St. Constantine-Cyril & St Methodius
This gift of a sculpture is to commemorate the efforts of two Christian theologians and brothers, St. Constantine-Cyril (826 – 869) and St. Methodius (815 – 885), who lead the effort to convert the Slovakian people and to read Gospel from their created Glagolitic alphabet (Hlahollika). The brothers were much accomplished in teaching the Christian faith and providing text for the general population to read. They were invited to the area by the ruler and began to improve the local Christian belief with gospel book translations. The translations were in their newly formed Glagolitic alphabet and parts of it are still used today.
The sculpture has phrases from this ancient script, including “The rain falls equally on all people. The sun shines equally on everybody. We all breathe the same air.” And “In the beginning was the word, and the word was God…”
The sculptor has worked with this subject for three decades or more and combined old Slavic motifs and symbols from Slavic historical and folk culture with his own vision of modern expression. Its full title “St. Constantine-Cyril and St. Methodius-Patrons of Europe - the Founders of the Slovak and Slav Script and Literature" is placed below the figures and the sculpture's lower portion encircled by a wreath is covered with symbols in ancient Glagolitic script.
This gift was presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Ms. Zdenka Kramplova, and Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette accepted it on behalf of the United Nations.
Madame Frechette said, “In this 50th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, remembering the lives and work of these two brothers from Thessaloniki deepens our conviction that human rights belong to no culture, no age, no nation; that they are truly universal and belong to people everywhere.”