Slavs”. When Moravian Prince Ratislav requested the Byzantine Emperor Michael III send missionaries to Moravia to explain Christian truths in their language, Cyril and Methodius were the ones sent. They were known to be keen thinkers and administrators and became the most celebrated missionary team in Eastern Orthodox history. The alphabet they invented gradually morphed into one that is still in use, and was named for Cyril – the Cyrillic alphabet. In 863, they were tasked with translating the Bible into Old Church Slavonic using an alphabet they invented, the Glagolithic alphabet.
