Holy Equals-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril
Categories: orthodox-life, hymns, feast-days
Date: 10 May 2007 22:44:32
Troparion
O Cyril and Methodius, inspired by God,
You became equal to the Apostles by your life.
Since you were teachers of the Slavs,
Intercede with the Master of all
That He may strengthen all Orthodox peoples in the True Faith,
And that He may grant peace to the world
And great mercy to our souls.
Kontakion
Let us praise the two priests of God who enlightened us,
And poured upon us the fount of the knowledge of God by translating the Holy Scripture.
O Cyril and Methodius, as abundant learning has been drawn from this work,
We exalt you who now stand before the Most High,
Interceding with fervour for the salvation of our souls.
The lives of Holy Equals-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril are among the most well-known, and well-loved, among Orthodox Christians -- particularly those of Slavic origins. To quote from OrthodoxWiki:
Our fathers among the saints Cyril and Methodius were brothers who brought Orthodoxy to the Slavic peoples of central Europe in the ninth century. In preparation for their mission to the Slavs they devised the Glagolitic alphabet to translate the Holy Scriptures and other Christian writings into what is now called Old Church Slavonic. Glagolitic later developed into the Cyrillic alphabet which is now used in a number of Slavic languages. The two brothers have been recognized as saints, equals to the apostles, for their missionary work.
I thank God we have many people and clergy within our Archdiocese, and other Archdioceses in Australia, who -- continuing in the spirit of Ss Methodius and Cyril -- are pushing for the use of English in services here: it is, in my view, important that we do use (to quote from the back of my BCP), "a language understanded of the people. (Article XXIV)"
That is not to say we should get rid of anything that is not English, nor ignore the large migrant communities in Sydney and consider, when the opportunity presents itself and when we have the people and skills, Mandarin and other Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, Dinka, Punjabi, etc -- we need to speak in languages people understand.
And please do not take this as a blanket "convert criticism": I try to be very careful as a convert that I don't come across "more Orthodox than the Orthodox" nor criticise without knowing the background. While I'd never present Orthodoxy as perfect, for no church is perfect this side of the Parousia, when it comes to "ethnic" issues, as an Anglo, I try to step judiciously -- though I pray when I do speak up, and there are times we need to, it comes across caring and generously. And, being honest, the second- and third-generation Arabic people at my parish are far more vocal about English than I ever would be!
I am well-aware that the migration and language situation now is very different to that of Ss Methodius and Cyril: rather than Orthodoxy being spread by evangelists to far-flung corners of the world -- in general, there are always exceptions such as St Herman of Alaska and Fr Themi in Kenya, among many others I may have no knowledge of: Lord, bless their work -- Orthodoxy has arrived in countries such as Australia by migration. Understandably, those who come need their mother-tongue in services: and we need to continue them -- in our Archdiocese's case Arabic -- for those whom we welcome here either as migrants or refugees. And it is very hard to move away from an entrenched position and this is not a problem that affects the Orthodox Church alone. But, while there are those few, perhaps vocal few, among my brothers and sisters who want nothing to do with English, we have a great many people, and I believe my parish, among others, to be a great example, who are interested and have a desire to bring Christianity, to bring Orthodoxy, to English-speaking Australians.
Holy Equals-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril, pray for us.