biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (c.827–69)
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| biography:
| Christian missionary and saint, born in Thessaloniki, Greece, who with his brother St Methodius (c.825–85), also born in Thessaloniki, became missionaries to the Slavs. Cyril first worked among the Tartar Khazars, and Methodius among the Bulgarians of Thrace and Moesia. Together they went to Moravia, where they prepared a Slavonic translation of the Scriptures and the chief liturgical books. Cyril died in Rome, leaving Methodius to complete the evangelization of the Slavs as Bishop of Moravia. Called to Rome in 879 to justify his celebration of the Mass in the native tongue, he gained the approval of Pope John VIII. The Cyrillic alphabet, modified out of the Greek by Cyril, superseded a more ancient Slavonic alphabet. Feast day 14 February (W), 11 May (E). |
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