Saint Methodius
Also known as
- Apostle of Bulgaria
- Apostle of the Slavs
- Apostle of the Southern Slavs
- Equal of the Apostles
- Slavorum Apostoli
- 14 February
- 27 July as one of the Apostles of Bulgaria
- 6 April (Velehrd, Moravia)
Profile
Brother of Saint Cyril. Born to the Greek nobility. Studied at the University of Constantinople, and taught philosophy there. Priest. Sent with Cyril by the emperor in 861 to convert the Jewish Khazars of Russia, a mission that was successful, and which allowed him to learn the Khazar’s language. In 863, he was sent with Cyril to convert Moravians in their native tongue. Though some western clergy opposed their efforts and refused to ordain their candidates for the priesthood, they did good work. Helped develop an alphabet for the Slavonic language that eventually became what is known as the Cyrillic today. After initial criticism for their use of it, they achieved approval of the Liturgy in the Slavonic language. Bishop. Evangelized in Moravia, Bohemia, Pannonia, and Poland. Baptized Saint Ludmilla and Duke Boriwoi. Archbishop of Velehred (in the modern Czech Republic), but deposed and imprisoned in 870 due to the opposition of German clergy with his work. Often in trouble over his use of Slavonic in liturgy, some claiming he preached heresy; repeatedly cleared of charges. Translated the Bible into the Slavonic languages. Pioneered the use of local and vernacular languages in liturgical settings.
Born
- 6 April 885 at Moravia (modern Czech Republic)
- against storms
- ecumenism
- Slavic peoples (given in 1863 by Pope Pius IX
- unity of the Eastern and Western Churches
- —
- Bohemia
- Bosnia
- Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Carinthia, Austria
- Carniola
- Circassia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Czechoslovakia
- Dacia
- Dalmatia
- Europe (given in 1980 by Pope John Paul II
- Khazaria
- Krain
- Krajna
- Kranjska
- Macedonia
- Moravia
- Pannonia
- Russia
- Silesia
- Slovenia
- Yugoslavia
- Ljubljana, Slovenia, archdiocese of
- Maribor, Slovenia, archdiocese of
- Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto, Ontario, diocese of
- with Saint Cyril
- Oriental bishop holding up a church with Saint Cyril
- Oriental bishop holding a picture of the Last Judgement
MLA Citation
- “Saint Methodius“. CatholicSaints.Info. 21 May 2020. Web. 16 April 2021. <>