『Build up your Church and gather all into unity』のカバーアート

Build up your Church and gather all into unity

Build up your Church and gather all into unity

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概要

 Today, February 14th, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Cyril Monk and Methodius, Bishop, we are encouraged to reflect on a passage from the first letter of Saint Peter the apostle (5:1-11), entitled "The duties of pastors and laity". Our treasure, which follows, is from an Old Slavonic Life of Constantine. The first letter of Saint Peter begins with an address by Peter to Christian communities located in five provinces of Asia Minor, including areas evangelized by Paul. Christians there are encouraged to remain faithful to their standards of belief and conduct despite threats of persecution. Numerous allusions in the letter suggest that the churches addressed were largely of Gentile composition, though considerable use is made of the Old Testament. The primary message of the First Letter of St. Peter is a call to hopeful perseverance and holy living amid suffering, grounded in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Writing to Christians facing hostility and marginalization, Peter reminds them that they have been reborn through Christ's Resurrection into a living hope and an imperishable inheritance (1 Pet 1:3–5). Suffering, he teaches, is not a sign of abandonment but a participation in Christ's own sufferings, which purifies faith and leads to glory. Believers are urged to live as a holy people and a royal priesthood, bearing witness through humility, obedience, and love, even toward those who oppose them (1 Pet 2–3). Throughout the letter, Peter anchors Christian endurance in the assurance that God is faithful, Christ is victorious, and future glory far outweighs present trials. The brothers, Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, called the Apostles of the Slavs, were born in Thessalonica, in 827 and 826 respectively. Though belonging to a senatorial family they renounced secular honors and became priests. They were living in a monastery on the Bosphorous, when the Khazars sent to Constantinople for a Christian teacher. Cyril was selected and was accompanied by his brother. They learned the Khazar language and converted many of the people. Soon after the Khazar mission there was a request from the Moravians for a preacher of the Gospel. German missionaries had already labored among them, but without success. The Moravians wished a teacher who could instruct them and conduct Divine service in the Slavonic tongue. Because of their acquaintance with the language, Cyril and Methodius were chosen for their work. In preparation for it Cyril invented an alphabet and, with the help of Methodius, translated the Gospels and the necessary liturgical books into Slavonic. They went to Moravia in 863 and labored for four and a half years. Despite their success, they were regarded by the Germans with distrust, first because they had come from Constantinople where schism was rife, and again because they held the Church services in the Slavonic language. On this account the brothers were summoned to Rome by Nicholas I, who died, however, before their arrival. His successor, Adrian II, received them kindly. Convinced of their orthodoxy, he commended their missionary activity, sanctioned the Slavonic Liturgy, and ordained Cyril and Methodius bishops. Cyril, however, was not to return to Moravia. He died in Rome, 4 Feb., 869. Saint Methodius went to Constantinople around 870, and with the assistance of several priests, he completed the translation of the Holy Scriptures, with the exception of the Books of Maccabees. He translated also the "Nomo canon", i.e. the Greek ecclesiastical-civil law. The enemies of Methodius did not cease to antagonize him. His health was worn out from the long struggle, and he died 6 April, 885.
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