The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”

The article focuses on a literary monument presenting Christological debates of the 5th century and the circumstances of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (the Council of Chalcedon), its sources, and the history of dissemination in the Slavic manuscript tradition. It introduces a list of forty-two East...

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Main Author: Dmitri G. Polonski
Format: Article
Language:Bulgarian
Published: Moscow State University of Education 2014-12-01
Series:Slovene
Subjects:
Online Access:http://slovene.ru/ojs/index.php/slovene/article/view/54
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author Dmitri G. Polonski
author_facet Dmitri G. Polonski
author_sort Dmitri G. Polonski
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description The article focuses on a literary monument presenting Christological debates of the 5th century and the circumstances of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (the Council of Chalcedon), its sources, and the history of dissemination in the Slavic manuscript tradition. It introduces a list of forty-two East Slavic manuscripts of the 15‒17th centuries, including The Word on the Council of Chalcedon, a work on the history of Christianity and its dogmas. In thirty-nine of the manuscript copies, the literary monument serves as an introduction to the Slavic translation of Pope Leo the Great’s Tome to Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople (451), confirmed by the Fourth Ecumenical Council as an essential document of dogma. Judging by the provenance of the manuscript sources, in the 15‒17th centuries The Word on the Council of Chalcedon, along with the translation of Pope Leo’s Tome, were widely read and copied in the monasteries and churches of Moscow, Volok Lamsky, Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, and Novgorod Veliky, as well as those of northern Russia. As its first researcher, O. M. Bodianskii, showed in 1848, the Slavic translation of the pope’s Tome was made from Greek by the monk Feodosii (“Theodosius the Greek”) in the 12th century. However, the attribution of The Word on the Council of Chalcedon to the same translator remains to be proved. The present work shows that the anonymous compiler of The Word on the Council of Chalcedon was well aware of the church history of the 5th century, remembering many historical details he would most probably have come across in Greek rather than in translated Slavic sources. On the other hand, several historical mistakes made by the compiler suggest that he lacked the texts necessary to verify the facts and had to rely on his memory, which occasionally failed him. Nevertheless, despite occasional factual errors and a compilative narrative structure, The Word on the Council of Chalcedon is in some ways more informative than many Byzantine chronicles.
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spelling doaj.art-729b2bfc8b4741379273940a2954b8292022-12-22T02:30:38ZbulMoscow State University of EducationSlovene2304-07852305-67542014-12-013251The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”Dmitri G. Polonski0Архив Российской Академии наук, МоскваThe article focuses on a literary monument presenting Christological debates of the 5th century and the circumstances of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (the Council of Chalcedon), its sources, and the history of dissemination in the Slavic manuscript tradition. It introduces a list of forty-two East Slavic manuscripts of the 15‒17th centuries, including The Word on the Council of Chalcedon, a work on the history of Christianity and its dogmas. In thirty-nine of the manuscript copies, the literary monument serves as an introduction to the Slavic translation of Pope Leo the Great’s Tome to Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople (451), confirmed by the Fourth Ecumenical Council as an essential document of dogma. Judging by the provenance of the manuscript sources, in the 15‒17th centuries The Word on the Council of Chalcedon, along with the translation of Pope Leo’s Tome, were widely read and copied in the monasteries and churches of Moscow, Volok Lamsky, Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, and Novgorod Veliky, as well as those of northern Russia. As its first researcher, O. M. Bodianskii, showed in 1848, the Slavic translation of the pope’s Tome was made from Greek by the monk Feodosii (“Theodosius the Greek”) in the 12th century. However, the attribution of The Word on the Council of Chalcedon to the same translator remains to be proved. The present work shows that the anonymous compiler of The Word on the Council of Chalcedon was well aware of the church history of the 5th century, remembering many historical details he would most probably have come across in Greek rather than in translated Slavic sources. On the other hand, several historical mistakes made by the compiler suggest that he lacked the texts necessary to verify the facts and had to rely on his memory, which occasionally failed him. Nevertheless, despite occasional factual errors and a compilative narrative structure, The Word on the Council of Chalcedon is in some ways more informative than many Byzantine chronicles.http://slovene.ru/ojs/index.php/slovene/article/view/54славянская рукописная традицияславянские письменные источникипереводы с греческого на славянскийВселенские соборыХалкидонпапа римский Лев I Великийархиепископ Флавиан КонстантинопольскийФеодосий ГрекО. М. Бодянскийвизантийские хроники
spellingShingle Dmitri G. Polonski
The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”
Slovene
славянская рукописная традиция
славянские письменные источники
переводы с греческого на славянский
Вселенские соборы
Халкидон
папа римский Лев I Великий
архиепископ Флавиан Константинопольский
Феодосий Грек
О. М. Бодянский
византийские хроники
title The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”
title_full The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”
title_fullStr The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”
title_full_unstemmed The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”
title_short The Historical Erudition of the Compiler of “The Word on the Council of Chalcedon”
title_sort historical erudition of the compiler of the word on the council of chalcedon
topic славянская рукописная традиция
славянские письменные источники
переводы с греческого на славянский
Вселенские соборы
Халкидон
папа римский Лев I Великий
архиепископ Флавиан Константинопольский
Феодосий Грек
О. М. Бодянский
византийские хроники
url http://slovene.ru/ojs/index.php/slovene/article/view/54
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