24 May Sts. Cyril and Methodius' Day (Day of Culture and Literacy) is official holiday in Bulgaria. Bulgarians from around the country and the world pay tribute to the legacy of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet.
The brothers were born in Thessaloniki in 827 and 826 respectively. Both were outstanding scholars, theologians and linguists.
If you want to buy a Bulgarian Orthodox icon with certificate click here.
Icon of Saint Saint Cyril and Methodius
At the end of the 9th century the brothers Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet and made the first translations in it. Their disciples introduced the alphabet in Bulgaria, putting the beginning of its journey to the world.
St. Cyril and St. Methodius created the so called Glagolithic alphabet, the first Slavic alphabet, whose letters were based on the three holy elements for Christianity - cross, triangle and circle. Subsequently, it was modified by their Bulgarian disciples - St. Kliment of Ohrid and St. Naum of Preslav, with St. Kliment calling the new alphabet Cyrillic in favor of his teacher.
Ohrid and Veliki Preslav became centers of the Bulgarian and Slavonic culture. From Bulgaria, the Slavonic alphabet spread to other Slavonic states as well. To the present day, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Macedonia and Belarus still use the Cyrillic alphabet, with rules of orthography established by the students of Cyril and Methodius and their followers in the Bulgarian capital Preslav. The reign of Tsar Simeon the First (893 - 927) is famous as the Golden Age of Bulgarian Culture, and the borders of the country at that time reached to the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea.
Pope John Paul II proclaimed the two Sts Cyril and Methodius Co-patrons of Europe together with St. Benedict of Norcia in 1980.
Thousands sang in a chorus "Vurvi, narode vuzrodeni!" ("Go, people revived!") in Burgas - 24 May 2013
Day of Culture and Literacy in Varna - 24 May 2015
Anthem of the Slavic Alphabet
March ahead, o revived people,
To your future march ahead,
Forge your destiny of glory,
By the might of letters led.
March to powerful knowledge,
Let your duty be your guide!
Join the host of other peoples,
God is always by your side.
Go! For like the sun is knowledge.
On the soul it sheds its rays.
Go! A people shall not perish,
When true learning lights its days.
Once unknown and obscure,
Take your place in History.
Let your spirit rule the countries
You subdued in victory.
Thus the two brothers encouraged
Our people long ago.
O you memorable old times,
O you sacred days of yore!
Bulgaria has ever followed
This most worthy testament,
And accomplished deeds of glory
In triumph and predicament.
For it had its time of power,
Then it grievously declined,
Yet unhesitantly followed
What was once to it assigned.
There were times when our letters
Spread quickly far and wide,
And they nourished human learning
With the wisdom which they hide.
Next came sad and slavish years,
When the proud Balkan son
Had to bow under the yoke
Of the ruthless Ottoman.
But the spirit of the people
Always sought support in you
Sages! After a millennium
Your voice still rings strong and true.
O you saviours of a nation
In the darkest days of doom!
You revivers of its spirit
Sleeping in the deepest gloom!
O you champions of true faith,
Enemies of strife and lies!
You apostles God-inspired,
Bright stars in the Slavic skies!
You saints Cyril and Methodius,
You be blessed thrice above!
Fathers of Bulgarian learning,
Makers of the tongue we love!
People will repeat for ever
Your two names in every clime
And the Slavs preserve your mighty
Speeches to the end of time!
*Translated by Evgenia Pancheva, Professor of English Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.
