Sts. Cyril & Methodius, Bishops, Confessors–W (III)

They were 9th century Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessalonica, Macedonia, who became Christian missionaries among the Slavic peoples of the Great Moravia and Pannonia. 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.