What Would Jesus Do? Create a Written Language

Abstract

Christianity has made its way through time and space, affecting the progression and civilizations of many cultures all throughout the world. One less commonly known impact of Christianity is its role in the creation of the written language Cyrillic, or more importantly the precursor to Cyrillic, Glagolitic. In this paper, I will discuss the effect of Christianity on the language creating process of Cyril and Methodius. To properly examine this, I will explain the differences in the spreading of Western Christianity (better known as modern day Catholicism) and Eastern Christianity (better known as modern day Orthodox). I will also explain who Cyril and Methodius were, and the role that the church played in their decision to create a written language for Slavic civilizations that up until that point did not have one. Finally, I will explore the controversy that ensued the creation of Glagolitic. These points will be necessary in justifying that Christianity was the reason for the creation of the Slavic written language and its successor Cyrillic.