The day of Saints Cyril and Methodius -- the creators of the precursor to the Cyrillic alphabet -- was marked by large crowds and solemn religious ceremonies across Bulgaria on May 23-24.
Bulgarians Celebrate Ancient Founders Of Slavic Script
Locals of Ruse in northern Bulgaria wear gowns featuring Cyrillic characters.
Bulgarians turned out en masse on May 24 to honor the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius during a holiday named after the two brothers.
People gather to lay flowers at the base of a statue to Cyril and Methodius in central Sofia on May 24.
The saints were born in today's Greece in the 9th century and are credited with creating an alphabet for the Slavic people that was later adapted during the first Bulgarian Empire to become the Cyrillic script.
An 1885 illustration of Saints Cyril and Methodius
The Cyrillic alphabet is used today by most Slavic countries and Mongolia, which adopted the script in 1941.
A group with the name of their school parade through central Sofia
At the official ceremony in Sofia, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov declared: "The holy brothers Cyril and Methodius bequeathed to Bulgaria the greatest and most valuable gift -- writing. The "А" and "Б" that are used today by over 200 million people."
He added that, through the alphabet, Bulgaria leaves its "brightest trace in world history."
Crowds gather to mark the day in Veliko Turnovo.
The May 24 holiday also marked the 130-year anniversary of the writing of the song Forward, Revived Peoples, dedicated to the legacy of the ninth-century brothers.
On May 23, central Sofia had a more solemn atmosphere as Orthodox priests paraded this container, carrying what is claimed to be the bones of Cyril and Methodius.
A procession of priests dressed in their finery follow the holy relic through the Bulgarian capital on May 23.
An Orthodox priest carries the container holding the relics of Cyril and Methodius.
Orthodox priests inside the Sveta Nedelya Church in central Sofia during a ceremony to put the relics on display.