DAYS OF THE PEOPLE OF GOODWILL 2019
Days of the People of Goodwill at Velehrad are surely the biggest celebrations connected with a national holiday of the Czech Republic. They have been taking place for 16 years already, on the occasion of the Day of the Slavonic Missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius.
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CYRIL AND METHODIUS IN FILM
The five-part docudrama will map the lives and work of the Slavonic missionaries Cyril and Methodius, primarily in an educational format.
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SCHOOL OF CYRIL AND METHODIUS
On the occasion of the “Cyrillo-Methodian jubilee”, educational workshops for children and youth will emerge, the main aim of which will be to familiarize children with the Cyrillo-Methodian legacy in an amusing and practical way.
CHILDREN WALK THE WAY OF THE TWO BROTHERS
‘The Way of the Two Brothers’ is the title of an art competition for children 3 to 11 years of age. It is regularly announced within the July Days of the People of Goodwill at Velehrad. The aim of the project is to explain roots of our culture to children, impairing a positive model for life in the present.
VELEHRAD
It is an important spiritual center, a destination of frequent ecclesiastic pilgrimages, gatherings and Cyrillo-Methodian celebrations.
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The Cyrillo-Methodian anniversary in 2013 will be a great event

The Cyrillo-Methodian anniversary in 2013 will be a great event

23. 4. 2012

In 2013, we will commemorate the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia. It is an important international event and on this occasion various projects are being prepared even now. Within the presidency of the Czech Republic over the V4 countries, the Czech Prime Minister along with the Czech Bishops’ Conference will launch the preparations of the Cyrillo-Methodian anniversary year with a festive holy mass and a concert organized by the Zlín region under the auspices of the Prime Minister, the Czech Bishops’ Conference and Cardinal Erdö. Prime Ministers and ministers of culture of the other V4 countries have been invited as well.

In the Czech Republic, the celebrations will be launched at Velehrad this July, during the traditional Days of the People of Goodwill. It is Velehrad, which is the historical place connected to the mission of Cyril and Methodius. That is why it is the center of the celebrations. Further on, there will be two international conferences in Prague and at Velehrad. “The first one will deal with the state-political importance of Cyril and Methodius in the 9th to 18th century; the other will focus on the importance of the missionaries for the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, said Jaroslav Šebek from the Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The conferences will take place in spring 2013 and they will be supplemented with exhibitions taking place in Brno, Prague, Olomouc, Zlín and at Velehrad. On regional levels, other projects are being prepared, like e.g. educational workshops, lectures, tourism products or competitions for children and youth with an international scope.

A unique project is the preparation of the full length film “Cyril and Methodius – The Apostles to Slavs”, which will map the lives and work of the Slavonic missionaries. Its premiere is scheduled for March 2013. In the present, also the presence of Pope Benedict XVI at the Days of the People of Goodwill at Velehrad in July 2013 is under negotiation.

The aim of the celebrations of the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of the missionaries to our territory is to establish a general awareness of Cyril and Methodius, of the contributions of their mission in the sphere of culture, religion, writing, education and the like. “The celebrations cannot be perceived as only religious because the missionaries also stood at the beginnings of our statehood. The celebrations cannot be only Czech or Moravian because the Cyrillo-Methodian mission played a role in the history of the majority of Slavonic nations”, added Prof. Petr Piťha, the author of the book for children about Cyril and Methodius, “Slyšte slovo a zpívejte píseň” (Hear the word and sing the song).

You can find further information about individual projects on www.velehrad.eu and www.cyrilametodej.eu

News

29. 6. 2013

1150th anniversary of Cyril and Methodius

Here are our roots.

(Blessed John Paul II, 22nd April 1990, Velehrad)

They wanted to become part of those nations and to share their destiny in everything. Here, in this place, at Velehrad, in Moravia, we can feel the historical legacy of the kingdom in a peculiar way – we can feel even those who became its keepers and guardians.

(Blessed John Paul II)
For us, people of the present age, their apostolate contains even the elocution of the ecumenical appeal, i.e. to build unity again, in a peaceful reconciliation, which later after their deaths was heavily damaged, and in the first place the unity between the East and the West.

(Blessed John Paul II)
Their work is also a very important contribution to the growth of the common Christian roots of Europe, which by their firmness and viability create one of the main contact points, which must be respected by every serious attempt at reunification of our continent in a new and topical way.

(Blessed John Paul II)
The story of both brothers, Cyril and Methodius, is a distinct example of unity.

Saints Cyril and Methodius contributed, to a great extent, to the building of Europe, not only regarding its Christian religious community but also concerning its civil and cultural unity.

(Blessed John Paul II)