engleski

Three more paradoxes of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission (the post-mission period perspective)

In 1964 Ihor Ševčenko published his acclaimed article Three paradoxes of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission in which he discussed some basic facts about the mission of St. Cyril and Methodius among the Slavs in the form of paradoxes. Indeed, the choice of form was an appropriate one by Ševčenko. These two “controversial saints” (as Petko Ivanov has stated), i.e. their lives, achievements and heritage do show unexpected turns of events, surprising consequences and are subjected to disputed interpretations. In other words, in addition to those pointed out by Ševčenko, there are more paradoxes of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission. In this study, three of those concerning the post-mission period (defined by the death of Methodius in 885) will be taken into account: 1.The fact that the Glagolitic script, whose creation is attributed to st. Constantine-Cyril with a purpose of writing Old Church Slavonic texts, was later overshadowed by the Cyrillic script, which was derived from the Greek script and named after St. Cyril although he had no part in its formation. 2.In the late Middle Ages the memory of St. Cyril and Methodius faded in Western Europe, although they were once warmly welcomed by Pope Adrian II who approved the use of Old Church Slavonic in liturgy and made Methodius archbishop of Sirmium. Instead, St. Jerome was thought to be the creator of the Glagolitic script as well as the Church Slavonic language used in the Roman liturgy. 3.The Cyrillo-Methodian heritage became a question of rivalry between (some) Slavic nations making them forget some of the fundamentals of St. Cyril and Methodius’ legacy: respect for the inherent dignity of each nation and its right to self-determination, rejecting any attitude of arrogance or superiority over others and a culture of a well-argued dialogue. The aim of highlighting and discussing these three paradoxes is to honour the work of St. Cyril and Methodius and its relevance to our times.

Glagolitic script, Cyrillic script, st. Jerome, modern Slavic nations, Cyrillo-Methodian legacy

nije evidentirano