14 / 27 February

St. Cyril, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Teacher of the Slavs

Brother of Methodius, originally from Salonica of eminent and wealthy parents, Leo and Maria. When the Khazarite king, Kagan, sought preachers of the Christian faith from the Emperor Michael, the Emperor commanded that these two brothers be found and sent to the Khazars. They converted Kagan and baptised him together with a great number of nobles and an even greater number of the people. After some time they compiled a Slavic alphabet of 38 letters and began to translate the service books from Greek to Slavonic . At the invitation of Prince Radtislav they went to Moravia, where, with great devotion, they spread and confirmed the Faith. They went to Rome at the invitation of the Pope and Cyril fell ill and died there in 869. Our Holy Father Auxentius.

On the same day: Our Holy Father Isaac the Recluse of the Kiev Caves