Celebrations of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Cathedral of Saint Vitus - Topical News

4. 3. 2013

Prague: By means of the festivity in the Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert, with which the whole year of the Cyrillo-Methodian celebrations begins, the Archbishopric of Prague will commemorate, at the same time, the 1040th anniversary of the foundation of the Bishopric in Prague, which emerged in 973. The third important anniversary event, which took place 1130 years ago, forms a connecting line between Prague and Great Moravia. It is the baptism of Prince Borivoj and his wife Ludmila, which was - in accordance with Christian's Legend - bestowed on them by Saint Methodius. The date of the baptism is problematic. However, the most quoted year is 883. Even though there were 14 Czech princes baptized before that, in 845, at the assembly in the Bavarian Regensburg, Borivoj's conversion seems to be the actual beginning of Christianization of our country.

Because Cardinals Dominik Duka OP and Miloslav Vlk are participating in the general congregation of cardinals in Rome and they will be back only after the inauguration of the new pope, the Bishop of Pilsen, František Radkovský, will be the main celebrant of the holy mass in the Prague Cathedral. During the liturgy, which will be broadcast by NOE TV, the Orthodox Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher, will donate, as his personal gift to the cathedral, an icon of Saint missionaries Cyril and Methodius. Apart from the presentation of this unique gift, copies of the "Cyrillo-Methodian cross", made of lead, will be blessed as well. They have a Greek inscription on them and a picture of the crucified one from the 9th century. The little cross was found at Sady close to Uherské Hradiště. These copies will be distributed during the diocesan meeting of the youth on 23rd March.

Representatives of the Ecumenical Council of Churches are invited to the celebrations as well, apart from representatives of the Orthodox Church. Their presence is to manifest that one of the levels of the symbolic legacy of Cyril and Methodius is also unity of Christians. Diplomatic representatives of nations connected with the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition will be present, too, as well as bishops from nearby dioceses from abroad. E.g. participation of representatives from the diocese of Regensburg is expected because our lands fell under that bishopric before the Prague bishopric was founded.

Ninth March is a date of the original feast, through which Archbishop Arnošt of Pardubice, along with emperor and king Charles IV, proclaimed the Solun brothers patrons of the lands of the Czech Crown. Charles IV tried to pick up the threads of the work of both brothers, apart from other things also e.g. by renewing the Slavic liturgy in the monastery at Emauzy, by his incentive to write down a new version of the lives of both the saints and establishing their altar in the temple of Saint Vitus, where - at the outer triforium - the very first depiction of Saints Cyril and Methodius emerged later. Charles IV was led by his effort to connect all the territories of the former Great Moravia to the Roman Europe. He was convinced that his accommodating Slavic expansion into countries that were under the power of Tatars, would be welcomed.

The contribution of Cyril and Methodius for the coutries of Central Europe is indisputable. For the first time, the whole Scripture was translated into a Slavic language. A missal was created, a psalter and lives of church fathers were translated. A preface to the Gospels – Proglas – was written down. While, according to historians, Cyril occupied himself rather with education of new priests and with translation of the Scriptures, Methodius occupied himself with legal texts. In accordance with the Greek, Roman and Slavic common law, he created the first civil code in the territory of Moravia. After Cyril's death in Rome, Methodius got a permission to celebrate Slavonic liturgy and he returned to Moravia from the pope as the Archbishop for Moravia and Pannonia.
The full meaning of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission, which turned our ancestors to the cross, was developed by Pope Pius IX who, based on a proposal by the Archbishop of Olomouc, Bedřich Fürstenberg, established 5th July as a feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius in 1863. Leo XIII in his encyclical "Grande munus" from 1880 speaks about the merits of Cyril and Methodius and Pius XI commemorated the meaning of the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition by the fact that in 1928 he bestowed a title of "Minor Basilica" on the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at Velehrad and in 1932 he proclaimed, based on a request from the Archbishop of Olomouc, Leopold Prečan, brothers Cyril and Methodius copatrons of the basilica at Velehrad. All the steps done by his predecesors were utilized by Pope John Paul II who proclaimed Cyril and Methodius co-patrons of Europe. More about the Cyrillo-Methodian celebrations available at www.velehrad.eu.
Author: Aleš Pištora