Christian missionaires and brothers Cyril and Methodius, born in Thessaloniki in early 9th century AD, influenced the cultural development of the Slavs by inventing the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabet in order to translate the Bible and other texts into the Slavic languages. Occasioned by the declaration of 2014 as the anniversary Year of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the fascinating temporary exhibition ‘Ex Thessalonica Lux’ presented the history-changing missions of the two brothers to Moravia and Pannonia and their historic journey to Rome.

Cyril and Methodius are honoured not just as saints and apostles by the Slavic and the broader Eastern Orthodox Church, but as men of outstanding virtue and as co-protectors of Europe by the catholic, Protestant and Anglican churches. This exhibition, combining original artifacts, photographs and other visual material celebrated their unique spiritual legacy, the results of which are still evident in Europe.