May 24 – Day of the Bulgarian letters

Sonya Machorska

Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Literature is a Bulgarian holiday, celebrated on May 24. On this day in Bulgaria celebrates Bulgarian Education and Culture and the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet of Cyril and Methodius.

“Saving work of St. Cyril and Methodius, Bulgaria has earned the gratitude and respect not only of the Slavic peoples, but also of the world. And it will be until mankind moisture content in real words progress, culture and humanity … “- Prof. Roger Bernard

Saints Cyril and Methodius (Bulgarian: Кирил и Методи, Old Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи[more]) were 9th-century Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessalonica, Macedonia, in the Byzantine Empire. They were the principal Christian missionaries among the Slavic peoples of the Great Moravia and Pannonia, introducing Orthodox Christianity and writing to the hitherto illiterate, pagan Slav migrants into parts of Macedonia and elsewhere in the Balkans. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they received the title “Apostles to the Slavs”. They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. Both brothers are venerated in the Orthodox Church as saints with the title of “equal-to-apostles”. In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia.

Bulgarian anthem of Saints Cyril and Methodius – “Oh Revived People!”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNpbsT3qvvk

Today, there are these Slavic peoples: Eastern Slavic peoples : Russians, Ukrainians , Belarusians; Western Slavic peoples : Poles, Czechs , Slovaks ; South Slavic nations : Bulgarians, Gorani , Macedonians ( modern ) Croats , Serbs, Montenegrins, Slovenes.