Which pair of Byzantine missionaries is credited with creating the Slavic script Cyrillic?

• A. John and Paul
• B. Cyril and Methodius
• C. Patrick and Columba
• D. Peter and Paul

Answer: (B)

Spreading literacy and Christian teaching among the Slavic peoples was advanced by Byzantine missionaries who aimed to bring sacred texts to local languages. Cyril and Methodius, brothers in Byzantium, led a major mission in the ninth century among the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia. To translate liturgy and texts, they devised an alphabet—the Glagolitic script—so people could read in their own language. Their work established the foundation for a Slavic literary tradition and set the stage for a later script, Cyrillic, which was developed by their followers and named after Cyril. Because Cyril and Methodius initiated the effort to create a Slavic writing system used for religious and scholarly purposes, they are the figures most closely associated with this achievement. The other pairs are notable Western European missionaries or saints, not linked to developing Slavic literacy or scripts.