SAINT METHODIUS AS THE CARRIER OF THE BYZANTINE TRADITION IN THE SLAVIC WORLD (THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL WORK OF ST METHODIUS FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE SLAVS)
SAINT METHODIUS AS THE CARRIER OF THE BYZANTINE TRADITION IN THE SLAVIC WORLD (THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL WORK OF ST METHODIUS FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE SLAVS)

Summary/Abstract: For sixteen whole years after the dormition of his beloved brother Cyril (14.2.869), St Methodius fought hard for the continuation and the success of their missionary work by ministering, teaching, translating, writing, composing hymns, and confessing the Orthodox faith, until his most venerable dormition (4.6.885). In the whole missionary work for the Orthodox illumination of the Slavs, academic scholarship places the philosopher Constantine-St Cyril in a more prominent position than his brother. St Methodius always standing in the shadow of his brother. In my opinion, a detailed study of the personality of St Methodius shows him as the one who was able to realize his brother's idea for the illumination of the Slavs and also managed to create of body of highly qualified students for the continuity of the mission. He was most certainly different from his brother, but he was in no way a lesser figure than Cyril. The importance of St Methodius is stressed by his biographer when he compared him to the Fathers of the six Ecumenical synods. They had also been distinguished by their fighting spirit against various heresies and worked hard for the exact formulation of the Orthodox creed. And then he added the following: And after all these [Fathers], the merciful God who wants everybody to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, sent in our times (St Methodius), in whom no one ever took any interest, our own teacher, blessed Methodius, a worker of the Good.

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