“By preserving the lifework of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Bulgaria has deserved the gratitude and respect not only of the Slavic peoples but also of other peoples in the world. And so it will be as long as mankind continues to attribute real meaning to the words „progress”, „culture” and „humaneness”,” writes prominent French linguist and Bulgarian language expert Prof. Roger Bernard.

Today, twelve centuries after the creation of the Slavic script we continue to celebrate the “symbols that speak” – that is what Glagolitic actually means. In the 9^th century St. Cyril and his brother Methodius created a new alphabet so that the word of God may be translated into the Slavic language. In 863 the two brothers were sent to Great Moravia by Byzantine emperor Michael III at the request of Prince Rostislav to convert the Slavs in the Western regions to Christianity and organize divine worship in Great Moravia. The new alphabet started to be used in state and religious documents and books; divine service was being conducted in the Slavic language – until then the only languages used were Hebrew, Greek and Latin. In 885 Pope Stephen VI issued a Papal bull prohibiting worship in Slavic. And in 886 Cyril and Methodius’ disciples were forced to flee to Bulgaria where their work flourished. Two literary schools were established: The Pliska-Preslav and the Ohrid literary school where priests were trained, religious works translated and original writings created. Thus, Bulgaria came to be the cradle of the Slavic alphabet and literature.

Every year on May 24 – the day of the Slavonic alphabet, Bulgarian enlightenment and culture – these historic facts and events acquire emotional and patriotic dimensions. Prof. Boryana Hristova, Director of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library believes in the unifying power of the Bulgarian script and culture:

“That is why I think that the fact that hundreds and thousands of people come here, in front of the National Library building of their own accord to lay flowers at the monument to Sts. Cyril and Methodius and then go inside to see the exhibitions on show, testifies to the fact that the memory of the two brothers, the significance of their lifework is deeply rooted in our national memory, in what has made us what we are. I have tried to trace back in time the ways the two brothers have been commemorated – during the Middle Ages and the National Revival period. After the Ottoman conquest, the official celebrations were reinstated in 1852 and turned into an occasion for nationwide jubilation. After Bulgaria’s liberation from Ottoman domination in 1878, May 24 was recognized as one of the major national holidays. During the time of the National Revival our ancestors chose these two saints to represent Bulgaria and Bulgarians to the world, even though there were quite a few nations who wanted to claim the brothers Cyril and Methodius as their symbols. Still, our ancestors asserted themselves and today we can feel proud that they are the symbols of Bulgaria. No other figures from so long ago are capable of uniting the nation so profoundly.”

Prof. Boryana Hristova has been director of the hub of Bulgarian literature and enlightenment for 16 years. She is the daughter of prominent lecturer and author of Bulgarian language and literature text books Prof. Rozalina Novachkova; her love of words can be traced back to her early childhood. She admits she has been reading everything she has been able to lay her hands on since the age of 5 and calls herself “a professional reader”. And she firmly believes that a library is not just a place where books are kept, but a way of life.

“To use a library, to acquire knowledge, perfection and to reach out for information that will make you better at what you do – to my mind that is a major human achievement. The library is something that actually helps you come face to face with your own self, with your talents, develop and multiply them.” That is the reason why she says her wish is to find a way to help build the second part of the National Library – right behind the now existing building. Because as she puts it, the library that bears the names of the brothers Cyril and Methodius, declared by Pope John Paul II co-patrons of Europe, is one of the most beautiful faces Bulgarian can turn to the world.

“We should not forget that the lifework of these two brothers, especially St. Cyril the Philosopher, is not only the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet. All the more so that this script was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet very quickly, and that was created by Kliment of Ohrid at the close of the 9^th century in the new Bulgarian capital Preslav. But there is one thing that is of paramount importance – Cyril and Methodius forged a literary language of exceptional diversity, capable of rendering all philosophical concepts of the word of God, a language capable of supporting magnificent literature. Because a little after Bulgaria was converted to Christianity and the coming of their closest disciples, a very lofty Bulgarian literature was born that developed into a model for other Medieval literatures. So, the lifework of St. Cyril is in that he was a philosopher of true genius.”

English version: Milena Daynova