The alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic alphabet, just like any other alphabet, was a system of certain signs, to which a certain sound was assigned. The Slavic alphabet was formed on the territory inhabited by the peoples of Ancient Rus' many centuries ago.
Events of the historical past
The year 862 went down in history as the year when the first official steps were taken to accept Christianity in Rus'. Prince Vsevolod sent ambassadors to the Byzantine Emperor Michael, who were supposed to convey his request that the Emperor send preachers of the Christian faith to Great Moravia. The need for preachers arose due to the fact that people themselves could not penetrate the essence of Christian teaching, because the Holy Scriptures were only in Latin.
In response to this request, two brothers were sent to the Russian lands: Cyril and Methodius. The first of them received the name Cyril a little later, when he took monastic vows. This choice was carefully thought out. The brothers were born in Thessaloniki into the family of a military leader. Greek version - Thessaloniki. Their level of education was very high for that time. Constantine (Kirill) was trained and brought up at the court of Emperor Michael III. He could speak several languages:
- Greek,
- Arabic,
- Slavic,
- Jewish.
For his ability to initiate others into the secrets of philosophy, he received the nickname Constantine the Philosopher.
Methodius began his career with military service and tried himself as a governor of one of the regions that was inhabited by the Slavs. In 860 they made a trip to the Khazars, their goal was to spread the Christian faith and reach some agreements with this people.
History of written characters
Constantine had to create written signs with the active help of his brother. After all, the Holy Scriptures were only in Latin. To convey this knowledge to a large number of people, a written version of the Holy Books in the Slavic language was simply necessary. As a result of their painstaking work, the Slavic alphabet appeared in 863.
Two variants of the alphabet: Glagolitic and Cyrillic are ambiguous. Researchers argue about which of these two options belongs directly to Kirill, and which appeared later.
After the creation of the writing system, the brothers worked on translating the Bible into the Slavic language. The significance of this alphabet is enormous. The people were able not only to speak their own language. But also to write and to form the literary basis of the language. Some of the words of that time have reached our time and function in Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian languages.
Symbols-words
The letters of the ancient alphabet had names that coincided with the words. The word “alphabet” itself comes from the first letters of the alphabet: “az” and “buki”. They represented the modern letters "A" and "B".
The first written symbols in Slavic lands were scratched on the walls of churches in Pereslavl in the form of pictures. This was in the 9th century. In the 11th century, this alphabet appeared in Kyiv, in the St. Sophia Cathedral, where the signs were interpreted and written translations were made.
A new stage in the formation of the alphabet is associated with the advent of printing. The year 1574 brought the first alphabet to Russian lands, which was printed. It was called “Old Slavonic alphabet”. The name of the person who released it has gone down in history - Ivan Fedorov.
The connection between the emergence of writing and the spread of Christianity
The Old Church Slavonic alphabet was more than a simple set of symbols. Its appearance made it possible for a large number of people to get acquainted with the Christian faith, penetrate into its essence, and give their hearts to it. All scientists agree that without the advent of writing, Christianity would not have appeared on Russian lands so quickly. There were 125 years between the creation of letters and the adoption of Christianity, during which there was a huge leap in the self-awareness of the people. From ancient beliefs and customs, people came to faith in One God. It was the Holy Books that were distributed throughout the territory of Rus', and the ability to read them, that became the basis for the spread of Christian knowledge.
863 is the year the alphabet was created, 988 is the date of the adoption of Christianity in Rus'. This year, Prince Vladimir announced that a new faith was being introduced in the principality and the fight against all manifestations of polytheism began.
The Mystery of Written Symbols
Some scientists believe that the symbols of the Slavic alphabet are secret signs in which religious and philosophical knowledge is encrypted. Together they represent a complex system based on clear logic and mathematical connections. There is an opinion that all the letters in this alphabet are a holistic, inextricable system, that the alphabet was created as a system, and not as individual elements and signs.
The first such signs were something between numbers and letters. The Old Church Slavonic alphabet was based on the Greek uncial writing system. The Slavic Cyrillic alphabet consisted of 43 letters. The brothers took 24 letters from the Greek unical, and came up with the remaining 19 themselves. The need to invent new sounds arose due to the fact that the Slavic language contained sounds that were not characteristic of Greek pronunciation. Accordingly, there were no such letters. Konstantin either took these symbols from other systems or invented them himself.
"Higher" and "lower" part
The entire system can be divided into two distinct parts. Conventionally, they received the names “higher” and “lower”. The first part includes the letters from “a” to “f” (“az” - “fet”). Each letter is a symbol-word. This name was completely focused on people, because these words were clear to everyone. The lower part went from “sha” to the letter “Izhitsa”. These symbols were left without digital correspondence and were filled with negative connotations. “To gain insight into the secret writing of these symbols, they need to be carefully studied and all the nuances analyzed. After all, in each of them lives the meaning laid down by the creator.”
Researchers also find the meaning of the triad in these symbols. A person, comprehending this knowledge, must achieve a higher level of spiritual perfection. Thus, the alphabet is the creation of Cyril and Methodius, leading to the self-improvement of people.
There is still an opinion that before Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet, not only books, but even writing did not exist. Historical research suggests otherwise. The writer-historian Vyacheslav Manyagin gives many convincing examples proving the presence in Rus' of a developed writing system, dating back to ancient times.
Vyacheslav Manyagin: Talking about the oldest Russian writing, which existed when, in fact, perhaps the Russian people were still in their infancy, I want to start with the names of historians, not so distant, with the names of quite a few animals, this is with the name of Cyril and Methodius . It is often said that Cyril and Methodius are the first Slovenian teachers who created the modern Russian alphabet. In fact, this is not entirely true, because Cyril and Methodius created a very specific written language for very specific purposes. They created Church Slavonic writing, in which Church Slavonic liturgical books were subsequently written and published. But the question is, on what basis did they create this writing? After all, it cannot be that there was no written language before them. Of course, for example, Kirill was a philosopher, a brilliant linguist, a brilliant philologist, he quickly studied various languages, he knew Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac languages, since he was Slavic languages, yes, but still imagine that this is how it is written, let’s say in his life that he sat down, prayed and the Slavic alphabet immediately appeared, yes, well, this, comrades, is not serious, let’s be realistic.
That is, it is clear that there was already some basis for their work, yes, to create the Church Slavonic alphabet. Indeed, the very life of Saints Cyril and Methodius writes about this: when they arrived in Crimea, in the city of Chersonesos during a mission to the Khazar Kaganate, Cyril discovered 2 books in Chersonesus written in Russian letters. And, as it were, what started here, yes, the whole historical science reared up, a huge number of scientists claim that there cannot be any Russian books written in Russian letters, that this is some kind of mistake, a copyist’s typo, yes, that, probably , it was necessary to write not in Russian letters, but in Sul letters. That is, what Sul ones?
Well, it was either from the city of Surozh, yes, there in the Crimea near Surozh, Sudak, which is now called, yes, the Genoese fortress. Either these are books from Syria in general, yes, written in the local Syrian dialect, Syrian writing, yes, well, not Russian at all, it cannot be that there are Russian writings. But there are some inscriptions on the pots, yes, with lines and cuts, but these are calendar marks, nothing more.
How come there was no writing? It wasn't that's all. Even it would seem, well, such famous clerics as Metropolitan Macarius Bulgakov, who lived in the 19th century, by the way, he is known for writing a textbook for an Orthodox seminary, and priests still study from this textbook. And many, so to speak, preconceived opinions that he laid down there are still absorbed by students in the seminary, then they are brought out, so to speak, to the people and are perceived as some kind of true absolute authority. So, even Macarius Bulgakov completely denied the possibility of the presence of some Russian characters, with which the psalms and gospels were especially written, as they say in the life of Cyril and Methodius, that is, everyone, both learned historians and theologians, all deny the existence of Russian writing before Cyril and Methodius.
In fact, oddly enough, these preconceived opinions were refuted by none other than Pope John VIII, who lived at the same time as Cyril and Methodius, and became famous for the fact that he, in fact, saved Methodius from a German prison pulled out. And in particular, in one of the letters that he wrote in defense of Cyril and Methodius, who taught Christianity to the Slavs precisely in the Slavic language, he wrote the following phrase that these letters were not invented by Cyril and Methodius, yes, they were not created, they simply renewed existing ones earlier Russian letters. And this is very valuable. Valuable by what? That John VIII, he was an Italian, a native of Rome, yes, that is, he spent his life in Italy, and he apparently had some reason to say that Constantine, Cyril the philosopher, he renewed these letters, namely adapted them for Slavic Orthodox worship, but did not invent them, did not create them anew.
Here we must understand that writing, in fact, is not needed for some religious practices, yes, not for religious texts, because we know that most religions, including world ones, initially got along just fine without any written texts sacred. Well, if we look at Judaism, yes, then the Bible was written down only after the Babylonian captivity, that is, from the king, as it were, from Moses, even if we start, all this was transmitted orally in traditions, stories, and was already written down in writing somewhere 600-700 years later. The same applies to other religions, Zoroastrianism, for example, and, in fact, the Christian Church wrote down its sacred texts not immediately after the life of Christ, but 200-250 years later. Writing, it is needed, first of all, not for this or that religion, it is needed for the state, because the state is a bureaucratic machine that must carry out accounting and control, keep everything neat, yes, in lists.
We will look at any statehood, there, at Ancient Sumer, huge archives on long tablets, yes, with hieroglyphs. What is written there first of all? Tax collection, there are some reports to the king, and so on, and so on, that is, the office is continuous. Yes, and “The Epic of Gilgamesh” already contains several tablets. Or in Ancient Egypt, yes, what are we going to see? Here is a statue of a scribe who sits and again writes down some taxes and reports. That is, the state is a bureaucratic machine, and it needed writing. And when we are told that the Russian people in ancient times could not have written language, that it appeared only in the 9th century, was brought specially along with Christianity, yes, let’s say, then we must clearly understand, thereby telling us that the Russian people in ancient times there could not be a state. Why is this so important, right?
In particular, for Western peoples? So I spoke about Northern Italy, about Central Europe, yes, that is, Venice, Norik, in the Russian state, in the Baltic states on the southern state border with Denmark, in France there is a Russian state, yes, that is, there were Russian state formations throughout Central, Eastern Europe, where these territories are now inhabited by Germanic peoples and other Western Europeans. To admit that Russians once lived here, and here they had their own state, is tantamount to recognizing the Russians’ right to this territory. Not a single Western people, of course, will agree to this, so with all their might they deny that the Russians have ancient literacy, and, accordingly, the presence of ancient Russian states on the territory of Europe, in order to prevent this, let’s say, political, already some kind of territorial requirements.
And, accordingly, a fairy tale is imposed on us that the Russian state was created only in 862 at the instigation of the German cultural leaders Rurik and his brothers, such a Norman theory. Accordingly, the struggle for Russian writing is a struggle for Russian history, for Russian statehood and for Russian territories.
Property of the Planet
The director of the Volgograd Institute of Art Education, Nikolai Taranov, has many titles: calligrapher, doctor of pedagogical sciences, candidate of art history, professor, member of the Union of Artists of Russia. But few people know that he is still studying symbols. And while doing this, our Volgograd “Professor Robert Langdon,” just like in Dan Brown’s acclaimed novel, came up with a detective trail and an amazing discovery. On October 22, the Volgograd scientist spoke about his version of the appearance and loss of the first alphabet on Earth in a recording of a program for the days of Slavic writing on the All-Russian TV channel “Culture”.
Who invented the Slavic alphabet?
It would seem that everyone knows this: Cyril and Methodius, whom the Orthodox Church calls equal to the apostles for this merit. But what kind of alphabet did Kirill come up with - Cyrillic or Glagolitic? (Methodius, this is known and proven, supported his brother in everything, but it was the monk Kirill who was the “brain of the operation” and an educated person who knew many languages). There is still debate about this in the scientific world. Some Slavic researchers say: “Cyrillic alphabet! It is named after its creator.” Others object: “Glagolitic! The first letter of this alphabet looks like a cross. Kirill is a monk. It's a sign". It is also argued that before Cyril’s work there was no written language in Rus'. Professor Nikolai Taranov categorically disagrees with this.
The assertion that there was no written language in Rus' before Cyril and Methodius is based on one single document - the “Tale of Writing” by the monk Khrabra, found in Bulgaria, says Nikolai Taranov. - There are 73 copies from this scroll, and in different copies, due to translation errors or scribe errors, completely different versions of the key phrase for us. In one version: “the Slavs before Cyril did not have books”, in the other - “letters”, but at the same time the author indicates: “they wrote with lines and cuts.” It is interesting that Arab travelers who visited Rus' back in the 8th century, that is, even before Rurik and even more so before Cyril, described the funeral of one Russian prince: “After the funeral, his soldiers wrote something on a white tree (birch) in honor of the prince, and then, mounting their horses, they departed.” And in the “Life of Cyril,” known to the Russian Orthodox Church, we read: “In the city of Korsun, Cyril met a Rusyn (Russian), who had with him books written in Russian characters.” Kirill (his mother was Slavic) took out some of his letters and with their help began to read those same Rusyn books. Moreover, these were not thin books. These were, as stated in the same “Life of Cyril,” the “Psalter” and “Gospel” translated into Russian. There is a lot of evidence that Rus' had its own alphabet long before Cyril. And Lomonosov spoke about the same thing. He cited as evidence the testimony of Pope VIII, a contemporary of Cyril, which states that Cyril did not invent these writings, but rediscovered them.
The question arises: why did Kirill create the Russian alphabet if it already existed? The fact is that the monk Cyril had an assignment from the Moravian prince - to create for the Slavs an alphabet suitable for translating church books. Which is what he did. And the letters with which church books are now written (and, in a modified form, our printed creations today) are the work of Cyril, that is, the Cyrillic alphabet.
Was the Glagolitic alphabet destroyed on purpose?
There are 22 points that prove that the Glagolitic alphabet was older than the Cyrillic alphabet, says Taranov. Archaeologists and philologists have such a concept - palimpsest. This is the name of an inscription made on top of another destroyed, most often scraped out with a knife, inscription. In the Middle Ages, parchment made from the skin of a young lamb was quite expensive, and in order to save money, scribes often destroyed “unnecessary” records and documents, and wrote something new on the scraped sheet. So: everywhere in Russian palimpsests the Glagolitic alphabet is erased, and on top of it are inscriptions in Cyrillic. There are no exceptions to this rule.
There are only five monuments left in the world written in Glagolitic alphabet. The rest were destroyed. Moreover, in my opinion, the records in the Glagolitic alphabet were destroyed deliberately,” says Professor Nikolai Taranov. - Because the Glagolitic alphabet was not suitable for recording church books. The numerical meaning of the letters (and then the belief in numerology was very strong) in it was different from what was required in Christianity. Out of respect for the Glagolitic alphabet, Kirill left in his alphabet the same letter names as they were. And they are very, very complex for an alphabet that was “born” in the 9th century, as stated. Even then, all languages strived for simplification; letters in all alphabets of that time denoted only sounds. And only in the Slavic alphabet are the names of the letters: “Good”, “People”, “Think”, “Earth”, etc. And all because the Glagolitic alphabet is very ancient. It has many features of pictographic writing.
Pictographic writing is a type of writing whose signs (pictograms) indicate the object they depict. The latest finds by archaeologists speak in favor of this version. Thus, tablets with Slavic writing were found, the age of which dates back to 5000 BC.
“The Glagolitic alphabet was created by a genius”
All modern alphabets in Europe originate from the Phoenician alphabet. In it, the letter A, as we were told, represents the head of a bull, which then turned over with its horns down.
And the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote: “These letters are called Phoenician, although it would be more correct to call them Pelasgic, since the Pelasgians used them,” says Nikolai Taranov. - Do you know who the Pelasgians are? These are the ancestors of the Slavs, the Proto-Slavic tribes. The Phoenicians stood out among the surrounding dark-skinned, black-haired tribes of farmers, Egyptians and Sumerians with their fair skin and red hair. Moreover, their passion for travel: they were excellent sailors.
In the 12th century BC, the Pelasgians just took part in the Great Migration of Peoples, and individual groups of desperate conquerors of new lands wandered very far. Which gives the Volgograd professor a version: the Phoenicians were familiar with the Slavs and borrowed their alphabet. Otherwise, why did a letter alphabet suddenly appear next to Egyptian hieroglyphs and Sumerian cuneiform?
They say: “The Glagolitic alphabet was too decorative and complex, so it was gradually replaced by the more rational Cyrillic alphabet.” But the Glagolitic alphabet is not so bad, Professor Taranov is sure. - I studied the earliest versions: the first letter of the Glagolitic alphabet does not mean a cross at all, but a person. That is why it is called “Az” - I. A person for himself is a starting point. And all the meanings of letters in the Glagolitic alphabet are through the prism of human perception. I drew the first letter of this alphabet on transparent film. Look, if you superimpose it on other letters of the Glagolitic alphabet, you get a pictogram! I believe: not every designer will come up with such a way that every grapheme falls into the grid. I am amazed by the artistic integrity of this alphabet. I think the unknown author of the Glagolitic alphabet was a genius! In no other alphabet in the world is there such a clear connection between a symbol and its digital and sacred meaning!
Glagolitic alphabet and numerology
Each sign in the Glagolitic alphabet has a sacred meaning and denotes a specific number.
The sign “Az” is a person, number 1.
The sign “I know” is the number 2, the sign looks like eyes and a nose: “I see, that means I know.”
The sign “Live” is the number 7, life and reality of this world.
The sign “Zelo” is the number 8, the reality of a miracle and something supernatural: “too”, “very” or “zelo”.
The sign of “Good” is the number 5, the only number that gives birth to its own kind or decade: “Good gives birth to good.”
The sign “People” is the number 50, according to numerology - the world from where human souls come to us.
The sign “Ours” - the number 70, symbolizes the connection between the heavenly and the earthly, that is, our world, given to us in sensations.
The Omega sign is the number 700, a certain divine world, the “Seventh Heaven”.
The sign “Earth” - according to Taranov, means a picture: the Earth and the Moon in the same orbit.
Not all people know what May 24 is famous for, but it is even impossible to imagine what would have happened to us if this day in 863 had turned out to be completely different and the creators of writing had abandoned their work.
Who created Slavic writing in the 9th century? These were Cyril and Methodius, and this event happened on May 24, 863, which led to the celebration of one of the most important events in the history of mankind. Now the Slavic peoples could use their own writing, and not borrow the languages of other peoples.
The creators of Slavic writing - Cyril and Methodius?
The history of the development of Slavic writing is not as “transparent” as it might seem at first glance; there are different opinions about its creators. There is an interesting fact that Cyril, even before he began working on the creation of the Slavic alphabet, was in Chersonesus (today it is Crimea), from where he was able to take the sacred writings of the Gospel or the Psalter, which at that moment turned out to be written precisely in the letters of the Slavic alphabet. This fact makes you wonder: who created the Slavic writing; did Cyril and Methodius really write the alphabet or take a finished work?
However, in addition to the fact that Cyril brought a ready-made alphabet from Chersonesos, there is other evidence that the creators of Slavic writing were other people, who lived long before Cyril and Methodius.
Arab sources of historical events say that 23 years before Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet, namely in the 40s of the 9th century, there were baptized people who held books written in the Slavic language in their hands. There is also another serious fact that proves that the creation of Slavic writing occurred even earlier than the stated date. The bottom line is that Pope Leo IV had a diploma issued before 863, which consisted precisely of the letters of the Slavic alphabet, and this figure was on the throne in the interval from 847 to 855 of the 9th century.
Another, but also important, fact of proof of the more ancient origin of Slavic writing lies in the statement of Catherine II, who during her reign wrote that the Slavs are a more ancient people than is commonly believed, and they have had writing since the times before the birth of Christ.
Evidence of antiquity from other nations
The creation of Slavic writing before 863 can be proven by other facts that are present in the documents of other peoples who lived in ancient times and used other types of writing in their time. There are quite a few such sources, and they are found in the Persian historian named Ibn Fodlan, in El Massudi, as well as in slightly later creators in fairly well-known works, which say that Slavic writing was formed before the Slavs had books.
A historian who lived on the border of the 9th and 10th centuries argued that the Slavic people are more ancient and more developed than the Romans, and as proof he cited some monuments that make it possible to determine the antiquity of the origin of the Slavic people and their writing.
And the last fact that can seriously influence the train of thought of people in search of an answer to the question of who created the Slavic writing is coins with different letters of the Russian alphabet, dated earlier than 863, and located in the territories of such European countries like England, Scandinavia, Denmark and others.
Refutation of the ancient origin of Slavic writing
The supposed creators of Slavic writing missed the mark a little: they did not leave any books and documents written in this language. However, for many scientists it is enough that Slavic writing is present on various stones, rocks, weapons and household items that were used by the ancient inhabitants in their Everyday life.
Many scientists worked on studying historical achievements in the writing of the Slavs, but a senior researcher named Grinevich was able to get almost to the very source, and his work made it possible to decipher any text written in the ancient Slavic language.
Grinevich's work in the study of Slavic writing
In order to understand the writing of the ancient Slavs, Grinevich had to do a lot of work, during which he discovered that it was not based on letters, but had a more complex system that worked through syllables. The scientist himself absolutely seriously believed that the formation of the Slavic alphabet began 7,000 years ago.
The signs of the Slavic alphabet had a different basis, and after grouping all the symbols, Grinevich identified four categories: linear, dividing symbols, pictorial and limiting signs.
For the study, Grinevich used about 150 different inscriptions that were present on all kinds of objects, and all his achievements were based on deciphering these particular symbols.
During his research, Grinevich found out that the history of Slavic writing is older, and the ancient Slavs used 74 characters. However, for an alphabet there are too many characters, and if we talk about whole words, then there cannot be only 74 of them in the language. These reflections led the researcher to the idea that the Slavs used syllables instead of letters in the alphabet.
Example: “horse” - syllable “lo”
His approach made it possible to decipher the inscriptions that many scientists struggled with and could not understand what they meant. But it turned out that everything is quite simple:
- The pot, which was found near Ryazan, had an inscription - instructions that said that it should be put in the oven and closed.
- The sinker, which was found near the city of Trinity, had a simple inscription: “Weighs 2 ounces.”
All of the above-described evidence completely refutes the fact that the creators of Slavic writing are Cyril and Methodius, and prove the antiquity of our language.
Slavic runes in the creation of Slavic writing
The one who created the Slavic writing was a rather smart and brave person, because such an idea at that time could destroy the creator due to the lack of education of all other people. But besides writing, other options for disseminating information to people were invented - Slavic runes.
A total of 18 runes have been found in the world, which are present on a large number of different ceramics, stone statues and other artifacts. Examples include ceramic products from the village of Lepesovka, located in southern Volyn, as well as a clay vessel in the village of Voiskovo. In addition to evidence located on the territory of Russia, there are monuments that are located in Poland and were discovered back in 1771. They also contain Slavic runes. We should not forget the temple of Radegast, located in Retra, where the walls are decorated with Slavic symbols. The last place that scientists learned about from Thietmar of Merseburg is a fortress-temple and is located on an island called Rügen. There are a large number of idols, whose names are written using runes of Slavic origin.
Slavic writing. Cyril and Methodius as creators
The creation of writing is attributed to Cyril and Methodius, and in support of this, historical data are provided for the corresponding period of their lives, which is described in some detail. They touch on the meaning of their activities, as well as the reasons for working on the creation of new symbols.
Cyril and Methodius was led to the creation of the alphabet by the conclusion that other languages cannot fully reflect Slavic speech. This constraint is proven by the works of the monk Khrabra, in which it is noted that before the adoption of the Slavic alphabet for general use, baptism was carried out either in Greek or in Latin, and already in those days it became clear that they cannot reflect all the sounds that fill our speech .
Political influence on the Slavic alphabet
Politics began its influence on society from the very beginning of the birth of countries and religions, and it also had its hand in other aspects of people's lives.
As described above, the baptism services of the Slavs were conducted in either Greek or Latin, which allowed other churches to influence the minds and strengthen the idea of their dominant role in the minds of the Slavs.
Those countries where the liturgies were conducted not in Greek, but in Latin, received increased influence of German priests on the faith of the people, but for the Byzantine Church this was unacceptable, and it took a reciprocal step, entrusting Cyril and Methodius with the creation of writing, in which it would be written service and sacred texts.
The Byzantine Church reasoned correctly at that moment, and its plans were such that whoever created the Slavic writing based on the Greek alphabet would help weaken the influence of the German Church on all Slavic countries at the same time and at the same time help bring the people closer to Byzantium. These actions can also be seen as motivated by self-interest.
Who created Slavic writing based on the Greek alphabet? They were created by Cyril and Methodius, and it was not by chance that they were chosen by the Byzantine Church for this work. Kirill grew up in the city of Thessaloniki, which, although Greek, about half of its inhabitants spoke fluent Slavic, and Kirill himself was well versed in it and also had an excellent memory.
Byzantium and its role
There is quite a serious debate about when the work on creating Slavic writing began, since May 24 is the official date, but there is a large gap in history that creates a discrepancy.
After Byzantium gave this difficult task, Cyril and Methodius began developing Slavic writing and in 864 arrived in Moravia with a ready-made Slavic alphabet and a fully translated Gospel, where they recruited students for the school.
After receiving a task from the Byzantine Church, Cyril and Methodius head to Morvia. During their journey, they are engaged in writing the alphabet and translating the texts of the Gospel into the Slavic language, and upon arrival in the city, the finished works are in their hands. However, the road to Moravia does not take that much time. Perhaps this time period makes it possible to create an alphabet, but it is simply impossible to translate the Gospel letters in such a short period of time, which indicates advance work on the Slavic language and translation of texts.
Kirill's illness and care
After three years of working in his own school of Slavic writing, Kirill abandoned this business and left for Rome. This turn of events was caused by illness. Kirill left everything for a peaceful death in Rome. Methodius, finding himself alone, continues to pursue his goal and does not retreat back, although now it has become more difficult for him, because the Catholic Church has begun to understand the scale of the work done and is not delighted with it. The Roman Church imposes bans on translations into the Slavic language and openly demonstrates its dissatisfaction, but Methodius now has followers who help and continue his work.
Cyrillic and Glagolitic - what laid the foundation for modern writing?
There are no confirmed facts that can prove which of the writing systems originated earlier, and there is no exact information about who created the Slavic one and which of the two possible ones Cyril had a hand in. Only one thing is known, but the most important thing is that it was the Cyrillic alphabet that became the founder of today’s Russian alphabet and only thanks to it we can write the way we write now.
The Cyrillic alphabet contains 43 letters, and the fact that its creator was Cyril proves the presence of 24 in it. And the remaining 19 were included by the creator of the Cyrillic alphabet based on the Greek alphabet solely to reflect complex sounds that were present only among peoples who used the Slavic language for communication.
Over time, the Cyrillic alphabet has been transformed, almost constantly influenced in order to simplify and improve it. However, there were moments that made writing difficult at first, for example, the letter “е”, which is an analogue of “e”, the letter “й” is an analogue of “i”. Such letters made spelling difficult at first, but reflected their corresponding sounds.
Glagolitic, in fact, was an analogue of the Cyrillic alphabet and used 40 letters, 39 of which were taken specifically from the Cyrillic alphabet. The main difference between the Glagolitic alphabet is that it has a more rounded writing style and is not inherently angular, unlike Cyrillic.
The disappeared alphabet (Glagolitic), although it did not take root, was intensively used by the Slavs living in the southern and western latitudes, and, depending on the location of the inhabitants, it had its own writing styles. The Slavs living in Bulgaria used the Glagolitic alphabet with a more rounded style to write, while the Croatians gravitated towards an angular script.
Despite the number of hypotheses and even the absurdity of some of them, each is worthy of attention, and it is impossible to accurately answer who the creators of Slavic writing were. The answers will be vague, with many flaws and shortcomings. And although there are many facts that refute the creation of writing by Cyril and Methodius, they are honored for their work, which allowed the alphabet to spread and transform into its present form.
Believers and atheists have long argued about whether everything that is written in the Bible is a fairy tale. And did many saints really exist? However, even the most inveterate skeptics admit that Cyril and Methodius, the creators of Slavic writing, are real personalities. And how can you doubt it? After all, here it is, ironclad proof, right before your eyes - our alphabet!
Two brothers were born in the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki, into a wealthy military family where seven sons grew up. Methodius, in the world Michael, the eldest, before leaving for the monastery, following the example of his father, he made a completely worthy military career and rose to the post of strategist of Slovenia in one of the Macedonian provinces. However, unexpectedly, for unknown reasons, he broke with the army. Historians vaguely refer to the human search for the meaning of life, and that’s all... But the fact remains that Michael retired to one of the monasteries on Mount Olympus and became the monk Methodius.
Kirill, in the world Konstantin, the youngest, was distinguished by his thirst for science from childhood. They say that already at the age of 5 he independently read the most complex texts of Gregory the Theologian. Having received an excellent, at that time, education, Constantine flatly refused the financially profitable marriage almost arranged by his parents, was ordained a priest, received the name Cyril and entered the church service at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople as a chartophylax (library keeper). This position, by modern standards, could be filled by a person with a rank no lower than academician. But very soon Cyril neglected the benefits of his position and retired to one of the monasteries on the Black Sea coast, where he became a hermit. However, the city authorities did not want to lose such a talented scientist, therefore, even after 6 years, they found him and almost forcibly returned him to Constantinople, assigning him to teach philosophy at the University of Mangavra.
However, in 856, Cyril again escaped from the bustle of the world, and together with his disciples he entered a monastery, where his brother Methodius served as abbot. It was in this monastery that the Slavic alphabet was created, and the main liturgical books were translated from Greek into Slavic and Bulgarian. The time of the creation of the alphabet is evidenced by the legend of the Bulgarian monk - Monk Khrabra, he writes: “If you ask the Slavic literati, who created writing for you and translated books? Then everyone knows, Saint Constantine, the philosopher, named Cyril, and Methodius, his brother. And if If you ask at what time? They know and say: in the time of Michael, King of Greece and Boris, Prince of Bulgaria..." Thus, the year is almost exactly established - 863.
But experts still have not come to a consensus: was Kirill the author of the Glagolitic or Cyrillic alphabet? Among historians, the prevailing, but not generally accepted, point of view is that Cyril created the Glagolitic alphabet based on the Greek alphabet. And the Cyrillic alphabet, in turn, based on the Glagolitic alphabet, was invented by the brothers’ student Kliment Ohridski and named it in honor of the teacher. He undoubtedly used the work done by Cyril and Methodius to isolate the sounds of the Slavic language, and this is the main thing in the creation of a new written language. The Glagolitic alphabet is more archaic in its lettering, but the Cyrillic alphabet turned out to be more convenient for conveying the sound features of the Slavic language. Another flaw of the Glagolitic alphabet is that it contained 6 Greek letters, which are absolutely unnecessary for the Slavic language. However, until the 9th century, both alphabets were in use. And only at the turn of the 10th - 11th centuries the Glagolitic alphabet practically went out of use.
In 864 Moravian ambassadors from Prince Rostislav came to Constantinople with the request: “The people profess the Christian faith, but we do not have teachers who could explain our faith to us in their native language. Send us such.” The emperor and patriarch sent Cyril and Methodius to Moravia. There the brothers continued to translate church books from Greek into Slavic and Bulgarian, and taught the Slavs, including the inhabitants of Carpathian Rus', to read and write in the Slavic language. This went on for 3 years. However, local theologians believed that praising God could only be done in Greek, Hebrew, or Latin. They declared Cyril and Methodius heretics. The brothers were forced to go to Rome in search of protection. They were lucky, the pope approved worship in the Slavic language and even ordered the translated books to be placed in city churches.
However, in Rome, Cyril became seriously ill and died on February 14, 869. Before his death, he told his brother: “You and I are like two oxen, one fell from a heavy burden, but the other must continue the journey.” Methodius returned to Moravia and, with the help of his disciples, translated the Old Testament and other patristic books into Slavic. He died in 885.
When brothers are mentioned, Cyril is usually put first, but in church usage they always call Methodius first. This is explained by the fact that the eldest rose to a higher priestly rank and in the last years of his life received the title of bishop.
Cyril and Methodius Day was first declared the day of Slavic writing and culture and celebrated at the state level in 1863, in connection with the millennium of the Slavic alphabet. Today, the holiday is celebrated annually in Russia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Macedonia. And with the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union in 2007. Cyrillic became its third official alphabet, along with Latin and Greek. Among the Slavic peoples today, the Cyrillic alphabet is used by Russians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Ukrainians, Montenegrins, and Macedonians. On its basis, the alphabets of the Bashkirs, Buryats, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Komi, Tatars, Chuvash, Yakuts and the vast majority of the peoples of Russia, as well as the former USSR, were created.
