palaeoslavic studies

The origin of the literal translation of Athanasius of Alexandria’s “Orationes contra Arianos” in the manuscript of Gavrilo Stefanović Venclović’s ‘Razglagolnik istinogo života’

Оригиналът на литертурния превод на Orationes contra Arianos от Атанасий Александрийски според ръкописа на Razglagolnik istinogo života’ на Гаврило Стефанович Венцлович

  • Summary/Abstract

    The author compares the marginal glosses in the book of Epifanij Slavinetskij’s Sbornik perevodov, 1665, with the text of Athanasius’ Third Oration against the Arians in Gavrilo Venclović’s Razglagolnik, 1734. The marginal glosses in Epifanij’s Russian Version are taken from a South Slavonic manuscript that has a common origin with the protograph of Venclović. The Orationes contra Arianos in Razglagolnik are written in South Slavonic koine and their source has the features of an Athonite translation related to the Council of Ferrara-Florence and the disputes over the filioque.


The Christological Cycle in the Naos of the Prophet Elijah Church (1550) in Sofia: Non-Traditional Elements and Athonite Influences

Христологичният цикъл в наоса на църквата „Св. пророк Илия“ (1550 г.) в София: нетрадиционни елементи и светогорски влияния

  • Summary/Abstract

    The paper is a continuation of the article “The Last Judgment Scene in the Prophet Elijah Church (1550) in Sofia: Untraditional Elements and Athonite Influences” (Rousseva 2020) and analysed the frescoes in the naos of the church. There is a problem with the overall iconographic programme in the naos: the obligatory scenes illustrating the Annunciation, the Transfiguration and Pentecost are absent, but there are illustrations in separate scenes of secondary and rarely encountered episodes. The scenes in the naos provide a wide field for interpretation, as it is ‘mediate’ between the art of Macedonia of the 14th–15th century and the art of the Cretan school of the 1530s and the 1540s. Beyond the large monasteries of Mount Athos, the island in the Lake of Ioannina and the Meteora, the murals in the Iliyantsi are among the first where the “new” scenes and images are interpreted, and in some respects, the first monument, e. g the kneeling Virgin in the scene of the Nativity, the Flagellation, The Apostles at the Grave has been included. For the first time in a Bulgarian church are illustrated the Sundays of the Pentecostarion. Of the works published so far, the scene Christ expels seven demons from Mary Magdalene is the earliest example in Balkan art. There are visible similarities of the scenes in the naos with the later examples, the work of the atelier of St Pimen. His teacher, Tomas, could possibly have worked at the church in Iliyantsi.


Bilingual dictionaries on Hippolytus’ De Christo et Antichristo – problems, approaches and solutions

Двуезични речници на De Christo et Antichristo от Иполит Римски – проблеми, подходи и решения

  • Summary/Abstract

    The text transmission of the Slavonic translation of Hippolytus’ De Christo et Antichristo presents a stable and well-testified tradition. It gives a base for possible reconstruction of the Greek original from which this translation was made. The article demonstrates some omissions, additions, and reconstructions on the Greek text compared to the Slavonic one. Also, the paper addresses significant problems that occur in the scholars’ work on bilingual dictionaries discussing possible approaches and solutions. Still, some questions remain, and it is not easy to suggest a definite answer to them. The author underlines the importance of the fragmentary copy of the Greek text, presented in the manuscript of Meteora 573, bearing in mind its significant correspondence to the Slavonic tradition. Unfortunately, this manuscript preserves only trifling fragments of the whole work by Hippolytus of Rome.


Meta-Terms of the Euthalian Apparatus in Old Church Slavonic Acts and Epistles Manuscripts from the 12th– 16th centuries

Maria Novak. Перевод метатерминологии аппарата Евфалия в древнеславянских списках Апостола XII–XVI веков

  • Summary/Abstract

    The article focuses on Old Slavonic versions of Euthalian chapter-lists to Acts and Epistles considering meta-communicative terms, such as παραίνεσις or προοίμιον. The author aims to evaluate the level of accuracy of Slavonic translations and their exegetical potential, which makes the content of the main text of Acts and Epistles clear. The analysis reveals two tendencies prevailing in Slavonic sources from the 12th–16th centuries: first, there are phenomena of lexical variability, as results of applying various translation strategies, more or less successful in terms of the accuracy and clarity of the resulting text (calques, periphrastic constructions, and text expansion). Second, there is a tendency towards unification, suggesting a universal Slavonic term for several Greek correlates. Authoritative dictionaries, including academic ones, do not record some lexemes. There is no dependence of the chapter-lists lexicon on the main text vocabulary.


On the Interpretation of the Liturgy from the South Slavic Manuscripts RGADA 88 and Bogišić 52

За Тълкувание на литургията в южнославянските ръкописи РГАДА 88 и Богишич 52

  • Summary/Abstract
    The focus of this report is the still-unexplored Interpretation of Orthodox liturgy, attested in two copies: first in manuscript No. 88 from the collection of Obolensky (201), State Archive of Russian Federation (Moscow), the second in manuscript No 52 of 1567, from the Archive of Baltazar Bogisić in Cavtat. The two manuscripts contain proven original works of Constantine of Kostenets (1380–1431). The author analyzes the structure and content of the interpretation and comments on it as a source for the history of Liturgy – from the point of view of the data concerning the liturgical features described in it. It can be concluded that the basis of texts in MS No 88 and MS Bogishić 52 is a late composition of Byzantine mystagogy, which, in turn, means that the time of implementation of the South Slavic translation should be dated no earlier than the end of the 12th century. This is one of the many short epitomes created during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom as a result of the secondary reduction of the original extensive commentary. A detailed investigation and the text-critical edition will be forthcoming.

Healing Practices Performed by St. Gregory of Agrigentum in his Vita by Leontius

Лечебните практики, прилагани от св. Григорий Акрагантийски в неговото житие от Леонтий

  • Summary/Abstract

    Christian hagiographic literature chooses as its heroes’ people whose feeble flesh is in stark contrast to the greatness of the spirit. The saint is endowed with supernatural knowledge, works miracles, foretells, protects and heals people. The author discusses the healing practices in the Slavic translation of the Vita of St. Gregory of Agrigentum, as presented in a 15th-century copy of a Reading Menaion composed according to the Jerusalem typikon (Tărnovo type orthography, Moldavian provenance, kept in the Dragomirna monastery (Drag 706/1795), Romania). St. Gregory of Agrigentum is a senior clergyman and the goal of his healing skills is to show God’s grace and the power of Christian teaching from one side and the authority of his position as bishop from the other.


On the Copies of the Russian Chronograph in Bulgaria

За преписите на Руския хронограф в България

  • Summary/Abstract

    The only copy of the Russian Chronograph kept in Bulgaria – NBKM 774 – is of Russian origin and has a special composition. The text bears the date 1627, but the miscellany is composed later, end of 17th – the beginning of 18th c. The only marginal note indicates that in 1787 MS was kept in Vidin. There is information, although rather scarce, that there might have been another copy of the Chronograph in possession of Dimitǎr Jocov from Vratsa which had been lost and with assumed characteristics indicating that it had been a copy of NBKM 774. The assumed characteristics of the two copies may be interpreted as evidence of the existence of a weak tradition related to this manuscript in the Bulgarian historical literature as opposed to the Serbian one.


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