Equal-to-the-Apostles
Methodius & Cyril
Methodius & Cyril, Equal-to-the Apostles Illuminators of the Slavs
New Calendar May 11 Old Calendar May 24
Why they are a saint
The Church remembers Methodius & Cyril, Equal-to-the Apostles Illuminators of the Slavs. Numbered among the apostles (of the Twelve or of the Seventy); commemorated with the apostolic Church. Feast day: May 11.
Limited historical information is available about this saint.
Life
Saints Cyril and Methodius were brothers from a pious family in Thessalonica; Methodius was the eldest of seven brothers and Constantine (Cyril was his monastic name) the youngest. Constantine studied in Constantinople under the finest teachers, including Saint Photius, and knew several languages; Methodius served first in the military and as a governor, then became a monk on Mount Olympus.
Sent by the emperor to the Khazars, they stopped in Korsun, where they found the relics of Saint Clement of Rome. When Prince Rostislav of Moravia asked for teachers who could preach in the Slavic tongue, Constantine, with Methodius and their disciples Gorazd, Clement, Savva, Naum and Angelyar, devised a Slavonic alphabet and translated the Gospel, Epistles, Psalter and other books needed for the services.
Methodius continued preaching among the Slavs despite persecution by German bishops, and baptized the Czech prince Borivoi and his wife Ludmilla. Foreseeing his death, he named Gorazd his successor, and died on April 6, 885; his funeral was sung in Slavonic, Greek and Latin, and he was buried at Velehrad.
Sources: OCA Lives of the Saints. Retold in our own words.
Traditional patronage
The cited source names no specific patronage.
Patronage / why chosen as patron
Orthodox Christians usually take Methodius & Cyril as a patron when they bear the name Methodius at baptism, or were born or baptized near the feast on May 11. As an apostle, he is also asked to pray for missionaries and those who spread the Gospel.
Prayer
O holy Methodius & Cyril, pray to God for us.
A short general prayer to a saint, not a liturgical text. No public-domain troparion for this saint is included.