Sts. Clement and Naum of Ohrid

Joyous feast! Today we celebrate Saints Clement and Naum of Ohrid, disciples of the Holy Equals-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius who labored in western Macedonia in what today is the southwestern corner of independent Macedonia. The Saints initially labored in Moravia together with their fellow disciples of the Enlighteners of the Slavs, Sts. Gorazd, Sabbas, and Angelyar. When the competing German missionaries present in Moravia began banning the use of Slavonic in the Mass and other divine services and persecuting the Saints, however, they were scattered.

Several took refuge in the newly enlightened Bulgarian Empire, where they began the work of translating the divine services of the Byzantine Rite into Slavonic. St. Clement eventually settled in the western Macedonian city of Ohrid, where he organized his disciples and students into a renowned school. After his election as Bishop of Velitsa, possibly making him the first ethnic Slav to serve as a hierarch in the Church of Christ, St. Clement was succeeded at the school in Ohrid by St. Naum, who had until then taught in the school he had founded in Preslav.

After several years teaching in Ohrid St. Naum founded the Monastery of Sts. Michael and Gabriel near the city and retired there following its consecration by St. Clement in 905. St. Naum reposed in 910 and was buried in his monastery, which was later rededicated to his holy memory. In the early 900s St. Clement also established a monastery near Ohrid, that of St. Panteleimon, and continued his translation work, also becoming the first author of original works in the Slavonic language. After his falling asleep in 916 St. Clement's relics were likewise buried in the monastery he had founded.

More on Sts. Clement and Naum's lives can be found here and here. May their blessings and prayers be with us all!

First Slavonic Divine Liturgy in Rome Commemorated 1,000+ Years Later

On the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius the Orthodox Church in Rome commemorated the Equals-to-the-Apostles by celebrating a Slavonic-language Divine Liturgy in the Roman Catholic Basilica of St. Maria Maggiore, the place of the first Slavonic-language Divine Liturgy served with the blessing of Pope Adrian II of Rome over a thousand years ago.

Archbishop Mark (Golovkov) of Yegorevsk, auxiliary of the Moscow Patriarchate, led the festal services, which were concelebrated by Archbishop Alexander (Drabynko) of Pereyaslav-Khmel'nyts'kyi, auxiliary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's Kiev Metropolitanate, and Bishop Nestor (Sirotenko) of Korsun, ruling bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in southwestern Europe. More (in Russian) here.

Supplication Held at St. Cyril's Tomb in Rome

On yesterday's feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius the Macedonian Orthodox community in Rome held a supplication at the tomb of St. Cyril, which is contained in the Roman Catholic Basilica of San Clemente. Metropolitans Petar of Prespa and Pimen of Europe concelebrated the supplication, which was the 43rd organized at the Saint's tomb by the Macedonian Orthodox Church. More (in Macedonian) here.

Sofia Celebrates Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Although on the revised calendar the Bulgarian Orthodox Church joined in national celebrations in Sofia today in honor of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and their literary, cultural, and spiritual legacy amongst the Bulgarian people. Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia attended official celebrations at Sofia's monument to the Saints, whilst his auxiliary Bishop Ioan of Znepolska offered a prayer during the ceremonies. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Patriarch Cyril Celebrates Nameday in Moscow Kremlin Cathedral

In honor of his patron St. Cyril and his brother St. Methodius Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow celebrated the festal Divine Liturgy today in the Moscow Kremlin's Cathedral of the Dormition. The members of the lesser Holy Synod and hierarchs and clergy representing the Constantinopolitan, Alexandrian, Jerusalemite, Bulgarian, and American Orthodox Churches concelebrated the festal services. More (in Russian) here.

Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Christ is risen! Joyous feast! Sts. Cyril and Methodius are known as the 'Equals-to-the-Apostles' for their pioneering mission work amongst the Slavs of Moravia, a work which led to the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet and the conversion of all the Slavs scattered throughout Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe to either Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism. More on their lives and labors can be found here. May their blessings and prayers be with us all!

Constantinopolitan Orthodox Metropolitan Visits Transdniestria

Metropolitan Panteleimon of Beroia of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church in Greek-occupied Macedonia visited the breakaway Republic of Transdniestria in Moldova over the weekend at the invitation of Bishop Savva (Volkov) of Tiraspol' to celebrate the legacy of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the formation of the Slavonic language and the conversion of the Slavs to Orthodoxy. More (in Greek) here.

Czechoslovak, Russian Orthodox Churches Prepare for Autocephaly Celebrations

During his visit to Moscow Metropolitan Christopher (Pulec) of Prague met with Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk to discuss the Russian Orthodox Church's participating in the upcoming anniversaries of the 60th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church's autocephaly and the 1150th anniversary of the mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius to what today is the territory of the Czech and Slovak Republics. More here.