The Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas from Myra to Bari in the Slavic Orthodox Tradition: An Unknown Version of the Panegyric for the Feast Cover Image
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Пренасянето на мощите на св. Николай Мирликийски от Мира в Бари в православнославянската традиция: Основните наративи за празника
The Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas from Myra to Bari in the Slavic Orthodox Tradition: An Unknown Version of the Panegyric for the Feast

Author(s): Nina Gagova
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, History, Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theology and Religion
Published by: Институт за литература - BAN

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the introduction of the feast Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas from Myra to Bari in the Slavic Orthodox tradition and the inclusion of related texts in the Slavic (Cyrillic) repertory, with an emphasis on the narratives of the translation. We analyze data from calendars, where the feast is attested from mid13th century onward, as critically examine the origin and dating of texts circulating in South Slavic and Russian copies since the 14th century. Special attention is given to the received opinion that both the feast itself and the purported principal text related to it (the so-called Discourse for the translation of the relics of St. Nicholas from the end of the 11th century) are of Russian origin. The relation of this text to the other two existing narratives (Legend from the Prologue, and Tale) is subjected to critical reconsideration. In the Appendix, we publish and analyze a previously unknown version of the Discourse found in MS no. 105, fol. 19, from the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in Vilnius (the text is provided in a parallel edition alongside the version from the Reading Menologia of Makarius).Based on analysis of the available sources, we conclude that the feast and its companion texts were introduced into the Slavic Orthodox repertory in the Balkans, most probably in the last quarter of the 12th century or the first quarter of the 13th century. This conclusion is supported by both the historical context of Slavic cultural contacts with Southern Italy and by the texts' middle-Bulgarian linguistic features. At this stage of the study, we cannot consider this issue resolved, but it is clear, in light of the new discoveries, that the traditional claim about the Russian origin of the feast and the texts cannot be maintained any longer.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 59-60
  • Page Range: 221-261
  • Page Count: 41
  • Language: Bulgarian