Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs, 869 and 885

These saints are important to many Slavic and Slavonic peoples, including Czechs, Bulgarians, and Macedonians. The brothers were originally Greek and served as missionaries in Russia, being responsible for, among other things, the Cyrillic alphabet.

I came across the concept of Orthodoxy - especially of preaching and worshipping in the language of the people - when I was also very into Celtic Christianity. The conflict here strikes me as very similar to that at the Synod of Whitby - Christianity of and for the people rather than Christianity of and for the Church. I realise that is a very simplistic distinction and that Roman Catholicism has an eremitical tradition, as well as a highly organised and established Church in Orthodoxy.