MAGNIFICI EVENTUS (1963.05.11)
LA IOANNES PP. XXIII, the usurper known as John XXIII, addresses the bishops of Slavic nations on the 11th centenary of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Great Moravia, praising their missionary work, their attachment to Rome, their use of the Slavic language in liturgy, and proposing them as patrons and models for contemporary efforts toward “unity,” especially in the context of the ongoing Vatican II and aspirations for reconciliation with the Eastern churches. The letter weaves together historical recollection, exhortations to devotion, and an ecumenical program, subtly employing the figures of Cyril and Methodius to legitimize the conciliar revolution and a new vision of “unity” detached from the integral, exclusive claims of the Catholic Church.










