Editing Cyril and Methodius (section)

=== Great Moravia ===
[[File:Cyril and Methodius.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cyril and Methodius, painting by [[Jan Matejko]], 1885]]
In 862, the brothers began the work which would give them their historical importance. That year Prince [[Rastislav of Moravia|Rastislav]] of [[Great Moravia]] requested that Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch Photius send missionaries to evangelize his Slavic subjects. His motives in doing so were probably more political than religious. Rastislav had become king with the support of the [[Franks|Frankish]] ruler [[Louis the German]], though he subsequently sought to assert his independence from the Franks. That Cyril and Methodius might have been the first to bring Christianity to [[Moravia]] is a common misconception; Rastislav's letter to Michael III states clearly that his people "had already rejected paganism and adhere to the Christian law."<ref name=Ivanov>Vizantiiskoe missionerstvo, Ivanov S. A., Iazyki slavianskoi kul'tury, Moskva 2003, p. 147</ref> Rastislav is said to have expelled missionaries of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Church]] and instead turned to Constantinople for ecclesiastical assistance and, presumably, a degree of political support.<ref name=Brit>Encyclopædia Britannica, Cyril and Methodius, Saints, O.Ed., 2008</ref> The Emperor quickly chose to send Cyril, accompanied by his brother Methodius.<ref name=IUN>{{cite web |url=http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/h113_2001/byzantium.htm |title=From Eastern Roman to Byzantine: transformation of Roman culture (500-800) |publisher=Indiana University Northwest |access-date=31 August 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916164425/http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/h113_2001/byzantium.htm |archive-date=16 September 2017}}</ref> The request provided a convenient opportunity to expand Byzantine influence. Their first work seems to have been the training of assistants. In 863, they began the task of translating the [[Gospel]]s and essential [[Eastern Orthodox worship#Liturgical books|liturgical books]] into what is now known as [[Old Church Slavonic]],<ref name=Catholic_Encyclopedia/> and travelled to Great Moravia to promote it.<ref name=Pravmir>{{cite web |url=http://www.pravmir.com/article_39.html |title=Sts. Cyril and Methodius |publisher=Pravmir |access-date=31 August 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307085339/http://www.pravmir.com/article_39.html |archive-date=7 March 2012}}</ref> This endeavour was amply rewarded. However, they came into conflict with German ecclesiastics, who opposed their efforts to create a specifically Slavic liturgy.

For the purpose of this mission, they devised the [[Glagolitic alphabet]], the first alphabet to be used for Slavonic manuscripts. The Glagolitic alphabet was suited to match the specific features of the Slavic language. Its descendant script, the Cyrillic, is still used by many languages today.<ref name=Brit/>

The brothers wrote the first Slavic [[Civil Code]], which was used in Great Moravia. The language derived from Old Church Slavonic, known as [[Church Slavonic]], is still used in the [[liturgy]] by several Orthodox Churches, and also in some [[Eastern Catholic]] churches.

Exactly how much the brothers translated is impossible to say for certain. The [[New Testament]] and the [[Psalms]] seem to have been the first, followed by other lessons from the [[Old Testament]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} The ''"Translatio"'' speaks only of a version of the [[Gospel]]s by Cyril, and the ''"Vita Methodii"'' only of the ''"evangelium Slovenicum"'', though other liturgical selections may also have been translated.

Nor is it known for sure which liturgy, whether of Rome or of Constantinople, they took as a source. They may well have used the [[Latin alphabet|Roman alphabet]], as hinted by liturgical fragments adhering closely to the Latin type. This view is confirmed by the "Prague Fragments" and by certain Old [[Glagolitic]] liturgical fragments brought from [[Jerusalem]] to [[Kyiv]] and discovered there by [[Izmail Sreznevsky]]—probably the oldest document in the Slavonic tongue; examples of where they resemble the Latin type include the words ''"Mass,"'' ''"Preface,"'' and the name of one Felicitas. Regardless, the circumstances were such that the brothers could have hoped for no lasting success without having had authorization from Rome.