Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks Assumption of Saint Methodius on April 6

Photo: Archive

On April 6, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church commemorates the Assumption of St. Methodius. He was the older brother of Saint Cyril also known as Constantine the Philosopher. Both are known as the Apostles of the Slavs. Methodius became a monk after giving up his occupation as a military governor of a Slavic region near Thessaloniki. 

In the Polychron monastery the two brothers created the first Slavic alphabet - the Glagolitic alphabet. Methodius accompanied his brother in all his diplomatic and spiritual missions, including during the mission in Great Moravia.
After Pope Adrian II blessed the Slavic translations of the liturgical books and after the death in Rome of St. Cyril, Methodius continued the enlightenment work among the Slavs. He was ordained by the Vatican as Archbishop of Moravia. Despite the persecution by the German imperial and ecclesiastical authorities, St. Methodius developed a wide range of translation and baptismal activities. His students, expelled from Great Moravia, saved and developed the new Slavonic script in Bulgaria.

In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius co-patrons of Europe because their work was a bridge between the East and the West, contributed to the cultural growth of the Old Continent and educated generations of Europeans.

You can learn more HERE.


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

What else don't we know about the Glagolitic alphabet, one of the oldest surviving alphabets?

A key to our heritage and national identity, the Glagolitic alphabet is an alphabet and a message to Europe, surrounded by many hypotheses. To mark the 1170th anniversary of its creation, we take a trip back to the 9th century, when the brothers Cyril..

published on 5/16/25 12:52 PM

Bulgarian Minister of Justice in Athos: The Zograf Monastery is one of the symbols of Bulgarian spirituality

A Bulgarian delegation, led by Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev, attended the enthronement of Archimandrite Gavriil as abbot of the Zograf Monastery in Mount Athos. Hieromonk Gavriil elected new abbot of Zograf Monastery “This is a..

published on 5/11/25 2:25 PM
Българска Патриаршия

The Bulgarian Patriarchate celebrates 72 years since its restoration

On 10 May we mark 72 years since the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, whose existence ended at the end of the 14th century when Bulgaria fell under five centuries of Ottoman rule. Efforts to restore it began in the Renaissance. In 1870 the..

published on 5/10/25 10:44 AM