Bridge builders” “

“Not only the apostles of the Slavs but also the fathers of the culture of all these peoples and all these nations”: that’s how John Paul II, in his apostolic letter “Egregiae virtutis” (1980), sums up the work of Saints Cyril (+869) and Methodius (+885) whose liturgical feast is being celebrated tomorrow, 14 February. Patrons of Europe together with Saints Benedict, Brigid of Sweden, Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedetta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Cyril and Methodius performed their missionary apostolate in union both with the Church of Constantinople and with “the Roman see of Peter, by which they were confirmed”, thus manifesting the unity of the Church, at a time marked by serious tensions between Rome and Constantinople. The then Pope Hadrian II supported their apostolic work and also their innovation of celebrating the liturgy in the Slav language, a practice opposed in some Western circles. On the apostolate of Cyril and Methodius we interviewed Cardinal Thomas Spidlik . Why are Saints Cyril and Methodius still relevant today? “Saints Cyril and Methodius were always Patrons of the Slav peoples. When John Paul II declared them Patrons of Europe, many people asked me the reasons for this. There is a special reason: the Pope understood the actuality of their mission of promoting the communion of two great realities. We know that the ancient world was divided into East and West and that the antagonism between them grew. When this division reached its height, the Slav peoples placed themselves between East and West. It was only once they got to know Rome that they grasped the importance of their position: bridges between East and West. Unfortunately they did not succeed. The world was already too divided, and so the Slavs too became divided”. Today various Slav countries are about to enter Europe… “East and West are still, in some sense, divided, and Europe finds itself in the position of the Slavs at that time. The Old Continent ought to be a bridge between the many cultures of the world, but if it is to do so it needs to acknowledge its own identity and its own roots. Slav culture also forms part of this identity; we ought never to forget that we breathe with two lungs. Mutual understanding between East and West is not just a theoretical matter, but concerns the life of different persons and peoples”. What lessons can the Churches learn from these two Saints? “Their way of evangelizing. Cyril and Methodius received unusual privileges for those times, i.e. permission to preach in the language of the people, to celebrate the liturgy, to sing the chants in Slav. They entered into, they became inculturated in the mentality of the people. Today how many peoples and how many mentalities are there? St. Cyril wanted to make Christ speak in Slav. The new evangelization ought to make Christ speak in the language of so many different peoples. In this sense the Slav spirituality may make an important contribution. We know what the Jews, the Greeks, the Romans and the Germanic peoples have given to Europe. But we know little about what the Slav peoples have given to the universal Church. Or perhaps we fail to see it. That means that the time has come for these peoples to have their say. They were the last to be baptized; it’s time for them to speak”. Do you share the fears of many in Eastern Europe who fear they will lose their identity in the EU? “If Western Europe accepted Latin, what does that mean? Many peoples who had no culture realized that this is something we need to have in common with other peoples. We must have our own culture and our own identity. We must understand our identity without separating it from universal culture. Fear of losing our identity? I think that the peoples of Eastern Europe have not sufficiently realised their own identity and the need to reconcile it with universal culture”.