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Cyril was quick to point out the irony of this position, which gave authority to the one who ordered Christ's execution. Dubbing his opponents the "Pilatists," Cyril chastised them: "Falls not God's rain upon all equally? And shines not the sun also upon all? And breathe we not all air in the same way? Are you not ashamed to mention only three tongues, and to command all other nations and tribes to be blind and deaf?" All people had the right to worship God in their native tongue.

Cyril was well received by Pope Adrian II, who gave his blessing to the brothers' work and permitted the worship to continue in Slavic. The pope commanded that the young Moravian disciples be ordained and celebrate the liturgy in Slavic at St. Peter's basilica and many other churches in Rome.

After Cyril died in Rome in 868, Methodius continued their work in Moravia, translating the Old Testament into Slavic; however, he repeatedly ran into political obstacles. His enemies included the successor of Prince Ratislav and Frankish church officials, who attempted to expel him. Methodius spent two and a half years in prison. His commitment to teaching Christianity to the Moravians in their own Slavic tongue even caused him to be summoned to Rome on charges of heresy. The new pope John VII was convinced by Methodius's arguments and granted him permission to continue his work in Moravia.

After Methodius's death in 885, however, his followers were expelled from Moravia. They took the Slavic Scriptures to Bulgaria, where King Boris, who had only recently converted to Christianity, joyfully welcomed them. While successive popes in Rome adopted a Latin-only policy for Christian worship, the new Slavic church flourished in Bulgaria. This set the stage for the spread of Christianity throughout Eastern Europe and Russia.

The legacy of Cyril and Methodius—that people everywhere should be encouraged to worship God and read the Bible freely in their native tongue—continues to be a central pillar of the modern missionary movement. No one people group can claim to own the gospel. Christianity is a living faith that interacts fruitfully with diverse cultures, as we witness in the churches of the Global South today.

Jennifer Hevelone-Harper is associate professor and chair of history at Gordon College and a member of the Christian History advisory board.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian History & Biography magazine.
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