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St. Cyril was born in Thessalonika in 827. He was christened Constantine. Many Slavs lived in that Greek city. The people spoke Greek and Slavonic.

His father was a Greek nobleman¹. He had seven children. Constantine was the youngest in the family.

The young man lived in Constantinople since 843. He attended the imperial school and studied with the young Emperor Michael III. It was the highest school in the country. He spent six years in it.

Constantine studied Homer and Geometry, Dialectics and other philosophies. He also learned Rhetorics, Arithmetics, Astronomy, Music and other Hellenic arts. One of his teachers Leo, Archbishop of Thessalonika, was a great mathematician. The other professor was Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople.

After his studies Constantine became a librarian in the church of Saint Sophia and a secretary to Patriarch Ignatius. It was in 850. Then he gave lectures on pagan and Christian philosophy at the imperial school.

He took part in the delegation to the Kingdom of Khazars in 860. He spent the winter of 860 in the Crimea in the Greek city of Chersonese². He mastered Hebrew³ and Samaritan there. He learned many languages in his travels.

Constantine made an alphabet of thirty eight letters for the Slavs. Then he translated some books into Slavonic: the Gospels, the Acts and Epistles⁴ of the Apostles, the Calendar, the morning Service, the daily Hours, Vespers⁵, the Psalter⁶, etc.

The Emperor sent him as a missionary to the Slavs. St. Cyril founded a school among them. His first fifty pupils learned the language and the national script, the liturgy and theology in Slavonic. They studied the Holy Scripture in Slavonic and Greek. He also lectured in grammar and in music.

Before Christmas 867 St. Cyril came to Rome and lived there for a long time. He died on February 4, 869.

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1. nobleman n – дворянин 4. Epistle n [I'pIsl] – послание

2. Chersonese n ['kq:sqnJz] – Херсонес 5. Vesper n – вечерня

3. Hebrew n ['hJbrH] – древнееврейский язык 6. Psalter n ['sLltq] – Псалтирь

Jesus christ

Jesus was the son of a Jewish¹ mother, named Mary, Who was a virgin. Joseph was a carpenter² in the village of Nazareth in Galilee. Both Mary and Joseph belonged³ to the Jewish royal house, but their families were village people. The ruler of Galiliee was King Herod, who belonged to a family which was only half-Jewish.

The Romans had conquered⁴ Palestine and Syria a few years before, and a Roman governor ruled Judea to the south of Galilee. Judea was the homeland of the Jews. Galilee was Jewish territory, but people of other races lived there as well. A trade route⁵ ran through it between Syria and Egypt. Nazareth was one among other small villages and towns in the hills round the Lake of Galilee. Jesus grew up in this farming country. In His teaching He told many stories about the farmers and fishermen, the householders and merchants among whom He lived.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth. He learnt to read at the local village school, in the synagogue. Like Joseph He did the work of a carpenter, and lived at home with His mother and Josephs children. He spoke the Aramaic dialect which was common in Galilee. Like other Jews, He worshipped in the synagogue on the Sabbath days. He also visited the Temple at Jerusalem⁶ on some of great feasts. He accepted⁷ the Jewish faith⁸ and the Jewish Scriptures.

When Jesus was about thirty years old, He began to proclaim "the kingly rule of God". In the open air, and sometimes in the synagogues, He preached⁹ to those who would listen. He gathered together a group of disciples. He showed God's royal power in action by healing those who were sick, and by setting free those who were in the grip¹⁰ of evil¹¹.

At the time of Jesus, the Jews were looking for the coming of a Messiah¹². They expected that he would be a warrior¹³ king like the great David who had founded the Jerusalem nearly one thousand years before. This king would expel the Romans and other foreign rulers from the land of Israel¹⁴. He would restore a Jewish kingdom which would dominate the world. Jesus chose the way of suffering and of humble service.

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1. Jewish a – еврейский 2. carpenter n – плотник 3. belong to v – принадлежать к … 4. conquer v – завоёвывать 5. trade route n – торговый путь 6. Jerusalem n [G‚'ru:s‚l‚m] – Иерусалим 7. accept v – принимать

8. faith n – вера 9. preach v – проповедовать 10. grip n – власть, тиски 11. evil n – зло 12. Messiah [mI'saI‚] – Мессия 13. warrior n – воин 14. Israel ['IzreI‚l] – Израиль