Slavorum Apostoli
Overview
Pope John Paul II wrote Slavorum Apostoli (The Apostles of the Slavs) in 1985. The letter is a commemoration of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the ninth-century apostles to the Slavic nations of Europe. The encyclical, written by the first Slavic pope, focused on the cultural unity of the Slavic nations with the rest of Europe, and is seen to have had two primary objectives: undermine the isolation of the Communist bloc and work toward the unity of the Latin, Greek, and Slavonic branches of Christianity.
Top Highlights
“Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’” (source)
“Unity is a meeting in truth and love, granted to us by the Spirit” (source)
“Their generous decision to identify themselves with those peoples’ life and traditions, once having purified and enlightened them by Revelation, make Cyril and Methodius true models for all the missionaries who in every period have accepted Saint Paul’s invitation to become all things to all people in order to redeem all.” (source)
“to send to his peoples ‘a Bishop and teacher … able to explain to them the true Christian faith in their own language” (source)
“do you hold this because you consider God is so weak that he cannot grant it, or so envious that he does not wish it?” (source)