site.btaThe Blessing of the Slavonic Books in Rome

In December 868 Pope Adrian II solemnly blessed the Slavonic alphabet created by Cyril and Methodius. The Slavonic Books were laid on the altar of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, and the liturgy in the Slavonic tongue was celebrated in the Basilicas of St Peter, St Andrew and St Paul.

We do not know many details about the event of such a distant past. However, we know enough to understand that ordering for solemn services the Pope actually approved what Cyril and Methodius did: introducing Christian liturgy in the vernacular of their Slavic converts. We don’t even know for sure which liturgy: that of Rome or that of Constantinople, they took as a source. But the language that we now call Old Church Slavonic or Old Bulgarian, was thus added to Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

Brothers Cyril and Methodius, Byzantine missionaries among the Moravian Slavs, started their work in 863, using Slavonic in the liturgy. For the purpose of translating the Bible, they invented the Glagolitic alphabet, based on Greek characters. In its Cyrillic form it is still in use as the alphabet in several Slavic languages.

Cyril and Methodius’ efforts to create a specifically Slavic liturgy led to a conflict with the Frankish ecclesiastics, who considered the territory to be under their ecclesiastical jurisdiction. In order to justify themselves, the brothers accepted Pope Nicholas I’s invitation and in 867 travelled to Rome.

On the way they stopped in Venice, where they had a heated discussion with the champions of the so-called "trilingual heresy" who claimed that there were only three languages in which it was lawful to praise God: Hebrew, Greek and Latin.

In Rome their mission was approved by the Pope. Historians speculate about the motives, political background and possible pressure exerted by parties. (Undoubtedly, there was favourable atmosphere. The brothers brought - and donated to the Vatican - the precious relics of Clement I, one of the first popes of Rome and a disciple of the apostles Peter and Paul. Pope Adrian II himself led a procession in order to give a dignified welcome to St Clement's relics.)

Accepting and approving the use of Slavonic language in the liturgy was an act that is not to be judged by contemporary measures. In the 9th century Europe already witnessed a division into East and West, but the schism of 1054 was not in force yet. The Slavs, settling in territories between the two parts of the Roman Empire could serve as a bridge. Anticipating rivalry between centres of power and facing conflicts like the one in Moravia, the Pope took a decision that could ease the tensions and preserve the unity of Christians from both parts of the Empire.

It is unlikely that the Pope’s motives could be put in such words or limited to the considerations mentioned. But Adrian’s deeds showed his support for Cyril and Methodius mission. He approved of Slavonic language, script and liturgy. By papal order, Archbishops Gauderic and Formosa ordained St. Methodius as archbishop and his disciples as priests and deacons. When Cyril died in 869, Adrian sent Methodius back to the Slavs as archbishop of Sirmium.

Against the background of growing rivalry between the centres of power in Europe, the brothers’ efforts would probably remain a forgotten page in the history of Christianization. Methodius, tried in 870 by the German clergy, was jailed, and liberated only after intervention of Pope John VIII. After Methodius’ death in 885 his disciples were persecuted and imprisoned, some of them were sold as slaves and taken to Venice. Slavonic books, liturgy, translations, alphabet would probably reach us in the form of exotic museum relics.

An unexpected turn of events changed things substantially. Bulgarian king Boris I had plans for Christianization of his subjects. He recognized the value of efforts, means and objectives of Cyril and Methodius’ mission: the new alphabet, books in Slavonic, liturgy in vernacular. All this went so well with his own plans that he provided shelter for Methodius' disciples, state aid for further translation and manuscript production, and helped develop educational establishments.

Thus, Cyril and Methodius’ main deed not only survived, but flourished - under much better conditions. The new alphabet, created for the purposes of the Byzantine emperor’s mission, approved by the Pope in Rome and supported by the Bulgarian king could not be considered an “outcast”. 

We know that back in 4th century bishop Ulfillas invented a Gothic alphabet - a writing system based on Greek letters - for the purpose of translating the Bible into the Gothic language. His aim was the conversion of the Goths in Moesia. Ulfillas settled near Nicopolis ad Istrum (modern Northern Bulgaria). But there was no state power to support his efforts - and his mission failed. Today, fragments of Ulfilla’s Bible, kept in the University Library of Uppsala in Sweden, are practically the only document using Ulfillas’ writing system, and the only document in an ancient East Germanic language.

Five centuries later, a similar effort succeeded. And it changed the language map of Europe.

It is subsequent developments that shape our perception of a given historical event. In the case of the Slav letters, the ceremony invoking divine protection and aid triggered processes that by far exceeded the narrow considerations of the 9th century. Now we see it in the light of broader perspective of intercultural communication and United Europe.

The Cyrillic alphabet - along with the Latin and Greek alphabets, is now the third official alphabet of united Europe. Cyril and Methodius, now called "Apostles to the Slavs" were officially declared Co-patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul II (with his Apostolic Letter Egregiae Virtutis), together with St Benedict of Nursia (1980).