Saints Cyril and Merthodius made an invaluable contribution to the development of culture not only in their home country Greece but far beyond its boundaries. Their educational mission in the Slavic lands sowed the seeds of knowledge, which came up and blossomed with lush bloom of chronicle writing, iconography and jurisprudence in the lands of Kyivan Rus.
The holy missionaries were born in Thessaloniki, in a very devout family. The brothers studied a number of foreign languages from their childhood and later this helped them in their righteous educational work.
You can find many churches named in their honour all over the world. In their home city of Thessaloniki, there are as many as two of them, which is not surprising. One of them is located in the Evosmos district, and the other St. Cyril and Methodius Orthodox church is just a little southward of the White Tower, on Alexander the Great Avenue. As for the second one — you will learn more details in this article.
In 1983, the bishop Panteleimon II made a speech in which he appealed to everyone with a request to build a temple to two saints who were born and raised in this city. It was he who laid the foundation stone, and it turned into a large three–domed church of light brick in 1985.
The church of Saints Cyril and Methodius is located in a very quiet and peaceful area by the sea. It is surrounded by parks, cafes and playgrounds. On the square near it there is a monument in the form of an open book with the faces of saints and the Russian alphabet. According to historical data, the brothers developed a written Slavic alphabet based on Greek one. The monument to Cyril and Methodius in Thessaloniki points to the North, symbolizing the path of enlightenment of the brothers. The alder trees are planted around.
The church is located on the first row from the sea, near the Folklife and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia and Thrace, opposite the Mediterranean Garden. From the center, you can get here by buses that are following routes No. 3, 5, 6, 8.
