I would be very grateful to you if you could help me with Church slavonic Language.

The first historical evidence of the existence of Holy and Great Saturday Matins "Epitaphios Thrinos" or "Enkomia" ("You, Christ, the Life, were put on a tomb...", "It is worthy to magnify you, the Lifegiver...", "All generations") is not a manuscript but the Epitaphios (Плащаница, Shroud) of John, metropolitan bishop of Skopje (1346)which can be found now at Hilandar Monastery (the Serbian Monastery at the Holy Mountain). The problem is that the troparia both in the Epitaphios Thrinos (Јутрење Велике суботе и Статије in Serbian if I am not wrong) and in this article in Serbian is in Church Slavonic, a language which is just Greek to me.

Janko Radovanović
Epitaphion (sic) of the Skopje Metropolitan Jovan in the treasury of the
Hilandar monastery

The troparia (if I am not wrong, Serbian is, unfortunately, another language I do not speak) can be found at page 170, where we read:

"Испод Спаситељевог тела, камене плоче и
многооких херувима златом је извезен текст: †
in Church Slavonic †. То су речи песме која се пева на
Светој литургији и на вечерњи на Велики петак. С
леве стране плаштанице налази се текст: † in Church Slavonic † (статија, стих 169. На горњој
ивици је текст: in Church Slavonic (статија, стих 1).
Church Slavonic (алузија на пророштво Јаковљево – Пост 49, 9).
На доњој ивици плаштанице налази се посветни за-
пис митрополита Јована: † in Church Slavonic †. Цар спит почиње
на доњој ивици плаштанице, па се наставља на десној
ивици: in Church Slavonic (сл. 1)."

http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-1361/2006-2007/0350-13610731169R.pdf
Could any of you help me with the troparia in Church Slavonic (only those in the mentioned paragraph in page 170).
Thak you very much. And sorry for writing such posts during the summer
With love in Christ
Francisco

A present to you all... a picture of the Epitaphios of the Metropolitan bishop of John (1346) now at Hilandar Monastery

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r6ieXk9JB...iepiskopa+Jovana+-+Hilandar+-+14+vek.jpg

Thank you very much.

Francisco,
I tried to translate this troparion. May be my English translation is not ideal, but I hope, that you will understand main idea of this text and find more euphonic equivalent in English.

Under the Holy Body of Christ it is written:
“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us”. These are words from the Holy liturgy and Holy Friday vesper.

On the left side of the shroud it is written a text:
“Heavenly forces are horrified looking at the Mortal Christ” (Небесныя силы ужасошася страхом, мертва Тя зряща. (Статия, стих 169)

«Life laid in the tomb, Christ, in amazement Angel armies lift up their song as they glorify Thy self-abasement, Lord”.
"Жизнь во гробе положился еси, Христе, и Ангельская воинства ужасахуся, снизхождение славяще Твое". (Статия, стих 1)

«Layed down and fell asleep as a lion on the tomb” (allusion on Jacob’s prophecy, Genesis 49:8-12)
“ …возлег уснул еси, яко лев, кто воздвигнет Тя, Царю?”

There is a dedication from the Metropolitan Jovan:
“Throned Skopje Mitropolitan brings a gift to my Life-giver”.

“The Lord is sleeping. Let the whole Earth is silent…”

Thank you very much.
Yours in Christ,
Francisco

Wondering how long the "Church Slovanic" language will survive? Already the Bulgarian Orthodox only use modern Bulgarian, the Ukrainians have been using Ukrainian for years, the Serbs use a version that sounds more Serbian, the Greek Catholics in Slovakia are sing more Slovak, etc etc. Is it only the "High Russians" hanging on to it?

It is the language spoken in Heaven so I guess the answer to your question is во веки веков!

The Russian Old Believers would put an "m" at the end of "vikov" as you know.

You have given yourself away as a new rite Nikonian!

To paraphrase an episode of Seinfeld, "No Heaven for you!"

Alex

Slavonic will always be studied and used, even by Churches that don't use it liturgically, because all of the ancient liturgical and other texts of the Slavic Churches are written in Slavonic.

Slavonic is somewhat easier for Russians to understand since the Russian language evolved from the Church Slavonic directly while other Slavic languages evolved from "below" from the language of the people.

In fact, Saints such as St Dmitri Tuptalenko, Metropolitan of Rostov, and others like him, began to include words in their Slavonic sermons that were from "below" from the people's developing national languages. This made their sermons more understandable to them.

In addition, the Russian version of Slavonic tended to have the Russian pronunciation (even though the ROC officially disapproved of that).

So whether we can even speak of a "pure" Church Slavonic that was unaffected, at least in its pronunciation and specific particulars, by the developing Slavic languages of the Slavic peoples is debatable.

Alex

To further your comments, Sashka, about the only place that I have routinely heard Church Slavonic pronounced properly is in a narrow belt from Cherkassy in Ukraine, up through Sumy and Kursk up to about Oryel in Russia. Gospodi is just as wrong as Hospodi. To hear the proper Velar frictive is music to my ears!
І так, пан доктор, я залишаюся, ваш вірний ніконіанской єретик, Александр!

Dear Orthodox Christian Friend and Pillar!

I admire the Old Rite very much and have noticed some of their practices "creeping" into Nikonian ( ) praxis, here and there.

I believe Patriarch Nikon is being considered for possible canonization and there is an akathist to him on that great akathist site: www.akafist.narod.ru [akafist.narod.ru] . Although I wonder why one can't get on it over the last few days (perhaps they are updating it?).

There is a fellow I know in Kyiv of the Old Rite persuasion whom I asked to obtain for me a copy of an icon he could only get in a parish of the UOC-MP.

He actually did try to go in but then left in a hurry without getting the icon, saying, "I couldn't take the Nikonian atmosphere/singing - I felt as if I was being weighed down by sin if I stayed there a moment longer . . ."

Some people really need to get a life!

Please accept my deep spiritual bow,

Alex

oops, spoke too soon.

One now can get on that site. Perhaps you have inadvertently worked a miracle?

Alex