ЗА ЙОАН КРЪСТИТЕЛ И ЗМЕЯ (От езичество към християнство)
ON JOHN THE BAPTIST AND THE DRAGON (From Paganism to Christianity)

Summary/Abstract: The study is devoted to the cult of John the Baptist, which was established in Bulgaria immediately after the Christianization in 864/5. In particular, the article discusses the problem of the genesis of the Glagolitic initial P, which is placed at the very beginning of the reading about the Nativity of John the Baptist, presented on sheet 147 of the Assemanius Gospel. The problem is analyzed in the context of the Old Bulgarian ruler’s cult tradition that was transformed into Christian after 864/5. The study is based on a variety of Old Bulgarian source material: the Old Bulgarian calendar, the zodiac composition presented on sheet 250 b - 251 in the Simeon's collection according to a copy of 1073, apocryphal texts, archaeological data about Pliska, etc. The conclusion is made that the image of John the Baptist - prophet and man fighting the dragon in the Glagolitic initial P was created in the context of a religious-political concept of the first Bulgarian Christian rulers, according to which they had adopted the Christian faith under the influence of the Baptist himself.

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