Today we commemorate Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs. Cyril and Methodius were brothers from a Greek family from Thessalonica. Ordained as priests, the brothers were sent, in AD 862, to what is today the Czech Republic, where they taught the Christian faith in the region’s native tongue. As part of this mission, Cyril created the alphabet that is today known as Cyrillic, in order to write down Scripture and liturgy. The use of the vernacular by Cyril and Methodius set an important precedent for future missionary work.