Not all people know what May 24 is famous for, but it is even impossible to imagine what would have happened to us if this day in 863 had turned out to be completely different and the creators of writing had abandoned their work.

Who created Slavic writing in the 9th century? These were Cyril and Methodius, and this event happened precisely on May 24, 863, which led to the celebration of one of the most important events in the history of mankind. Now the Slavic peoples could use their own writing, and not borrow the languages ​​of other peoples.

The creators of Slavic writing - Cyril and Methodius?

The history of the development of Slavic writing is not as “transparent” as it might seem at first glance; there are different opinions about its creators. Eat interesting fact that Kirill, even before he began working on the creation of the Slavic alphabet, was in Chersonesus (today it is Crimea), from where he was able to take scriptures The Gospels or the Psalter, which already at that moment turned out to be written precisely in the letters of the Slavic alphabet. This fact makes you wonder: who created the Slavic writing; did Cyril and Methodius really write the alphabet or take a finished work?

However, in addition to the fact that Cyril brought a ready-made alphabet from Chersonesos, there is other evidence that the creators of Slavic writing were other people, who lived long before Cyril and Methodius.

Arabic sources historical events they say that 23 years before Cyril and Methodius created Slavic alphabet, namely in the 40s of the 9th century, there were baptized people who held books in their hands written specifically in the Slavic language. There is also another serious fact that proves that the creation of Slavic writing occurred even earlier than the stated date. The bottom line is that Pope Leo IV had a diploma issued before 863, which consisted precisely of the letters of the Slavic alphabet, and this figure was on the throne in the interval from 847 to 855 of the 9th century.

Another, but also important, fact is evidence of more ancient origin Slavic writing lies in the statement of Catherine II, who during her reign wrote that the Slavs were more ancient people, than is commonly believed, and they have had writing since before the birth of Christ.

Evidence of the antiquity of the Slavic language among other peoples

The creation of Slavic writing before 863 can be proven by other facts that are present in the documents of other peoples who lived in ancient times and used other types of writing in their time. There are quite a few such sources, and they are found in the Persian historian named Ibn Fodlan, in El Massudi, as well as in slightly later creators in fairly famous works, which says that Slavic writing was formed before the Slavs had books.

A historian who lived on the border of the 9th and 10th centuries argued that the Slavic people are more ancient and more developed than the Romans, and as proof he cited some monuments that make it possible to determine the antiquity of the origin of the Slavic people and their writing.

And the last fact that can seriously influence the train of thought of people in search of an answer to the question of who created the Slavic writing is coins with different letters of the Russian alphabet, dated earlier than 863, and located in the territories of such European countries like England, Scandinavia, Denmark and others.

Refutation of the ancient origin of Slavic writing

The supposed creators of Slavic writing slightly missed the mark on one thing: they did not leave any books or documents written in this ancient language. However, for many scientists it is enough that Slavic writing is present on various stones, rocks, weapons and household items that were used by the ancient inhabitants in their daily lives.

Many scientists have worked to study the historical achievements in the writing of the Slavs, but the oldest Researcher by the surname Grinevich was able to reach almost the very source, and his work made it possible to decipher any text written in the ancient Slavic language.

Grinevich's work in the study of Slavic writing

In order to understand the writing of the ancient Slavs, Grinevich had to do a lot of work, during which he discovered that it was not based on letters, but had a more complex system that worked through syllables. The scientist himself absolutely seriously believed that the formation of the Slavic alphabet began 7,000 years ago.

The signs of the Slavic alphabet had a different basis, and after grouping all the symbols, Grinevich identified four categories: linear, dividing symbols, pictorial and limiting signs.

For the study, Grinevich used about 150 different inscriptions that were present on all kinds of objects, and all his achievements were based on deciphering these particular symbols.

During his research, Grinevich found out that the history of Slavic writing is older, and the ancient Slavs used 74 characters. However, for an alphabet there are too many characters, and if we talk about whole words, then there cannot be only 74 of them in the language. These reflections led the researcher to the idea that the Slavs used syllables instead of letters in the alphabet.

Example: “horse” - syllable “lo”

His approach made it possible to decipher the inscriptions that many scientists struggled with and could not understand what they meant. But it turned out that everything is quite simple:

1. The pot, which was found near Ryazan, had an inscription - instructions that said that it should be put in the oven and closed.
2. The sinker, which was found near the city of Trinity, had a simple inscription: “Weighs 2 ounces.”

All of the above-described evidence completely refutes the fact that the creators of Slavic writing are Cyril and Methodius, and prove the antiquity of our language.

Slavic runes in the creation of Slavic writing

The one who created the Slavic writing was a rather smart and brave person, because such an idea at that time could destroy the creator due to the lack of education of all other people. But besides writing, other options for disseminating information to people were invented - Slavic runes.

A total of 18 runes have been found in the world, which are present on a large number of different ceramics, stone statues and other artifacts. Examples include ceramic products from the village of Lepesovka, located in southern Volyn, as well as a clay vessel in the village of Voiskovo. In addition to evidence located on the territory of Russia, there are monuments that are located in Poland and were discovered back in 1771. They also contain Slavic runes. We should not forget the temple of Radegast, located in Retra, where the walls are decorated with Slavic symbols. The last place that scientists learned about from Thietmar of Merseburg is a fortress-temple and is located on an island called Rügen. There is present a large number of idols whose names are written using runes of Slavic origin.

Slavic writing. Cyril and Methodius as creators

The creation of writing is attributed to Cyril and Methodius, and in support of this, historical data are provided for the corresponding period of their lives, which is described in some detail. They touch on the meaning of their activities, as well as the reasons for working on the creation of new symbols.

Cyril and Methodius was led to the creation of the alphabet by the conclusion that other languages ​​cannot fully reflect Slavic speech. This constraint is proven by the works of the monk Khrabra, in which it is noted that before the adoption of the Slavic alphabet for general use, baptism was carried out either in Greek or in Latin, and already in those days it became clear that they cannot reflect all the sounds that fill our speech .

Political influence on the Slavic alphabet

Politics began its influence on society from the very beginning of the birth of countries and religions, and it also had its hand in the Slavic alphabet, as well as in other aspects of people's lives.

As described above, the baptism services of the Slavs were conducted in either Greek or Latin, which allowed other churches to influence the minds and strengthen the idea of ​​their dominant role in the minds of the Slavs.

Those countries where liturgies were held not in Greek, but in Latin, received an increase in the influence of German priests on the faith of people, but for the Byzantine Church this was unacceptable, and it took a reciprocal step, entrusting Cyril and Methodius with the creation of writing, in which the service and sacred texts would be recorded.

The Byzantine Church reasoned correctly at that moment, and its plans were such that whoever created the Slavic writing based on the Greek alphabet would help weaken the influence of the German Church on all Slavic countries at the same time and at the same time help bring the people closer to Byzantium. These actions can also be seen as motivated by self-interest.

Who created Slavic writing based on the Greek alphabet? They were created by Cyril and Methodius, and it was not by chance that they were chosen by the Byzantine Church for this work. Kirill grew up in the city of Thessaloniki, which, although Greek, about half of its inhabitants spoke fluent Slavic, and Kirill himself was well versed in it and also had an excellent memory.

Byzantium and its role

There is quite a serious debate about when the work on creating Slavic writing began, since May 24 is the official date, but there is a large gap in history that creates a discrepancy.

After Byzantium gave this difficult task, Cyril and Methodius began developing Slavic writing and in 864 arrived in Moravia with a ready-made Slavic alphabet and a fully translated Gospel, where they recruited students for the school.

After receiving a task from the Byzantine Church, Cyril and Methodius head to Morvia. During their journey, they are engaged in writing the alphabet and translating the texts of the Gospel into the Slavic language, and upon arrival in the city they are in their hands finished works. However, the road to Moravia does not take that much time. Perhaps this time period makes it possible to create an alphabet, but it is simply impossible to translate the Gospel letters in such a short period of time, which indicates advance work on the Slavic language and translation of texts.

Kirill's illness and care

After three years of working in his own school of Slavic writing, Kirill abandoned this business and left for Rome. This turn of events was caused by illness. Kirill left everything for a peaceful death in Rome. Methodius, finding himself alone, continues to pursue his goal and does not retreat back, although now it has become more difficult for him, because the Catholic Church has begun to understand the scale of the work done and is not delighted with it. The Roman Church imposes bans on translations into the Slavic language and openly demonstrates its dissatisfaction, but Methodius now has followers who help and continue his work.

Cyrillic and Glagolitic - what laid the foundation for modern writing?

There are no confirmed facts that can prove which of the writing systems originated earlier, and there is no exact information about who created the Slavic writing system in Rus' and which of the two possible ones Cyril had a hand in. Only one thing is known, but the most important thing is that it was the Cyrillic alphabet that became the founder of today’s Russian alphabet and only thanks to it we can write the way we write now.

The Cyrillic alphabet contains 43 letters, and the fact that its creator was Cyril proves the presence of 24 letters of the Greek alphabet in it. And the remaining 19 were included by the creator of the Cyrillic alphabet based on the Greek alphabet solely to reflect complex sounds that were present only among peoples who used the Slavic language for communication.

Over time, the Cyrillic alphabet has been transformed, almost constantly influenced in order to simplify and improve it. However, there were moments that made writing difficult at first, for example, the letter “е”, which is an analogue of “e”, the letter “й” is an analogue of “i”. Such letters made spelling difficult at first, but reflected their corresponding sounds.

Glagolitic, in fact, was an analogue of the Cyrillic alphabet and used 40 letters, 39 of which were taken specifically from the Cyrillic alphabet. The main difference between the Glagolitic alphabet is that it has a more rounded writing style and is not inherently angular, unlike Cyrillic.

The disappeared alphabet (Glagolitic), although it did not take root, was intensively used by the Slavs living in the southern and western latitudes, and, depending on the location of the inhabitants, it had its own writing styles. The Slavs living in Bulgaria used the Glagolitic alphabet with a more rounded style to write, while the Croatians gravitated towards an angular script.

Despite the number of hypotheses and even the absurdity of some of them, each is worthy of attention, and it is impossible to accurately answer who the creators of Slavic writing were. The answers will be vague, with many flaws and shortcomings. And although there are many facts that refute the creation of writing by Cyril and Methodius, they are honored for their work, which allowed the alphabet to spread and transform into its present form.

Who invented Slavic writing?

Editor's response

On May 24, Russia and other Slavic countries celebrate the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture. On this day Orthodox Church remembers the creators of the Slavic alphabet - the holy brothers equal to the apostles Cyril and Methodius. And although the brothers were never in Ancient Rus', without the Cyrillic alphabet the formation of Russian culture and literature would have been impossible.

Who were Cyril and Methodius?

Cyril (c. 827-869) received this name when he was tonsured into the schema 50 days before his death in Rome, he lived his whole life with the name Constantine, and for his love of philosophy he was called Constantine the Philosopher. Methodius (820-885) - the monastic name of the saint, his secular name is unknown, presumably his name was Michael.

Monument to Cyril and Methodius on Slavyanskaya Square. Moscow. Sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov. Opened in 1992. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Polyakov

Cyril and Methodius were born in the city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) on the territory of Greece, which at that time was part of Byzantium. Their father was a high-ranking military leader.

Since childhood, Kirill showed interest in science and foreign languages. He received an excellent education at royal court, where his teacher was the famous Photius, subsequently Patriarch of Constantinople.

At the end of his studies, Saint Constantine accepted the rank of priest and was appointed custodian of the patriarchal library at the Church of Saint Sophia, but soon left the capital and secretly entered a monastery. However, he was found and returned to Constantinople to become a teacher of philosophy at higher education institutions. educational institution Constantinople - court school.

With the help of wisdom and faith, young Constantine defeated the leader in the debate heretical iconoclasts Annius. After this victory, the emperor sent Constantine to a debate about the Holy Trinity with the Saracens (Muslims), where the Philosopher also won.

Meanwhile, the elder brother Methodius, having served ten years as the ruler of one of the provinces, went to the Olympus monastery in Asia Minor. In the 860s, having renounced the rank of archbishop, he became abbot of the Polychron monastery on the Asian shore of the Sea of ​​Marmara, near the city of Cyzicus. Upon his return from the Saracens, Saint Cyril joined his brother, since he had always desired the monastic life.

In 858, the Khazars, roaming the southeast of present-day Russia, asked Emperor Michael preachers of the faith. The emperor sent them the brothers Cyril and Methodius. Their path lay through Korsun (Taurian Chersonese), where the missionaries stopped for a while to study Hebrew. Here they discovered the relics Saint Clement — Popes. They took most of the holy relics with them. But the brothers failed to convert the Khazar Kagan, who professed Judaism, to the Christian faith. Having baptized about 200 Khazars and taking with them the Greek captives who had been released, they returned. The elder brother became abbot at the Polychronium Monastery, and the younger brother returned to Constantinople.

How was Slavic writing created?

In 863, an embassy from the ruler Prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. The ambassadors asked to send teachers who could preach in the Slavic language. The Byzantine emperor decided to send Cyril and Methodius there.

Christianity was brought to Moravia by Latin missionaries from southern Germany. They performed services in Latin, which did not contribute to the enlightenment and spread of Christianity.

Sending the brothers to Moravia, the Byzantine emperor said to Cyril: “I know that you are weak and sick, but besides you there is no one to fulfill what they ask. You, and all Thessalonians speak pure Slavic.” “I am weak and sick, but I am glad to go, on foot and barefoot, I am ready to die for the Christian faith,” answered Kirill. “Do the Slavs have an alphabet? - he asked. “Learning without the alphabet and without books is like writing a conversation on water.”

Then Saint Cyril began work on the Slavic alphabet, which was based on the Greek alphabet.

There is no consensus among scientists about what kind of alphabet Kirill created - Cyrillic or Glagolitic. In the X-XI centuries, the Cyrillic alphabet consisted of 43 letters: 25 were borrowed from the Greek alphabet, and 18 were constructed relatively independently to convey those missing in Greek sounds of Old Church Slavonic speech.

The Glagolitic alphabet is largely identical to the Cyrillic alphabet. The difference is in the shape of the letters, which are more difficult to write. Moreover, the origin of such marks remains controversial. The Glagolitic alphabet was widespread in the 10th-11th centuries in Moravia, Dalmatia and Bulgaria, and in Croatia it existed until the 18th century.

Saints Cyril and Methodius. Photo: Public Domain

According to one version, Kirill invented the Glagolitic alphabet, and the Cyrillic alphabet was created by his student Kliment Ohridski at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century in Ancient Bulgaria after this country was baptized.

According to another version, the Glagolitic alphabet was introduced into Moravia at the end of the 10th century by Cyril’s students, since the Cyrillic alphabet, which was too similar to the Byzantine script, began to be persecuted by the Western Latin clergy, who competed with Byzantine missionaries in this region.

Until the 11th-12th centuries, both the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabet were used in parallel. Later, the graphically more advanced Cyrillic alphabet replaced the Glagolitic alphabet everywhere.

Over time, Slavic literacy and books translated into the Slavic language spread from Constantinople throughout the eastern half of the Balkan Peninsula, in the vast Bulgarian state, along the Danube, in modern Hungary, to the outskirts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Serbia, and finally to Kyiv and Novgorod. This enlightenment became the source and symbol of Slavic unity.

In those years, the conflict between the Eastern and Western Churches and the struggle for influence were already flaring up. Operating in a territory independent of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but adjacent to the Roman throne, Slavic educators had to be extremely careful not to arm the power of Rome against themselves.

The bishops of Germany, who performed divine services in Latin in the Moravian churches, rebelled against the holy brothers, arguing that divine services could only be performed in one of the three languages: Hebrew, Greek or Latin.

Saint Constantine answered them: “You recognize only three languages ​​worthy of glorifying God in them. But David cries: Sing to the Lord, all the earth, praise the Lord, all nations, let every breath praise the Lord! And in the Holy Gospel it is said: Go and learn all languages...”

The German bishops were disgraced, but became even more embittered and filed a complaint with Pope Nicholas I. To resolve the dispute, the saints went to Rome. They carried with them part of the relics of Equal-to-the-Apostles Clement, Pope of Rome, and the sacred books they translated.

Pope Nicholas I, without waiting for them, he died. His successor, Pope Adrian, who wanted to reconcile the Western and Eastern Churches, went out to meet the saints outside the city, accompanied by the clergy and people. The Patriarch received the holy relics from Cyril and Methodius and placed them in the Church of St. Clement, and consecrated the books translated into Slavic on the altar of the most ancient Roman basilica, called Mary Major.
Soon after arriving in Rome, Kirill fell ill. He bequeathed the continuation of the great work to his brother and died on February 14, 869. Before his death, he told Methodius: “You and I are like two oxen; one fell from a heavy burden, the other must continue on his way.”

Saint Methodius fulfilled his brother's will: returning to Moravia already in the rank of archbishop, he preached for 15 years. Saint Methodius died on April 19, 885.

How is the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture celebrated?

In Russia, the celebration was established on May 24, 1863 (May 11, old style). With the advent of Soviet power, the holiday was abolished, but in 1986 it was revived, and since 1991, the Day of Slavic Literature became a public holiday.

On this day, festivals, concerts and other events are held in Moscow and other Russian cities.

Moravia is a historical region of the Czech Republic to the east of the historical region of the Czech Republic.

Solun is the Slavic name of the city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki).

Not all people know what May 24 is famous for, but it is even impossible to imagine what would have happened to us if this day in 863 had turned out to be completely different and the creators of writing had abandoned their work.

Who created Slavic writing in the 9th century? These were Cyril and Methodius, and this event happened on May 24, 863, which led to the celebration of one of the most important events in the history of mankind. Now the Slavic peoples could use their own writing, and not borrow the languages ​​of other peoples.

The creators of Slavic writing - Cyril and Methodius?

The history of the development of Slavic writing is not as “transparent” as it might seem at first glance; there are different opinions about its creators. There is an interesting fact that Cyril, even before he began working on the creation of the Slavic alphabet, was in Chersonesus (today it is Crimea), from where he was able to take the sacred writings of the Gospel or the Psalter, which at that moment turned out to be written precisely in the letters of the Slavic alphabet. This fact makes you wonder: who created the Slavic writing; did Cyril and Methodius really write the alphabet or take a finished work?

However, in addition to the fact that Cyril brought a ready-made alphabet from Chersonesos, there is other evidence that the creators of Slavic writing were other people, who lived long before Cyril and Methodius.

Arab sources of historical events say that 23 years before Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet, namely in the 40s of the 9th century, there were baptized people who held books written in the Slavic language in their hands. There is also another serious fact that proves that the creation of Slavic writing occurred even earlier than the stated date. The bottom line is that Pope Leo IV had a diploma issued before 863, which consisted precisely of the letters of the Slavic alphabet, and this figure was on the throne in the interval from 847 to 855 of the 9th century.

Another, but also important, fact of proof of the more ancient origin of Slavic writing lies in the statement of Catherine II, who during her reign wrote that the Slavs are a more ancient people than is commonly believed, and they have had writing since the times before the birth of Christ.

Evidence of antiquity from other nations

The creation of Slavic writing before 863 can be proven by other facts that are present in the documents of other peoples who lived in ancient times and used other types of writing in their time. There are quite a few such sources, and they are found in the Persian historian named Ibn Fodlan, in El Massudi, as well as in slightly later creators in fairly well-known works, which say that Slavic writing was formed before the Slavs had books.

A historian who lived on the border of the 9th and 10th centuries argued that the Slavic people are more ancient and more developed than the Romans, and as proof he cited some monuments that make it possible to determine the antiquity of the origin of the Slavic people and their writing.

And the last fact that can seriously influence the train of thought of people in search of an answer to the question of who created the Slavic writing is coins with different letters of the Russian alphabet, dated earlier than 863, and located in the territories of such European countries like England, Scandinavia, Denmark and others.

Refutation of the ancient origin of Slavic writing

The supposed creators of Slavic writing missed the mark a little: they did not leave any books and documents written in this language. However, for many scientists it is enough that Slavic writing is present on various stones, rocks, weapons and household items that were used by the ancient inhabitants in their Everyday life.

Many scientists worked on studying historical achievements in the writing of the Slavs, but a senior researcher named Grinevich was able to get almost to the very source, and his work made it possible to decipher any text written in the ancient Slavic language.

Grinevich's work in the study of Slavic writing

In order to understand the writing of the ancient Slavs, Grinevich had to do a lot of work, during which he discovered that it was not based on letters, but had a more complex system that worked through syllables. The scientist himself absolutely seriously believed that the formation of the Slavic alphabet began 7,000 years ago.

The signs of the Slavic alphabet had a different basis, and after grouping all the symbols, Grinevich identified four categories: linear, dividing symbols, pictorial and limiting signs.

For the study, Grinevich used about 150 different inscriptions that were present on all kinds of objects, and all his achievements were based on deciphering these particular symbols.

During his research, Grinevich found out that the history of Slavic writing is older, and the ancient Slavs used 74 characters. However, for an alphabet there are too many characters, and if we talk about whole words, then there cannot be only 74 of them in the language. These reflections led the researcher to the idea that the Slavs used syllables instead of letters in the alphabet.

Example: “horse” - syllable “lo”

His approach made it possible to decipher the inscriptions that many scientists struggled with and could not understand what they meant. But it turned out that everything is quite simple:

1. The pot, which was found near Ryazan, had an inscription - instructions that said that it should be put in the oven and closed.
2. The sinker, which was found near the city of Trinity, had a simple inscription: “Weighs 2 ounces.”

All of the above-described evidence completely refutes the fact that the creators of Slavic writing are Cyril and Methodius, and prove the antiquity of our language.

Slavic runes in the creation of Slavic writing

The one who created the Slavic writing was a rather smart and brave person, because such an idea at that time could destroy the creator due to the lack of education of all other people. But besides writing, other options for disseminating information to people were invented - Slavic runes.

A total of 18 runes have been found in the world, which are present on a large number of different ceramics, stone statues and other artifacts. Examples include ceramic products from the village of Lepesovka, located in southern Volyn, as well as a clay vessel in the village of Voiskovo. In addition to evidence located on the territory of Russia, there are monuments that are located in Poland and were discovered back in 1771. They also contain Slavic runes. We should not forget the temple of Radegast, located in Retra, where the walls are decorated with Slavic symbols. The last place that scientists learned about from Thietmar of Merseburg is a fortress-temple and is located on an island called Rügen. There are a large number of idols, whose names are written using runes of Slavic origin.

Slavic writing. Cyril and Methodius as creators

The creation of writing is attributed to Cyril and Methodius, and in support of this, historical data are provided for the corresponding period of their lives, which is described in some detail. They touch on the meaning of their activities, as well as the reasons for working on the creation of new symbols.

Cyril and Methodius was led to the creation of the alphabet by the conclusion that other languages ​​cannot fully reflect Slavic speech. This constraint is proven by the works of the monk Khrabra, in which it is noted that before the adoption of the Slavic alphabet for general use, baptism was carried out either in Greek or in Latin, and already in those days it became clear that they cannot reflect all the sounds that fill our speech .

Political influence on the Slavic alphabet

Politics began its influence on society from the very beginning of the birth of countries and religions, and it also had its hand in other aspects of people's lives.

As described above, the baptism services of the Slavs were conducted in either Greek or Latin, which allowed other churches to influence the minds and strengthen the idea of ​​their dominant role in the minds of the Slavs.

Those countries where liturgies were conducted not in Greek, but in Latin, received increased influence of German priests on the faith of people, but for the Byzantine Church this was unacceptable, and it took a reciprocal step, entrusting Cyril and Methodius with the creation of a written language in which it would be written service and sacred texts.

The Byzantine Church reasoned correctly at that moment, and its plans were such that whoever created the Slavic writing based on the Greek alphabet would help weaken the influence of the German Church on all Slavic countries at the same time and at the same time help bring the people closer to Byzantium. These actions can also be seen as motivated by self-interest.

Who created Slavic writing based on the Greek alphabet? They were created by Cyril and Methodius, and it was not by chance that they were chosen by the Byzantine Church for this work. Kirill grew up in the city of Thessaloniki, which, although Greek, about half of its inhabitants spoke fluent Slavic, and Kirill himself was well versed in it and also had an excellent memory.

Byzantium and its role

There is quite a serious debate about when the work on creating Slavic writing began, since May 24 is the official date, but there is a large gap in history that creates a discrepancy.

After Byzantium gave this difficult task, Cyril and Methodius began developing Slavic writing and in 864 arrived in Moravia with a ready-made Slavic alphabet and a fully translated Gospel, where they recruited students for the school.

After receiving a task from the Byzantine Church, Cyril and Methodius head to Morvia. During their journey, they are engaged in writing the alphabet and translating the texts of the Gospel into the Slavic language, and upon arrival in the city, the finished works are in their hands. However, the road to Moravia does not take that much time. Perhaps this time period makes it possible to create an alphabet, but it is simply impossible to translate the Gospel letters in such a short period of time, which indicates advance work on the Slavic language and translation of texts.

Kirill's illness and care

After three years of working in his own school of Slavic writing, Kirill abandoned this business and left for Rome. This turn of events was caused by illness. Kirill left everything for a peaceful death in Rome. Methodius, finding himself alone, continues to pursue his goal and does not retreat back, although now it has become more difficult for him, because the Catholic Church has begun to understand the scale of the work done and is not delighted with it. The Roman Church imposes bans on translations into the Slavic language and openly demonstrates its dissatisfaction, but Methodius now has followers who help and continue his work.

Cyrillic and Glagolitic - what laid the foundation for modern writing?

There are no confirmed facts that can prove which of the writing systems originated earlier, and there is no exact information about who created the Slavic one and which of the two possible ones Cyril had a hand in. Only one thing is known, but the most important thing is that it was the Cyrillic alphabet that became the founder of today’s Russian alphabet and only thanks to it we can write the way we write now.

The Cyrillic alphabet contains 43 letters, and the fact that its creator was Cyril proves the presence of 24 in it. And the remaining 19 were included by the creator of the Cyrillic alphabet based on the Greek alphabet solely to reflect complex sounds that were present only among peoples who used the Slavic language for communication.

Over time, the Cyrillic alphabet has been transformed, almost constantly influenced in order to simplify and improve it. However, there were moments that made writing difficult at first, for example, the letter “е”, which is an analogue of “e”, the letter “й” is an analogue of “i”. Such letters made spelling difficult at first, but reflected their corresponding sounds.

Glagolitic, in fact, was an analogue of the Cyrillic alphabet and used 40 letters, 39 of which were taken specifically from the Cyrillic alphabet. The main difference between the Glagolitic alphabet is that it has a more rounded writing style and is not inherently angular, unlike Cyrillic.

The disappeared alphabet (Glagolitic), although it did not take root, was intensively used by the Slavs living in the southern and western latitudes, and, depending on the location of the inhabitants, it had its own writing styles. The Slavs living in Bulgaria used the Glagolitic alphabet with a more rounded style to write, while the Croatians gravitated towards an angular script.

Despite the number of hypotheses and even the absurdity of some of them, each is worthy of attention, and it is impossible to accurately answer who the creators of Slavic writing were. The answers will be vague, with many flaws and shortcomings. And although there are many facts that refute the creation of writing by Cyril and Methodius, they are honored for their work, which allowed the alphabet to spread and transform into its present form.

There is still an opinion that before Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet, not only books, but even writing did not exist. Historical research they say the opposite. The writer-historian Vyacheslav Manyagin gives many convincing examples proving the presence in Rus' of a developed writing system, dating back to ancient times.

Vyacheslav Manyagin: Talking about the oldest Russian writing, which existed when, in fact, perhaps the Russian people were still in their infancy, I want to start with the names of historians, not so distant, with the names of quite a few animals, this is with the name of Cyril and Methodius . It is often said that Cyril and Methodius are the first Slovenian teachers who created the modern Russian alphabet. In fact, this is not entirely true, because Cyril and Methodius created a very specific written language for very specific purposes. They created Church Slavonic writing, in which Church Slavonic liturgical books were subsequently written and published. But the question is, on what basis did they create this writing? After all, it cannot be that there was no written language before them. Of course, for example, Kirill was a philosopher, a brilliant linguist, a brilliant philologist, he quickly studied various languages, he knew Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, since he was Slavic languages, yes, but still imagine that this is how it is written, let’s say, in his life, that he sat down, prayed and the Slavic alphabet immediately appeared, yes, well, this, comrades, is not serious, let’s be realistic.

That is, it is clear that there was already some basis for their work, yes, to create the Church Slavonic alphabet. Indeed, the very life of Saints Cyril and Methodius writes about this: when they arrived in Crimea, in the city of Chersonesos during a mission to the Khazar Kaganate, Cyril discovered 2 books in Chersonesus written in Russian letters. And, as it were, what started here, yes, all historical science stood on its hind legs, a huge number of scientists claim that there cannot be any Russian books written in Russian script, that this is some kind of mistake, a copyist’s typo, and that, probably, it should have been written not in Russian script, but in Sul script. That is, what Sul ones?

Well, it was either from the city of Surozh, yes, there in the Crimea near Surozh, Sudak, which is now called, yes, the Genoese fortress. Either these are books from Syria in general, yes, written in the local Syrian dialect, Syrian writing, yes, well, not Russian at all, it cannot be that there are Russian writings. But there are some inscriptions on the pots, yes, with lines and cuts, but these are calendar marks, nothing more.

How come there was no writing? It wasn't that's all. Even it would seem, well, such famous clerics as Metropolitan Macarius Bulgakov, who lived in the 19th century, by the way, he is known for writing a textbook for an Orthodox seminary, and priests still study from this textbook. And many, so to speak, preconceived opinions that he laid down there are still absorbed by students in the seminary, then they are brought out, so to speak, to the people and are perceived as some kind of true absolute authority. So, even Macarius Bulgakov completely denied the possibility of the presence of some Russian characters, with which the psalms and gospels were especially written, as they say in the life of Cyril and Methodius, that is, everyone, both learned historians and theologians, all deny the existence of Russian writing before Cyril and Methodius.

In fact, oddly enough, these preconceived opinions were refuted by none other than Pope John VIII, who lived at the same time as Cyril and Methodius, and became famous for the fact that he, in fact, saved Methodius from a German prison pulled out. And in particular, in one of the letters that he wrote in defense of Cyril and Methodius, who taught Christianity to the Slavs precisely in the Slavic language, he wrote the following phrase that these letters were not invented by Cyril and Methodius, yes, they were not created, they simply renewed existing ones earlier Russian letters. And this is very valuable. Valuable by what? That John VIII, he was an Italian, a native of Rome, yes, that is, he spent his life in Italy, and he apparently had some reason to say that Constantine, Cyril the philosopher, he renewed these letters, namely adapted them for Slavic Orthodox worship, but did not invent them, did not create them anew.

Here we must understand that writing, in fact, is not needed for some religious practices, yes, not for religious texts, because we know that most religions, including world ones, initially got along just fine without any written texts sacred. Well, if we look at Judaism, yes, then the Bible was written down only after the Babylonian captivity, that is, from the king, as it were, from Moses, even if we start, all this was transmitted orally in traditions, stories, and was already written down in writing somewhere 600-700 years later. The same applies to other religions, Zoroastrianism, for example, and, in fact, the Christian Church wrote down its sacred texts not immediately after the life of Christ, but 200-250 years later. Writing, it is needed, first of all, not for this or that religion, it is needed for the state, because the state is a bureaucratic machine that must carry out accounting and control, keep everything neat, yes, in lists.

We will look at any statehood, there, at Ancient Sumer, huge archives on long tablets, yes, with hieroglyphs. What is written there first of all? Tax collection, there are some reports to the king, and so on, and so on, that is, the office is continuous. Yes, and “The Epic of Gilgamesh” already contains several tablets. Or in Ancient Egypt, yes, what shall we see? Here is a statue of a scribe who sits and again writes down some taxes and reports. That is, the state is a bureaucratic machine, and it needed writing. And when we are told that the Russian people in ancient times could not have written language, that it appeared only in the 9th century, was brought specially along with Christianity, yes, let’s say, then we must clearly understand, thereby telling us that the Russian people in ancient times there could not be a state. Why is this so important, right?

In particular, for Western peoples? So I talked about Northern Italy, about Central Europe, yes, that is, Venice, Norik, in the Russian state, in the Baltic states on the southern state border with Denmark, in France there is a Russian state, yes, that is, there were Russians state entities throughout Central, Eastern Europe where these territories are now inhabited by Germanic peoples and other Western Europeans. To admit that Russians once lived here, and here they had their own state, is tantamount to recognizing the Russians’ right to this territory. Not a single Western people, of course, will agree to this, so with all their might they deny that the Russians have ancient literacy, and, accordingly, the presence of ancient Russian states on the territory of Europe, in order to prevent this, let’s say, political, already some kind of territorial requirements.

And, accordingly, a fairy tale is imposed on us that the Russian state was created only in 862 at the instigation of the German cultural leaders Rurik and his brothers, such Norman theory. Accordingly, the struggle for Russian writing is a struggle for Russian history, for Russian statehood and for Russian territories.

Property of the Planet

Nowadays, there is a widespread opinion that the Russian Orthodox Church represents Orthodoxy, sometimes even the term Christianity itself is omitted, implying that it is identical, naturally, without taking into account the Slavism itself. According to the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Slavs have nothing to do with it at all.

In September 2010, answering questions from a correspondent of the Rossiya TV channel, Patriarch Kirill clearly got carried away and revealed his true face - the face of a cosmopolitan:

“...Who were the Slavs? These are barbarians, people speaking an incomprehensible language, these are second-class people, they are almost animals. And so enlightened men (who came from the enlightened Greco-Roman world, Cyril and Methodius) came to them, brought them the light of Christ’s truth and did something very important - they began to speak with these barbarians in their language, they created the Slavic alphabet, Slavic grammar and translated the Word of God into this language...”

Patriarch Kirill called the Slavs animal people of the 2nd class

But is this really so?

Of course not - this is actually a blatant lie! And to think that way is either extreme ignorance or definitely a malicious distortion of the truth.

The Slavs have a great and glorious history! The version about the emergence of the Slavic state about a thousand years ago has long been called into question. Here is the opinion of the most famous scientist, the largest Russian archaeologist and historian of the twentieth century, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy Sciences B.A. Rybakova: “Speaking about the true Slavic gods, we clearly imagine the dates of the birth of the cult of this or that god. God Ra - about 50 thousand years ago. God Veles - about 40 thousand years ago. The Slavic Goddess Makosh occupies the same ancient place in this series - about 40 thousand years ago.”

Slavism is the oldest world Faith on our planet. The main core of the Slavs is the Old Russian Vedic Culture. The Slavs are Aryans - Russes - Russians who adhere to the Old Russian Vedic Faith, who glorify the Rule - the laws of Space and Nature - the universal law of Svarog, which governs the world. To glorify Rule is to glorify God. Glorifying the Rule is Orthodoxy. As we see, this was the name of the Faith of our Ancestors already in that distant time. Slavism gave the basis to all currently existing world religions.

The Russian Orthodox Church is just one of many sectual varieties of Christianity, along with others that have the right to exist, as do other confessions and faiths.

But since our past has now become densely filled with vicious myths, like the ones above, it is important to learn in more detail about the concept of “Orthodoxy,” which is truly an integral part of the national character Slavic peoples.

Let us find out the true content of the ancient words “Rule” and “Glory”, which form the basis of the above concept, consisting of two roots.

Original Slavic word“Rule” formed the basis of such sacred concepts as: TRUTH, RULE, JUST, RIGHTEOUS, RULER and others. We associate all these words with Light - Good. The reason for this is that in ancient times the World where the High Gods lived was called nothing less than Prav.

Therefore, words that have the root “Right” are associated with God, the divine, and therefore have a positive meaning. In the Rule there are Native Gods and Souls of Light Ancestors. Thus, Rule is not only the world of the Gods, it is the Laws by which people and Gods live.

The Faith of the Ancestors in the Rule has never disappeared; it cannot be overcome, because it is the living Soul of the People. Neither coercion, nor torture by the authorities, nor burning at the stake forced our People to accept someone else's faith.

Therefore, foreigners, having replaced the concepts and appropriated traditional names and rituals, thereby began to adjust them to their own slaveholding creed, which is still in effect today.

So, our God Svarog became Sabaoth, the Great Mother Lada was called exclusively the Mother of God, from many of the names of Veles only Vlasiy and Vasily remained, Perun was renamed Ilya, but remained the Thunderer, from Dazhdbog only the epithet Son of God remained, Svetovit was turned into Saint Vitay and the like ...

This, ultimately, led to the gradual loss of the meaning of Native rituals and names, distortion and simplification of the Vedic Faith of our Ancestors. But no matter how hard it was, the Clans of the Magi preserved the Faith unchanged, knowing that the time of the Great Revival would come.

Today, many Slavs have realized the beginning of a new Ecumenical upsurge and the flowering of Vedic spirituality. Tradition says that the sacred concept of “Rule” is a set of Divine Laws that Rule the Universe.

The second component of the phrase “Orthodoxy” is “Glory” - this is the name of the Goddess of Glory-Slavuni - the wife of Bogumir.

Bogumir continued the work of his grandfather and father Perun and Tarkh Perunovich Dazhdbog. He united the Rus into a Great Power that stretched over almost the entire Eurasia and lasted for a millennium.

Bogumir married Slava - the daughter of the god Man, the granddaughter of the god of prayers Barma, the great-granddaughter of the God of Rod himself. A great role was destined for him. Indeed, in ancient times, many thousands of years before the onset of the Dark Times (Night of Svarog), a great battle and civil strife took place in the earthly race. Souls rebelled, fell into falsehood and wished to throw the White Light under their feet. That civil strife brought great misfortune to the Earth; traces of terrible upheavals remained everywhere.

At that time there was no power either for the Glorious clans or for Krivda, but a great misfortune arose: the ancestors of the generation died in the battle (the first ancestors, the Magi - who gave rise to the new Aryan Clans, such were, for example, Arius and others), the chain of Radeniya was broken, the clan was lost earthly Pokon of the Most High Family. Then the elders began to speak to SVA so that the gods would descend into Reality to reveal their wisdom.

And the gods descended to Earth, and the Great Relatives saw on the lands of present-day Rus' good and honest people who had bred their Family from the Falcon-Rod. And this Rod was brave and courageous, striving for work.

The people were bright in mind, they lived in peace and harmony, obeying the elders, emulating the gods of their relatives in their deeds.

It is because the elders listened to their native gods and glorified them faithfully, fulfilling their covenants, and the gods gave the people the eldest in the family - Father Bogumir. He became the Savior - being a man in reality, always associated with the gods and keeping within himself the consciousness and powers of God.

Svarog and Lada gave Bogumir and his wife Slava faithful covenants, the Wisdom of the Orthodox Faith and Veda, which had been cut short since the time of the Old Father of the World.

It turns out that the revivalists of the Slavic Family were Bogumir and Slava. According to legend, it was Svarog and Lada who came to earth to restore knowledge and recreate the Slavic Family. Then there were other Spas who brought knowledge and passed it on to the people.

Purpose spiritual development in the Russian Native Orthodox Faith there is a clear awareness of the laws of the Universe (laws of Rule, Pokon), which allows the soul to create its own world, and this helps it achieve its highest manifestation.

Bogumir dedicated his life to teaching family harmony to the Glorious Family. She and Mother Slava laid the foundation for a science called Rodolad. Yes, it could not be otherwise, because they were souls who carried within themselves the great power of Svarog and Lada, the Light-Bearing Heavenly Spouses.

The genus is the beginning, progenitor and creator of all things, Explicit and Implicit, living and inanimate, the Supreme Almighty, the All-One God. His name lives in such words as Parent, Native, Birth, Motherland, people, nature, breed, harvest, Spring and many others. But first of all, Rod is a creative, calling to life, producing force in general, it is the basis of everything!

It turns out that Rodolad is a system of views on creating a family, the purpose of a man and a woman, a husband and a wife. She talks about the responsibilities of parents and children, about arranging a space of love and how to maintain the Fire in the family hearth, about duty to the family and society.

Rodolad is the understanding and holding of ancestral holidays, rituals, the preservation of traditions that support the culture of the family, the ability to communicate and live in harmony with the energies and elements of the World - the gods. The science of Rodolad wisely and methodically helped a girl to become a girl, a woman, a mother, and a boy to become a youth, a man, a father...

According to the sacred Slavic-Aryan scriptures, each person has his own purpose. So Father Svarog - the Supreme God of the physical world - created the Universe, and his wife - the Mother of the gods Lada - filled it with love and harmony. Each man creates the world of his family, creates and obtains benefits, and the woman - Bereginya, puts things in order - gives order to everything that her husband has created. Such families are carriers of the spiritual strength of the people. A happy family- the basis of the Family, and prosperous Family ensures the prosperity of the Motherland!

Having restored the Pokon of the Family of the Most High and passing it on to their descendants, Spas Bogumir together with Slava recreated the sacred community of the Aryan peoples. All Rus-Slavs are united not only by blood, but also by highly spiritual origin. All together, the descendants of the Slavic-Aryans constitute the Family of Souls, the Spiritual Family of the Glorious, which honors the one and many-manifested God of Gods - the Family of the Most High!

And since then, every descendant of Bogumir and Slava, all the Slavs, carries within themselves that Primordial Divine Spark!

Thus, the very content of the concept “Orthodoxy” is literally understood as “Rule Glorification,” and the deep ideological content is understood as “Rule the World of the Highest Gods.” It is in this understanding that the word “Orthodoxy” is used in the Native Vedic Faith of the Rus.

The use of the name of the Slavic goddess of Glory and the name of the World of Slavic Gods Pravi in ​​the name of someone else's religion is the height of cunning and substitution of the concept.

Orthodoxy is the spiritual path of the Slavic peoples; even now this word exists only in the languages ​​of our fraternal peoples.

And the Anglo-Saxons, with their artificial, clumsy language, introduced during the reformatting of Europe using the Latin alphabet, like Esperanto, generally distorted this concept, lowering it to the concept of slaves.

So, for example, the word Slav, Slavs is translated from English into Russian as Slav, Slavs, at the same time already Slave, Slaves is a slave, slaves, and is pronounced almost the same. It seems that this was not done by chance by our sworn “friends”, or as the current power “elite” calls them – their partners...

When we call ourselves confessors of the Slavic Faith, we define our path in the Explicit World, aimed at the Unity of the Heavenly Race and the Earthly Race. Called confessors of Vedic Orthodoxy, we determine the direction of our spiritual development - towards Unity with the Highest Gods of Rule.

However, if we turn to the history of the Christian Church and calmly, thoroughly, without any bias, get acquainted with it, we will easily get an answer to the question: where did the so-called “Orthodox Christianity” come from?

The chronicles of the 10th-14th centuries convincingly indicate that Christianity came to Rus' from Greece under the name “faith of Christ”, “new faith”, “true faith”, “Greek faith”, and most often - “orthodox Christian faith”.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that for the first time the word “Orthodoxy” appears in the “Epistle of Metropolitan Photius of Pskov” of 1410-1417, that is, 422 years after the introduction of Christianity in Rus'. And the phrase “Orthodox Christianity” even later - in the Pskov First Chronicle of 1450, 462 years after the baptism of Rus'. This naturally says a lot and causes serious surprise.

If the word “Orthodoxy” really has something to do with Christianity, as current clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church claim, then why haven’t Christians themselves used it for half a millennium?

Therefore, we can note, based on the facts confirmed by documents written in chronicles by monks: Christians became “Orthodox” only 597 years ago. And for 422 years they called themselves only “faithful.” And this is also confirmed by the fact that the Greek word “orthodoxy” translated into Russian means “orthodoxy.” For the Greeks, “orthos” means correct, “direct,” and “doxos” means “thought,” “belief,” “faith.” That is why in the Western world Christians of the Eastern rite are called nothing less than “Orthodox.”

The church translation of the word “orthodoxy” looks strange - “orthodoxy”, because the word “glory” in Greek is pronounced “kydos”, hence the name ancient city Kydonia in Crete, which translates to "Glorious". Therefore, if Eastern Christians are truly “Orthodox”, the religion itself should be called at least “Orthokydos”.

We know the outcome of this contradiction. Greco-Orthodoxy (orthodox Christianity) in the 16th century, after the capture of the Rusyn lands by Poland, found itself in a tough struggle with Roman Catholicism. Therefore, looking for support for itself, the church came to the only saving solution - to partially adopt the Vedic spiritual customs of the Rus.

First of all, they turned the “orthodox Christian faith” into “holy Orthodoxy.” And then they stopped fighting Vedic customs and accepted as their scripture: the cult of the Ancestors, Green Christmastide, Kupala Christmastide, Pokrov, Kalita, Kolyada, Strecha (Candlemas) and others.

For us, the present-day Rus, in order to renew Harmony and Unity with the Native Gods, we must begin with the comprehension of the spiritual wealth that our Ancestors preserved for us - the essence of True Orthodoxy - the Native Vedic Orthodox Faith- Slavs.

From time immemorial, our faith has been and will remain forever Orthodox, because it always shows us the path to the Native Gods of Rule. Our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers were Orthodox from eternity, and we should be the same!

We do not fight with anyone and do not oppose ourselves to anyone. Different cults use terms and even symbols of our Ancestors, so let them use them. Only educated and cultured people always have primary sources with them - this is the Heritage of our Great Ancestors.

Understanding and perception of all this wealth will make us stronger, for True Faith is the Veda of Rule - knowledge about the World, the Universe and the Laws of the Russian Gods. This is exactly what is needed now - for the Unity and Strength of the Slavic Family!

Now, unfortunately, not everything is all right with us yet...

I look around and it hurts me, what have we turned the Russian State into?! We live in our Holy Land, which our Ancestors gave to us; they loved it like life and sprinkled it with their blood to protect it. Its rivers were spilled during that old and new battle, when both the city dweller and the peasant stood as one. Well, now what have we turned our Family into?! A pack of jackals were allowed to come to power. They are only lining their pockets with us, selling what was created with great difficulty, selling our lives, spitting on everyone, on their People, which Rus' put in place, which was always undefeated. I am Russian, Slavic and proud of it! I am proud of the Earth on which I was born! There is a free Russian Spirit in her and that Spirit will never be oppressed! And I know that through the years, Mother Russia will raise her sons from her knees and the Russian Spirit, having gathered everyone into a glorious holy army, will throw off this jackal burden and our Russian Family will live, as it lived in those millennia of creation, and it will glorify its Slavic Heritage with its life! ..

Evgeny Tarasov