Homily on the Commemoration of the Enlighteners of the Slavs and Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodios
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
"Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct" (Heb. 13:7).
Today the entire Orthodox Church, especially the Slavic Church, celebrates the memory of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodios, who enlightened all the Slavic lands with their teachings and led them to Christ.
What treasure is more precious than the treasure of the faith of Christ, the Orthodox faith? Truly, there is no more precious treasure than the treasure of the true faith: because the true faith gives us knowledge of the true God, and unites us with God, and in union with God there is also blessedness; therefore, the Author of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, calls faith in Him both a treasure hidden in a field, and a priceless pearl. And this treasure of the true faith was handed down to us, in our native language, by the aforementioned two equal-to-the-apostles and native brothers, Saints Methodios and Cyril. Our ancestors, like all Slavs, Moravians, Serbs, Czechs, Poles and others, were idolaters in ancient times, giving glory befitting the one, living God to soulless idols. Thus the Russians worshipped Svarog or Perun, Dazhbog or the sun and fire and many other imaginary gods and idols, sacrificed living children to Perun, as the Jews once did to Moloch; they did not know about the sweetest Savior of men, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and about the eternal life granted to those who believe in Him, and they perished in their polytheistic or godless faith.
But the Lord on high, in whose right hand are the destinies of the nations, who foresaw the readiness of the Slavic tribes to accept the light of truth and the true faith, chose two native brothers - the Slavs Methodios and Cyril - to convert them from the charm of paganism to the life-giving faith of Christ, just as he once called two brothers Peter and Andrew as well as James and John, from catching fish to catching men, and these new apostles labored much and endured sorrows in enlightening the Slavic tribes with the faith of Christ. The Slavs did not know literacy, did not have writing: it was necessary to invent writing or literacy, and Saint Cyril invented literacy for them. It was necessary to translate the word of God and liturgical books into the language of the Slavs: and the two brothers accomplished this difficult task, taught the dark Slavs literacy, faith, prayer, the commandments of the Lord, built churches for them, gave them priests and service to the true God began in the land that until then had been defiled by idolatry and demonic sacrifices. From the Moravian Slavs, the Christian faith, Slavic literacy, sacred and liturgical books passed to the Russian Slavs, and the Russian land began to serve the true God, to be enlightened and sanctified and warmed by the faith of Christ. First Askold and Dir, then the Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, the Russian star, and after her her grandson, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the red sun of the Russian land, led the Russian people to the knowledge of the one, living, true God and His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity, consubstantial, life-giving and indivisible.
Therefore, my brethren, you see that our Christian Orthodox faith and this harmonious Orthodox worship everywhere in Slavic, our native language, easy to understand for us, this Russian literacy, this all-Slavic and all-Russian education is an abundant fruit, an abundant harvest, the seeds of which were sown by Saints Methodios and Cyril. And the words of the Savior, spoken by Him to His disciples, apply to us: "One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors" (John 4:37-38).
Make use, my brethren, of the priceless treasure of the Orthodox faith: glorify unceasingly with all your heart the True God, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, glorify with your heart and lips, and especially with your whole life; strive wholeheartedly to fulfill the commandments of Christ and attain the eternal inheritance with the saints. And at the same time do not forget to remember our teachers - the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodios and Cyril, who transmitted to us the word of God in our language and enlightened us with the faith of Christ; diligently read and listen to this word of God and fulfill it - and looking at the end of the life of our first teachers, imitate their faith. Like high-flying eagles, they stood above everything earthly even in life, did not care about earthly acquisitions, nor about earthly glory, and after death they soared to heaven to the Lord Jesus Christ, for Whom they labored. And do not be partial to earthly things, but remember your higher calling and think about the incorruptible heavenly blessings prepared for those who love God, knowing that our conversation is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Do not forget that there, far in the south and west, there are many Slavic peoples related to us in faith, language and tribe, our brothers, whom accept in your prayers; pray for their well-being and success in faith and piety, so that with one heart and lips we all glorify the one God in the earthly, militant Church, and may we be deemed worthy to unanimously exclaim to Him and in the heavenly, triumphant Church: Glory to You, God, our Enlightener, forever and ever. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
