The missions of Saints Cyril and Methodius transformed the religious and cultural development of Central and Eastern Europe during the 9th century. Sent by Michael III (reign 842-867) from the Eastern Roman Empire (“Byzantine Empire”) to evangelize the Slavic populations of Great Moravia, the brothers recognized that the spread of Christianity required a liturgical and literary tradition accessible in the local Slavonic language. Around 862-863, Constantine (later Cyril) and Methodius developed the Glagolitic alphabet, enabling the translation of the Gospels, liturgical texts, and ecclesiastical writings from Greek into Old Church Slavonic.
Following the deaths of Cyril (869) and Methodius (885), their disciples continued their work in the First Bulgarian Empire under Boris I of Bulgaria (reign 852–889). Literary centers at Ohrid and Preslav became major hubs of Slavonic scholarship, where a new script based largely on Greek uncial forms emerged - later known as the Cyrillic script in association with Saint Cyril. Strengthened by the Council of Preslav (893), which elevated Slavonic as a liturgical and administrative language, the Cyrillic tradition spread across Eastern Europe and Eurasia and remains in use today among numerous Slavic and non-Slavic languages.
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Saint Cyril & Saint Methodius
Map of the First Bulgarian Empire under Simeon the Great
Glagolitic Script
Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Samuil, 997 - 1014
Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Krum the Fearsome, 803-814
Saint Cyril Icon
Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2026, May 24). The Development of Slavonic Literacy & the Cyrillic Alphabet: The Cultural Transformation of Eastern Europe, c. 863-900. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/18316/the-development-of-slavonic-literacy--the-cyrillic/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Development of Slavonic Literacy & the Cyrillic Alphabet: The Cultural Transformation of Eastern Europe, c. 863-900." World History Encyclopedia, May 24, 2026. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/18316/the-development-of-slavonic-literacy--the-cyrillic/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Development of Slavonic Literacy & the Cyrillic Alphabet: The Cultural Transformation of Eastern Europe, c. 863-900." World History Encyclopedia, 24 May 2026, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/18316/the-development-of-slavonic-literacy--the-cyrillic/.
