The beginning of literacy in Russia is considered to bethe appearance of a letter after the arrival of Christianity on these lands. The ABC of Cyril and Methodius is what allowed our country to read the lives of saints and the Bible in their native language. Until then writing did not exist. At least, this is the official position of historians, and there is no evidence of the existence of the Proto-Slavic records for today.
True enlighteners of Rus are monksCyril and Methodius. The Slavic alphabet, created by them, has become widespread. However, not everything is so simple, because there are not one, but two whole systems of writing: the Cyrillic alphabet and the Glagolitic alphabet. Disputes about which of them was the first, are still being conducted. Cyrillic, which we still use in our lives, may have been created by the older brother. However, historians and philologists in their majority believe that the Christian saint developed the Glagolitic, radically different from the Cyrillic alphabet. This alphabet can not be read by any of the modern Slavs, only narrow specialists.
About the brothers tell the lives of the saints, andalso the Tale of Bygone Years. Who were these two who changed our world? They were born on the shore of the Aegean Sea, in the Macedonian city of Thessaloniki. Their father, a Greek by nationality, held an honorary post, so all his seven sons received a good education. A mother could be a Slav, as the brothers spoke from childhood in the local Slavic dialect. Extraordinary abilities of Constantine (Cyril in monasticism) noticed very early, so he was predicted a brilliant career. The death of the patron prompted the boy to become a novice at the monastery, and then take part in missionary work. Perhaps the alphabet of Cyril and Methodius was conceived during the baptism of Bulgaria, in which Cyril participated. However, for work the monk took about in 862 in Moravia, where he went on behalf of the emperor. The fact is that the local prince Rostislav asked to send scholars who will teach the people to read.
The alphabet of Cyril and Methodius first hadopponents, because many people believed that the praise of the Lord God can be offered only in those languages on which they made the inscription on the Cross of the Lord, that is, in Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
What is the ABC of Cyril and Methodius?After all, in Western countries the Latin alphabet is used, and the Glagolitic was in use for some time before it completely disappears. Some researchers agree that it was the brainchild of brothers-monks, and the Cyrillic alphabet was already created by their students. There is a hypothesis that the enlighteners of Russia adapted the Slavic runic signs, "features and cuts" used here, to their alphabet, but there is no evidence of this.
Creation of the alphabet by Cyril and Methodius isan epoch-making event, since it increased the level of literacy in Russia, spread Christianity, and also made it possible to read the works of European thinkers in their native language for many peoples.
