FEW nations in the world celebrate the creation of their alphabet and language.

Bulgaria has set aside May 24 for the purpose of celebrating its alphabet and literacy in general. The creation and the dissemination of the alphabet and literacy in the then spoken Bulgarian language is one of the most significant events in the political and cultural history of Bulgaria and Eastern Europe. From Bulgaria the Cyrillic script spread to other Slavic lands including Russian, Ukraine, Byelorussia and Serbia, as well as the nationals of FYR Macedonia. The day has been celebrated for over 150 years but this year's May 24 celebrations are also marked by fears expressed by academics that the Bulgarian language is slowly disappearing.

Two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, well educated sons of a noble Byzantine family are credited with inventing the essential and more complex form of the Cyrillic alphabet. They also translated many principal Christian doctrines into Cyrillic for the first time.

The Cyrillic alphabet was invented for political considerations as much as cultural ones. As early as 864 CE, during the rule of King Boris I, Bulgarians adopted Christianity as the official state religion. This assisted in homogenising ethnic differences between Proto-Bulgarians and Slavs, and began the process of building a unified Bulgarian nation. After adopting Christianity, the influence of the Byzantine Empire expanded, too. There was a danger for Bulgaria of national decomposition due to the linguistic and cultural hegemony of Greek. Bulgarian clergymen were necessarily trained in Greek and all the churches conducted their service in Byzantine Greek at the time. The Greek language was used in public worship and in state affairs throughout Bulgaria.

Bulgarian rulers subordinated the Bulgarian church to the Roman Catholic Pope in Rome. Boris foresaw the risk inherent in having Bulgarian clergy controlled by Byzantium from Constantinople. He was alarmed at the potential for them to become instruments of Byzantine interests and power.

Cyril was not only creator of the script, but together with Methodius and his disciples, he was the first to translate the New Testament into the new written language. This elevated the language for religious purposes to that of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, because people could worship in it. Saint Cyril poetically defended the new alphabet by asking "Does not God send the sun and air and rain to all people? That is the proof that God loves people in the same way. Why then do you think that God wishes to be glorified in the languages of only three peoples?"

The two brothers' disciples, Klement, Konstantine, Angelarius, Laurentius Gorazd and Naum disseminated the new language. They spearheaded literary and educational activities conducted mainly in monasteries and cultural centres, founded and assisted by King Boris. Konstantine proved particularly active in the capital city of Pliska, while Klement concentrated on Ohrid and is credited with teaching over 3500 people.

The two brothers in fact created the Glagolithic alphabet, not the Cyrillic. It was their disciple Saint Kliment, the Bulgarian archbishop of the town of Ohrid, who invented the simpler Cyrillic alphabet and named it in honour of his teacher.

Cyril died in Rome in 869 AD and Methodius was appointed bishop of Pannonia. It is believed that the intrigues of German clergymen resulted in his exile to Elvangen. Upon his release by Pope John VIII, Methodius was appointed an archbishop. In 1976, Pope John Paul II proclaimed the creators of the Bulgarian alphabet Cyril and Methodius as patron saints of Europe.