Hadrian II
Hadrian · 867 – 872
An elderly pope whose family was murdered by a rival, he approved the use of Slavonic in the liturgy for Cyril and Methodius's missions.
Hadrian was a Roman who had twice refused the papacy before accepting at age seventy-five. His pontificate was marked by personal tragedy: his wife and daughter, whom he had married before taking orders, were kidnapped and murdered by Eleutherius, a member of the Roman aristocracy. Despite this, he continued governing and made the historic decision to approve the Slavonic liturgy used by Saints Cyril and Methodius among the Slavic peoples, opening the door for the evangelization of Eastern Europe.
A Door Opened East
When Hadrian II approved the Slavonic liturgy for Cyril and Methodius, he made a decision that shaped the faith of entire nations. The Czechs, Slovaks, Croatians, and other Slavic peoples received Christianity in their own language. It was an early example of what the Church would later call inculturation.