Equal-to-the-Apostles
Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop Methodius, Archbishop of Moravia, Teacher of the Slavs
ок. 815 — †6 апреля 885
Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius, Archbishop of Moravia — the elder brother of Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril, together with whom he created Slavic writing; he took monastic vows and was hegumen of the Polychron Monastery; together with his brother he translated the Holy Scriptures and liturgical books into the Slavic language; he was consecrated Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia; he endured imprisonment by German clergy while defending the right to celebrate the liturgy in the Slavic language.
Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius was born around 815 in the city of Thessalonica, the eldest son of the military commander Leo Drungarios; his younger brother was Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril (born Constantine the Philosopher). In his youth he held a military-administrative post, governing one of the Slavic provinces of the Byzantine Empire, which gave him a deep knowledge of the Slavic language. He later left worldly service and took monastic vows, becoming hegumen of the Polychron Monastery on Mount Olympus. At the request of the Moravian prince Rastislav, the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius set out on a mission to enlighten the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia, composing for this purpose a Slavic alphabet and translating the Holy Scriptures and principal liturgical books into Slavonic. After his brother Cyril's death in Rome in 869, Hierarch Methodius was consecrated Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia by Pope Adrian II and continued the work of enlightening the Slavs. He was subjected to persecution and imprisonment by the German Latin clergy, who disputed his jurisdiction and the right to Slavonic worship, but he firmly defended this right before the papal see. He died on April 6, 885, and was buried in the cathedral of Velehrad, the capital of Moravia. His memory is kept on April 6/19 (repose) and May 11/24 (together with St. Cyril).