With words of unity

It is a widespread opinion that St. Benedict of Norcia is the “Western” patron of the continent and Saints Cyril and Methodius are the “Eastern” patrons. It is very probable that in the Scandinavian countries people speak of St. Bridget of Sweden as the “Northern” patron.In the collective consciousness, it is quite normal to link our understanding of the world to various distinctive regional characteristics (geographic, ethnic, racial, climatic, linguistic, etc.). It has to be admitted that this distinction has led to the division between “us” and “them”, whereas Christianity ought to be the unifying force of Europe and of the world as a whole, precisely due to its strong tension towards unity. However, Christianity is powerful not only in its unity, but also in its diversity, and respect for this diversity is part of the commitment to unity. It seems to me that this is the reason why the Holy See has proclaimed Benedict, Cyril and Methodius and Bridget patrons of Europe.Cyril and Methodius are called “the illuminators of the Slav people”. To them we owe the creation of the written Slav language (the Cyrillic script), the translation of Holy Scripture and liturgical texts into the Slav language, and the discovery of the relics and glorification in the Slav regions of Pope Clement (considered in the 11th century the first and principal protector of Russia).But I would go even further and include Cyril and Methdius, with their preaching in the Slav language authorized by Pope Adrian, among the first precursors of the liturgical reform of Vatican Council II, in terms of the extension of the use of the national languages in worship. And wherever Christianity was offered in their mother tongue, the Slavs were spontaneously converted. Cyril and Methodius were also an example for the Russian missionaries in foreign lands, such as St. Stephen at Perm, St. Tryphon at Vyatka and others among the Mongols, Yakuts, Altaics and in other nations.The two brother saints still remind us today of Christ’s saying that the truth shall set you free, words that are extraordinarily relevant in the context of the new evangelization of Europe. Is it easy to perceive the truth in Europe? The devil permits it to be hidden and concealed, to dim our perception and to make it incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. Post-modern culture, with its systematic repudiation of fundamental values, the strategy of “tolerance” that accepts truth and falsehood as equals, and the flood of information transmitted by the mass media incompatible with Christian values, make it ever more difficult for people today to discover freedom through the perception of the truth about Christ. Today, following the example of Saints Cyril and Methodius, we are called to find the way of bringing the Good News to the hearts and minds of our compatriots, habituated to the language of advertising, bank statements and dubious internet sites. Ever more often I think that the appeals of Pope Benedict XVI and the exhortations of the European bishops are like a lone voice crying in the wilderness. If the Slav people listened to Cyril and Methodius in their effort to hear something new, the Europeans today have rejected the preachers. If a thousand years ago, Christianity was indeed something new, for our contemporaries it seems “old hat”, linked in the West, as in the East, with images of people dressed in habits and cassocks. In this sense, the aim of the “new evangelization” is more difficult and needs the special prayers of Saints Cyril and Methodius – ascetics who always succeeded in finding a common language not only with God, but also with the people, with believers and with pagans, with the world of their culture and with the people called “barbarians”. Their dialogue was successful because it respected freedom of choice and the identity of others; at the same time, it helped to overcome the ethnic determinism that had hitherto been so strong. At times it seems in our time, on the contrary, that the ethnic determinism of religion is not only not deprived of power ex cathedra , but is even supported by believers themselves. Do we in fact hear phases like “I’m a Catholic because I’m Polish (or Italian or Spanish)” or “if you’re Greek (or Russian or Bulgarian), you ought to be Orthodox” or “a true Turk is Muslim” more seldom than we did in the past? Cyril and Methodius succeeded in finding the words and the arguments to neutralize ethnic determinism and to make people free to make their own choices with an open mind. And so why is it that today we fail to find these words and these arguments?Catholics in Russia, together with the whole universal Church, commemorate the Patrons of Europe, Saints Cyril and Methodius, on 14 February. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates them on 24 May. Let us hope that the day may come when Catholics and Orthodox will celebrate the great illuminators of the Slav people on the same day and with unity of voice and heart!