862AD Christian Missions History Musings (CMHM). Holy Language

I am not an expert on Cyril and Methodius, so I feel like whatever I say here would be based on knowledge too thin to be of value.

However, I chose 862 since that was the year that the brothers Cyril (ca 826-869AD) and Methodius (ca 815–885AD) were asked to evangelize the Slavs. The brothers were from Thessalonika (Greek city) but may have been at least partly Slav by blood. This was a time of growing tension between the Western Church (based in Rome) and the Eastern Orthodox Church (based in Constantinople) although they were still seen as in communion.

Cyril and Methodius brought Christian Scriptures to the Slavs by developing the Glagolitic alphabet. This alphabet served as the basis for the modern Cyrillic alphabet. While I do know that literacy is not an absolute requirement for evangelization (the growth of orality methods have shown the power of the spoken Word, and not just the written Word)… so often bringing God Word in a written form has greatly impacted a people and culture.

And I do believe that this work had a great impact among the Slavic people that continues to this day. The two priests (Cyril and Methodius) struggled under the pressure of Rome who wanted them to hold Mass in Latin, rather than in Slavonic. This repeated itself centuries later with Jan Hus at the end of the 14th century and early 15th, preaching in Czech (a Slavic language) to the people…. ultimately martyred as a “heretic.”

I am also reminded of Ola and Minnie Hanson centuries later. The served with the Kachin people of Northern Burma. The Kachin is a group of tribes/languages. They developed an alphabet for the written word to the people. The Kachin today are among a small minority of peoples in Asia who are predominantly Christian.

The Word of God to the people in the language of the people is important. It has been the temptation of Christians throughout the centuries to assign “holy languages” whether it be Biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, Latin, or King James English. I understand the temptation. However, Acts Chapter 2 I believe was the point in time that God placed His undeniable stamp of approval on all languages. Where I live in the Philippines there is a common joke of sorts that says that “Ilokano is the language of heaven.” Although I don’t know what the language of heaven is… but I am sure that Ilokano is as welcome as any other language.

ALL LANGUAGES ARE HOLY LANGUAGES

I recall talking to a missionary to Jamaica who described the patois of the common people as being a bit of a “gutter langauge” (I forget the exact term, but I think I definitely recall the spirit of that conersation.) I must wonder whether such a missionary could really reach out to the common people effectively.

Perhaps I am wrong about the need of language localization. Islam has done fairly well without adjusting for local languages (with some notable exceptions such as Farsi and Turkish). The Catholic Church (pre-Vatican II) managed to spread successfully to many places with a Mass that was incomprehensible to the local people. My wife was raised up in Macabebe, Pampanga going to the Catholic Church and not understanding anything that was being said. More recently we traveled to Pampanga and was at a Roman Catholic Church there that had an English Service, a Tagalog Service, and a Kapampangan Service. Up in Baguio, they do have Latin-language Mass available, but it is done in a small side chapel, not in the primary sanctuary. This language accommodation is actually often greater than what is found in many Protestant churches in the Philippines. I am glad the Catholic church has learned, but fear that the Protestants have sometimes left behind respect for local languages— a critical part of the begin of the Protestant Movement in Bohemia, Germany, and England.