Third image: Praise God in your native language. In my opinion, this third image depicts a pivotal moment in Slavic history. A turning point in the fate of the Slavic nations. The moment when the Slavs gave themselves an identity. Alfons Mucha depicted how, in the ninth century, the Moravian prince Rostislav asked the Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius to translate parts of the Bible and other liturgy, a move that outraged German bishops and Catholic Rome.
The Great Moravian Empire was not just a loose union of tribes, but a united state that successfully faced the onslaughts of the Franks. Ecclesiastically, however, it was subordinate to the Bavarian bishops, and its ruler, Prince Rastislav, understood that only the establishment of an independent ecclesiastical organization would strengthen the country's position. In 860-861 he therefore asked the Roman Pope Nicholas I for spiritual help. The latter, however, refused his request. Rastislav therefore appealed to the Byzantine Emperor Michael III to send teachers to Moravia who were able to spread the Christian faith in an understandable, i.e. Slavic, language.
In 863, the educated Constantine, who later took the name Cyril, and his brother Methodius arrived from Thessaloniki. They composed a new script, the Glagolitic alphabet, and used it to translate the Gospels. The divines selected able disciples, taught them the script and the worship in the Slavonic language. Although these services were fiercely fought against by Latin priests, Methodius' consistency prevailed and Old Slavonic became an equal ecclesiastical language in Great Moravia.
The painting represents the capital of Great Moravia - Velehrad. Prince Svatopluk sits on a raised table in the centre of the courtyard, surrounded by his retinue, with bishops and grandees standing in front of him. The deacon reads the letter by which the Pope appoints Methodius archbishop, subordinates Bishop Wiching, who is based in Nitra, to him and authorises him to celebrate services in the Slavonic language. The Frankish knights also humbly observe him. In front of the rotunda, painted after the church of St George in Thessaloniki, Methodius, who returned from his third journey to Rome in 880, stands at the head of a procession of his disciples. Cyril entered a monastery in Rome and is buried there.
The group of people at the top left symbolises the violent spread of Christianity by the Franks at that time. Below on the left, Cyril is depicted in a hood, protecting the Moravians from heaven. In the upper right part of the painting, there are four figures through which Mucha depicts the liturgical connection between Great Moravia and Kievan Rus – St. Olga with her husband Igor, and Great Bulgaria – St. Boris with his wife. The two figures in the centre, sitting on a boat-shaped sword, are the sons of St. Vladimir, Gleb and Boris, patrons of sailors and protectors of merchants. They symbolise that all Slavic nations gradually sailed into the harbour of Christianity. The figure of a young man with a circle and a clenched fist is a symbol of strength, cohesion and Slavic unity.
At the top left is a group of grieving women, who are being comforted by Cyril himself. Above them in the centre is Rostislav together with the patriarch of the Orthodox Church. The group of four figures at the top right depicts Russian and Bulgarian rulers who supported the Slavonic liturgy. Previous image second. Read more here
gnews.cz - Jan Vojtěch
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