1,150th Anniversary of the Byzantine Mission of Cyril and Methodius

The two holy brothers, Constantine (Cyril) and Michael (Methodius), holding a book, a staff with double cross, and symbolically a church; above them the inscription 'Konstantin Metod', below the state name 'Slovensko' and the years 863 and 2013, the initials of designer Miroslav Hric, and the mint mark.

The proof version of this coin was struck exclusively for the private use of the Slovak National Bank (NBS) and was not intended for sale. It is believed these were produced as gifts for special guests of the NBS, which is why a number of examples have entered the open market.

The Byzantine mission of the brothers Cyril and Methodius ranks among the most consequential cultural transmissions of the European Middle Ages. When the two scholars from Thessaloniki set out for Great Moravia in 863 at the request of the Moravian prince Rastislav, they brought not only Christianity in an accessible form — they also created a script of their own, the Glagolitic alphabet, to make liturgical texts available in the Slavic vernacular. This achievement laid the foundation for the first literary tradition of the Slavic peoples and lives on today in the Cyrillic script, named after Constantine-Cyril and used by hundreds of millions of people. Both Cyril and Methodius were later canonized by the Catholic and Orthodox churches; in 1980 the Roman Catholic Church declared them, together with Saint Benedict, patron saints of Europe.

For Slovakia, this legacy carries particular historical weight, since Great Moravia — the core territory of the mission — extended over large parts of present-day Slovak territory. The princely center of Nitra is regarded as one of the most significant sites of this early medieval history; it was there that Methodius served as the first bishop of the newly founded diocese. Slovak national identity continues to draw on this heritage to this day: 5 July is observed as a public holiday in Slovakia. To mark the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Cyril and Methodius in Moravia, Slovakia honored this founding event of its cultural and literary history in 2013.