The two brothers, Cyril and Methodius – the saints and co-patrons of Europe whose feast day is today, February 14, according to the Roman calendar – are the bridge between the Byzantine and Slavic worlds. Their work of spreading the faith through the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet is a sign of overcoming geographical and cultural boundaries in the process of constructing Christian identity.
The International Congress “Sts. Cyril and Methodius among the Slavs: 1150 years since the beginning of the mission” will be spread over two days: the first, February 25, will be held at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, and the second, February 26, at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
The celebration of the event in the academic world – as part of the calendar for the Year of Faith proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI – is a very timely exhortation to evangelize as an ecumenical action of unity in the Church, remembering their mission as a significant action of a particularly prophetic ecumenical nature.
The more meaningful questions and issues will be taken up and developed by the speakers invited to speak, vis-à-vis different contexts: historical, political, ecclesiological, liturgical, ecumenical, in full respect for the continuity of tradition, and through a comparison and analysis of the new missionary methods.
The creators and organizers of the event are His Eminence Cardinal Jozef Tomko (Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples), and His Excellency Archbishop Cyril Vasil (Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches), who will be assisted by a committee of Slovakian professors and collaborators for the scientific preparation of the event.
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For more information on the International Congress, go to: www.pontificio-orientale.com
