Radoslava Stankova

The article compares the text of the „Vidin“ service for St. Petka Tărnovska (Paraskevi of Epivates), featuring a canon for the eighth mode, and the text of the Saint’s service known by three Russian copies in 16th–17th-c. manuscripts from the Trinity–Sergius Lavra. The main peculiarities of the 15 known South Slavonic transcripts of the „Vidin“ service (14th–17th cc.) are analyzied and there are underlined the main stages in the development of the text. It is concluded that the Russian copies are closest in composition and structure to the earliest Bulgarian copy in the 14th-c. manuscript Sinai 25, with added stichera and glories, known from Serbian copies from the 15th–16th cc., and a new kondakion. The Russian copies show that the „Vidin“ service was early included in Russian liturgical practice. It can be assumed that it was done by Gregory Tsamblak who introdusted the cult of Petka Tărnovska to the Orthodox Christian population in the northeastern Slavic lands. The Russian edition of the service for the Venerable Paraskevi-Petka from Epivates, preserved in a 1645 printed menaion, again from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, contains in addition to the canon for the eighth mode a different canon for the sixth mode (instead of the canon for the sixth mode known by the Menaion of Dragan). The new six-mode composition was created in the 17th c. by adding, reworking and adapting other texts, as shown by its distinction from the 16th-17th-c. Cyrillic copies originating from the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Subject: Scripta Medieval Studies Linguistic History of Literature

Keywords: Vidin service for St. Petka Tărnovska Paraskevi of Epivates Russian copies of the Service for St. St. Petka Tărnovska Paraskevi of Epivates Gregory Tsamblak the Russian edition of the Service for St. Paraskevi-Petka from Epivates

The article deals with the review of prologue vitae (sinaxariа), which are short hagiographic (narrative) texts for saints and festivals, which are contained in two calendar liturgical books – Prologue and Menaia. They are founded in the composition of two types of hagiographic sinaxaria, in the Slavic literature called Simple and Verse Prologue. The first is distinguished by the verses (the two- or the three-verses), written before the sinaxaria vitae. A comparison is made between the prologue vitae from the Simple and the Verse Prologue of three popular Christian saints – George, Demetrius, Nicholas. To them are added the vitae from the Simple and the Verse Prologue for St Petka (Parasceve of Epibatae), St Ivan Rilski (John of Rila) and St Simeon and Sava (of Serbia) – emblematic South Slavic saints.

Subject: Language studies Language and Literature Studies Theoretical Linguistics Applied Linguistics Studies of Literature Philology Translation Studies Prologue Vitae Simple Prologue Prologue in Verse Menaion Commemoration of saints Commemoration of South-Slavonic saints Liturgical books

The article examines the current hypotheses about time and place of translation of so-called Simple Prologue (hagiographic Synaxarium) in the Slavonic environment. Special attention is paid to the latest studies in the field. As additional arguments to answer the question are given the data on Russian and South Slavonic (mostly Bulgarian) commemorations in the early version of the Prologue. These data allowed to reject the existing hypotheses and to support the conclusion that the Simple Prologue was translated in the time of Samuil of Bulgaria in Archbishopric of Ohrid at the end of tenth – beginning of eleventh century. The translation was made very soon after the occurrence of Synaxarium in Byzantium and was due to the liturgical necessity.

Subject: History Language studies Language and Literature Studies Cultural history Studies of Literature Middle Ages Philology Translation Studies