Saints Cyril and Methodius (Jan Matejko, 1885)
The Day of Slavonic Written Language and Culture, the only religious and state holiday in Russia, is celebrated today, 24 May. It is essentially about a meeting of people whose way of life is inconceivable without a love for Slavonic cultural tradition. The Day of Slavonic Written Language and Culture was instituted to commemorate two Christian brothers, Ss Cyril and Methodius, who created the Granolithic alphabet to transcribe the Old Church Slavonic language. They are revered in all Orthodox Christian countries, above all Bulgaria, whence the heritage of the first Slavonic enlighteners began to spread in the 9th century.
Minister of Culture Aleksandr Avdeyev said the following in commenting on the importance of today’s holiday. “I was Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, so, I am fully aware of the role that Ss Cyril and Methodius played. They contributed to the development of Slavonic countries both by creating the Slavonic alphabet and by translating the Gospels into Old Church Slavonic. We became Christians because we managed to read their translation, which was written more than a thousand years ago in characters that denote sounds that are close to our current phonetic system”. According to Mr Avdeyev, today’s inheritors of Ss Cyril and Methodius are responsible for the preservation of Slavic cultural monuments. Whilst pondering on the intricate path that Orthodox civilisation has followed, he said, we should focus on the way we treat our own history.
The numerous guests to the festivities, including those from Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and other countries will be able to assess in real terms the attitude of Russians to their own history. Earlier in the day, the guests of the celebration arrived in the Old Russian city of Tver, which hosts the celebration of the Day of the Slavic Written Language this year. The city of Tver and Tver oblast is one of the most pre-eminent regions in Russia in the number of historical and cultural monuments, of which there are some 2,500 here. Tver oblast has, besides, 14 built-up areas that have been granted the title of historical town. Tver oblast has assumed the responsible mission of translating into life the pilot project of the large-scale Programme of Heritage Preservation. Tver oblast has effectively developed various forms of private and state partnership in reviving, restoring, and preserving the valuable monuments of the past centuries.
The participants in the celebrations are also due to discuss some modern-day problems during their forum The Slavic World: Commonality and Diversity. A folk music festival is also due to be held as part of the celebrations to enhance the event.
24 May 2008
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27475&cid=62&p=24.05.2008 (in English)
Voice of Russia World Service
