Editing Cyril and Methodius (section)

==Invention of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets==
[[File:Bascanska ploca.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The [[Baška tablet]] is an early example of the Glagolitic from [[Croatia]]]]
[[File:Cyril and Methodius - Bulgarian cartoon, 1938.jpg|thumb|A cartoon about Saints Cyril and Methodius from Bulgaria in 1938. The caption reads : ''Brother Cyril, go tell those who are inside to learn the alphabet so they know freedom ({{langx|bg|свобода}}) and anarchy ({{langx|bg|слободия}}) are not the same.'']]
The Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets are the oldest known Slavic [[alphabet]]s, and were created by the two brothers and/or their students, to translate the [[Gospels]] and [[Eastern Orthodox worship#Liturgical books|liturgical books]]<ref name=Catholic_Encyclopedia>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04592a.htm |title=Sts. Cyril and Methodius |author=Abraham, Ladislas |date=1908 |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |access-date=2020-08-09 }}</ref> into the [[Slavic languages]].<ref name=BritGlago>Encyclopædia Britannica, ''Major alphabets of the world, Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets'', 2008, O.Ed. "The two early Slavic alphabets, the Cyrillic and the Glagolitic, were invented by St. Cyril, or Constantine (c. 827–869), and St. Methodius (c. 825–884). These men were Greeks from Thessalonica who became apostles to the southern Slavs, whom they converted to Christianity.</ref> 

The early Glagolitic alphabet was used in Great Moravia between 863 (the arrival of Cyril and Methodius) and 885 (the expulsion of their students) for government and religious documents and books, and at the Great Moravian Academy (''Veľkomoravské učilište'') founded by Cyril, where followers of Cyril and Methodius were educated, by Methodius himself among others. The alphabet has been traditionally attributed to Cyril. That seems confirmed explicitly by the papal letter ''Industriae tuae'' (880) approving the use of Old Church Slavonic, which says that the alphabet was "invented by Constantine the Philosopher". "Invention" need not exclude the brothers having possibly made use of earlier letterforms. Before that time the Slavic languages had no distinct script of their own.

The [[early Cyrillic alphabet]] was developed by the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius at the [[Preslav Literary School]] at the end of the 9th century as a simplification of the Glagolitic alphabet which more closely resembled the [[Greek language|Greek]] alphabet. The [[Cyrillic script]] was devised from the [[Greek alphabet]] and [[Glagolitic alphabet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/in-pictures-ohrid-home-of-cyrillic-05-23-2018 |title=In Pictures: Ohrid, Home of Cyrillic |publisher=Balkan Insight |date=2017-05-24 |access-date=2019-01-29}}</ref> Cyrillic gradually replaced Glagolitic as the alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic language, which became the official language of the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] and later spread to the Eastern Slav lands of [[Kievan Rus']]. Cyrillic eventually spread throughout most of the Slavic world to become the standard alphabet in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] Slavic countries. In this way the work of Cyril and Methodius and their disciples enabled the spread of Christianity throughout Eastern Europe.

After the adoption of Christianity in 865, religious ceremonies in Bulgaria were conducted in Greek by clergy sent from the Byzantine Empire. Fearing growing Byzantine influence and weakening of the state, Boris viewed the adoption of the Old Slavonic language as a way to preserve the political independence and stability of Bulgaria, so he established two literary schools (academies), in [[Pliska]] and [[Ohrid]], where theology was to be taught in the Slavonic language. While [[Naum of Preslav]] stayed in Pliska working on the foundation of the [[Pliska Literary School]] which was moved to Preslav in 893, Clement was commissioned by Boris I to organise the teaching of theology to future clergymen in Old Church Slavonic at the [[Ohrid Literary School]]. Over seven years (886-893) Clement taught some 3,500 students in the Slavonic language and the Glagolitic alphabet.