On May 24, 2013 the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus will issue a postage block “1150th anniversary of Slavonic alphabet made by the Holy brothers Cyril and Methodius”.

Designer: Ivan Lukin. Printing: offset in 2 colours. Paper: chalk-surfaced, gummed. Perforation: frame 131/2. Size of stamp in block: 29,6 x 52 mm. Size of block: 105 x 82 mm. Printing technique: thermal stamping by metalized foil of golden colour. Edition: 15.000 copies. Printed at the Republican Unitary Enterprise “Bobruisk Integrated Printing House A. T.  Nepogodin”.

The brothers Cyril (about 827 - 14.02.869) and Methodius (815 - 06.04.885) were born in Thessaloniki (Greece). They both were outstanding scholars, theologians, and linguists. They were the creators of the Slavonic alphabet, Slavic educators and preachers of Christianity. They were revered and canonized as saints.
To be able to preach Christianity in Slavonic it was necessary to translate the Scriptures into the Slavic language. However, the alphabet able to convey the Slavic speech at the time did not exist. In 863 Cyril and Methodius created the Slavonic alphabet.