Saint Methodius

Saint Methodius was a bishop of Great Moravia ("Moravia") (born Thessaloniki, Greece, 826; he died in the (unknown) capital of Great Moravia, April 6, 885). Saint Methodius was the main translator of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic (see also Slavic languages) using the Glagolitic alphabet created by his brother and collaborator Saint Cyril.

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\nText to integrate from Schaff-Herzog Encyc of Religion: Methodius later became abbot of the famous monastery of Polychron.

2. Mission to the Slavs.

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\nBut both Greek brothers were now to enter upon the\nwork which gives them their historical importance.\nAn independent Slavonic principality had been\nestablished by Rastislav, the king of Great Moravia; and to\nmaintain this independence it was necessary to\nassert also the ecclesiastical independence of his\nstate, which had been, at least externally, \nChristianized from the German side. Hauck accepts\nthe statement of Theotmar that Rastislav expelled\nthe Teutonic clergy at the beginning of his\ncontest with the Franks. He then turned\nto Constantinople to find teachers for\nhis people. It is obvious that the\nopportunity to extend Byzantine\ninfluence among the Slavs would be\nthere; and the task was entrusted to Cyril and\nMethodius. Their first work seems to have been\nthe training of assistants. The assertion that Cyril\nnow undertook his translation of part of the Bible\ncontradicts the statement of the Legenda that it\nhad already been made before his undertaking of\nthe Great Moravian mission; and the oldest Slavonic\ndocuments have a southern character. Cyril is\ndesignated by both friends and opponents of\ncontemporary date as the inventor of the Slavonic\nscript. This would not exclude the possibility of\nhis having made use of earlier letters, but implies\nonly that before him the Slavs had no distinct\nscript of their own for use in writing books. The\nso-called Glagolitic script can be traced back at\nleast to the middle of the tenth century, possibly\neven into the ninth; it presupposes a man of some\neducation as its originator, and is evidently\nderived principally from the Greek, but also partly\nfrom the Latin cursive. The Cyrillian script is\nundoubtedly later in origin, and apparently was\nfirst used in Bulgaria. It is impossible to\ndetermine with certainty what portions of the Bible the\nbrothers translated. Apparently the New\nTestament and the Psalms were the first, followed by\nother lessons from the Old Testament. The \nTranslatio speaks only of a version of the Gospels by\nCyril, and the Vita Methodii only of the \nevangelium Slovenicum; but this does not prove that\nCyril did not translate other liturgical selections\n(see BIBLE VERSIONS, B, XVI., § 1). The\nquestion has been much discussed which liturgy,\nthat of Rome or that of Constantinople, they\ntook as a source. Since, however, the opposition\nobjected only to the liturgical use of the Slavonic\nlanguage, not to any alleged departure from the\nRoman type of liturgy, it is probable that the\nWestern source was used. This view is confirmed by\nthe "Prague Fragments" and by certain Old\nGlagolitic liturgical fragments brought from\nJerusalem to Kief and there discovered by\nSaresnewsky-- probably the oldest document for the\nSlavonic tongue; these adhere closely to the Latin\ntype, as is shown by the words "mass," "preface,"\nand the name of one Felicitas. In any case, the\ncircumstances were such that the brothers could\nhope for no permanent success without obtaining\nthe authorization of Rome.\n

3. Appeal to Rome.

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\nAccordingly, they went to Rome after three and\na half years of labor, passing through Pannonia (the Balaton Principality),\nwhere they were well received by Prince Koceľ (Kocelj, Kozel). The account of a discussion in Venice on the use of Slavonic in the liturgy is doubtful. But\nthere is no question of their welcome in Rome,\ndue partly to their bringing with them the relics\nof Saint Clement; the rivalry with Constantinople,\ntoo, as to the jurisdiction over the territory of\nthe Slavs would incline Rome to value\nthe brothers and their influence. The\nlearning of Cyril was also prized; \nAnastasius calls him not long after "the\nteacher of the Apostolic See." The ordination of\nthe brothers' Slav disciples was performed by\nFormosus and Gauderic, two prominent bishops, and\nthe newly made priests officiated in their own tongue\nat the altars of some of the principal churches.\nFeeling his end approaching, Cyril put on the\nmonastic habit and died fifty days later (14 February 869). There is practically no basis for the\nassertion of the Translatio (ix.) that he was made a\nbishop; and the name of Cyril seems to have been\ngiven to him only after his death.\n

4. Methodius as Bishop

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\nMethodius now continued the work among the\nSlavs alone; not at first in Great Moravia, but in\nPannonia (in the Balaton Principality), owing to the political circumstances of the former country, where Rastislav had been taken\ncaptive by his nephew Svatopluk, then delivered\nover to Carloman, and condemned in a diet of the\nempire at the end of 870. Friendly relations, on\nthe other hand, had been established with Koceľ\non the journey to Rome. This activity in\nPannonia, however, made a conflict inevitable with\nthe German episcopate, and especially with the\nbishop of Salzburg, to whose jurisdiction Pannonia\nhad belonged for seventy-five years. In 865 Bishop\nAdalwin is found exercising all episcopal rights\nthere, and the administration under him was in\nthe hands of the archpriest Riehbald.\nThe latter was obliged to retire to\nSalzburg, but his superior was\nnaturally disinclined to abandon his claims.\nMethodius sought support from Rome;\nthe Vita asserts that Koceľ sent him thither with\nan honorable escort to receive episcopal\nconsecration. The letter given as Adrian's in chap. viii.,\nwith its approval of the Slavonic mass, is a pure\ninvention. It is noteworthy that the pope named\nMethodius not bishop of Pannonia, but archbishop\nof Sirmium, thus superseding the claims of Salzburg\nby an older title. The statement of the Vita that\nMethodius was made bishop in 870 and not raised\nto the dignity of an archbishop until 873 is\ncontradicted by the brief of John VIII., written in June,\n879, according to which Adrian consecrated him\narchbishop; John includes in his jurisdiction not\nonly Great Moravia and Pannonia, but Servia as well.\n

5. Methodius and the Germans

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\nThe archiepiscopal claims of Methodius were\nconsidered such an injury to the rights of Salzburg\nthat he was forced to answer for them\nat a synod held at Regensburg in\nthe presence of King Louis. The\nassembly, after a heated discussion, declared the deposition of the intruder,\nand ordered him to be sent to Germany, where he\nwas kept a prisoner for two years and a half. In\nspite of the strong representations of the Conversio\nBagoariorum et Carantanorum, written in 871 to\ninfluence the pope, though not avowing this\npurpose, Rome declared emphatically for Methodius,\nand sent a bishop, Paul of Ancons, to reinstate him\nand punish his enemies, after which both parties\nwere commanded to appear in Rome with the\nlegate. The papal will prevailed, and Methodius\nsecured his freedom and his archiepiscopal\nauthority over both Great Moravia and Pannonia, though\nthe use of Slavonic for the mass was still denied\nto him. His authority was restricted in Pannonia\nwhen after Koceľ's death the principality was\nadministered by German nobles; but Svatopluk now\nruled with practical independence in Great Moravia, and\nexpelled the German clergy. This apparently\nsecured an undisturbed field of operation for\nMethodius; and the Vita (x.) depicts the next few years\n(873-879) as a period of fruitful progress.\nMethodius seems to have disregarded, wholly or in part,\nthe prohibition of the Slavonic liturgy; and when\nFrankish clerics again found their way into the\ncountry, and the archbishop's strictness had\ndispleased the licentious Svatopluk, this was made a\ncause of complaint against him at Rome, coupled\nwith charges regarding the Filioque. Methodius\nvindicated his orthodoxy at Rome, the more easily\nas the creed was still recited there without the\nFilioque clause, and promised to obey in regard to\nthe liturgy. The other party was conciliated by\ngiving him a Swabian, Wiching, as his coadjutor.\nWhen relations were strained between the two,\nJohn VIII. steadfastly supported Methodlus; but\nafter his death (Dec., 882) the archbishop's\nposition became insecure, and his need of\nsupport induced Goetz to accept the statement of the Vita\n(xiii.) that he went to visit the Eastern emperor.\nIt was not, however, until after his death, which\nis placed, though not certainly, on 8 April, 885,\nan open conflict eventuated. Gorazd, whom he\nhad designated as his successor, was not recognised\nby Stephen VI., and was soon expelled, with the\nother followers of Methodius.\n

Methodius\n