082-The Cyrillic Alphabet
from Bulgaria - Podcasts powered by Odiogo April 29, 2008
The Cyrillic Alphabet was recognized by the Pope and now is of the only three alphabets recognised by the Christian Church that the holy text can be written into (the other two being Greek and Latin). How many nations in the world have not only created their own alphabet, but still use it today? No more than a few and Bulgaria is one of them. After its creation in the mid AD IX c., the cyrillic alphabet was introduced to other nations, some of which still use it today. Today, there are more than 50 different languages that use the Bulgarian alphabet, mainly in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Some of them are: Abkhaz, Avar, Azeri, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Kazak, Kyrghuz, Komi, Mongolian, Moldovian, Russian, Serbian, Tajik, Tatar, Turkmen, Ukranian, Uzbek and Yakut. As with most moments of the Bulgarian history, there is a twist with the creation of the alphabet. The original called Glagolitsa, was created by the holy brothers St. Konstantine - Cyril and St. Methodius in AD 855. The two brothers were canonized later for their exceptional evangelical work for the church. The alphabet had a short life and is now forgotten. The one that is in in use today, was created by the two brother s most remarkable student and follower - The Bulgarian Clement of Ohrid (called that because he was send by Tsar Boris I to Ohrid to lead the cultural reform there), who named his creation Kirilitsa after his mentor and teacher Cyril the Philosopher, the younger of the two brothers. ShareThis
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