Pope Francis, in his ongoing catechetical series on apostolic zeal, spoke about the example of Sts Cyril and Methodius, the ninth-century “apostles of the Slavs” whose mission was built on three pillars: unity, inculturation, and liberty.
At the centre of the pope’s Oct 25 general audience was an emphasis on the relationship — and harmonisation — between culture and faith. This process of inculturation is seen in the example of Sts Cyril and Methodius, whose task was to “study the culture of those peoples in-depth,” the pope said.
Pope Francis recounted the story of the two brothers as one of encounter with the Slavic people, who had to confront a “pagan” culture, thereby integrating the faith into the specific, local cultural context.