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Old Church Slavonic, also known as Old Bulgarian, is the oldest documented Slavic literary language. It is the liturgical language of many Christian Orthodox churches and was first written using the Glagolitic alphabet, which was later replaced by Cyrillic. It is thought to have been based on the dialect of Byzantine Slavs living in the Province of Thessalonica (in present-day Greece). Old Church Slavonic played a significant role in the history of Slavic languages and served as the basis for later Church Slavonic traditions. The language did not represent a single regional dialect but a generalised form of early eastern South Slavic. Due to the emergence of distinct regional dialects, Old Church Slavonic evolved into Church Slavonic, which consists of multiple recensions or regional variants.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Alphabets | Glagolitic and Cyrillic |
| Earliest Date | 850 AD |
| Latest Date | 1100 AD |
| Literary Centres | Preslav and Ohrid |
| Recensions | Eastern and Western |
| Serbian Recensions | Zeta-Hum, Raška, Resava and Slavonic-Serbian |
| Sounds | /i/, /ji/, and /jɪ/ |
| Sounds | Yers preceding *j became tense |
| Sounds | *ь (e.g. чаꙗньѥ or чаꙗние, both pronounced [t͡ʃɑjɑn̪ije]) |
| Sounds | *ъ (always written as a yery) |
| Sounds | ы, щ |
| Sounds | ть (pronounced as т) |
| Sounds | злато, град, горящий, рождать |
| Sounds | ть is pronounced as т |
| Sounds | Letters i, y for the sound /i/ |
| Sounds | Old Serbian Letter djerv (Ꙉꙉ) for the Serbian reflexes of Pre-Slavic *tj and *dj (*t͡ɕ, *d͡ʑ, *d͡ʒ, and *tɕ) |
| Language Family | South Slavic subgroup of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family |
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What You'll Learn
Old Church Slavonic's first writing system
Old Church Slavonic (OCS) is the first Slavic literary language and the oldest written Slavonic language. It is a South Slavic language that belongs to the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. OCS is also the liturgical language of many Christian Orthodox churches.
The language was standardised by the Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century. They translated the Bible and other religious texts into OCS, which was based on the dialect of the 9th-century Byzantine Slavs living in the Province of Thessalonica (in present-day Greece). OCS was not a spoken language but always used in writing.
The first writing system for OCS was the Glagolitic alphabet, created by Saint Cyril with the aid of his brother Saint Methodius around 863. The Glagolitic script is derived from Greek minuscule and uncial script, with some letters retained from the Greek alphabet for sounds not present in Greek.
In the 10th century, a new alphabet called Cyrillic emerged and was named after St. Cyril. It was possibly created by his students Clement of Ohrid and Saint Naum at the Preslav Literary School in the 890s. Cyrillic gradually replaced Glagolitic as the alphabet of choice for OCS and other Slavic languages. The Cyrillic alphabet is still used today for Ukrainian, Russian, and Bulgarian.
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The language's evolution and descendants
Old Church Slavonic (OCS) is the oldest extant written Slavic language, with its history beginning in 862 CE. It is also the first Slavic literary language, and it remains the liturgical language of many Christian Orthodox churches. It is thought to be based on the dialect of the 9th-century Byzantine Slavs living in the Province of Thessalonica (present-day Greece).
The language was standardized by Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius, who translated religious texts such as the Bible into Old Church Slavonic. It is important to note that OCS was a literary language, not intended for everyday conversation. The earliest date for the OCS period is estimated to be the middle of the 9th century, coinciding with the missions of Cyril and Methodius. The latest date is approximately 1100, after which manuscripts began to exhibit more linguistic variation.
Old Church Slavonic played a crucial role in the evolution of Slavic languages and served as the foundation for later Church Slavonic traditions. It spread to various South-Eastern, Central, and Eastern European Slavic territories, including Croatia, Serbia, Bohemia, Lesser Poland, and principalities of the Kievan Rus. Over time, the language began to diversify, influenced by local Slavic vernaculars, and by the mid-11th century, it had evolved into several regional varieties or recensions, collectively known as the Church Slavonic language.
Church Slavonic is a later stage of Old Church Slavonic and represents the continuation of the liturgical tradition introduced by Saints Cyril and Methodius. It consists of multiple recensions, including Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, and Ukrainian. These recensions reflect the distinct regional dialects of Eastern Orthodoxy in the Slavic world.
Old Church Slavonic is considered the direct ancestor of modern languages such as Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian. It influenced the Russian language, with many Russian words borrowed from Church Slavonic. Additionally, certain linguistic features in OCS indicate its membership in the South Slavic group of languages. For example, the front nasal "ę" retains its front quality in South Slavic, while developing a back quality in East and West Slavic languages.
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Its role in the history of Slavic languages
Old Church Slavonic (OCS) is the first Slavic literary language and the oldest written Slavonic language. It is also the liturgical language of many Christian Orthodox churches. It is based on a Macedonian dialect and has its roots in the Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius, who translated the Bible into what later became OCS. They also invented the Glagolitic alphabet, in which OCS was initially written.
OCS played an important role in the history of Slavic languages. It served as a basis for later Church Slavonic traditions and helped spread literacy among the Slavs. It also preserved archaic features believed to have been common to all Slavic languages, such as the yer (extra-short) vowels /ɪ̆/ and /ʊ̆/. It is valuable to historical linguists as it provides insight into the early development of Slavic languages.
OCS was the official language of the First Bulgarian Empire, where it was taught and refined in two academies in Preslav and Ohrid, the respective capitals of the empire. The language spread to other Slavic territories, including Croatia, Serbia, Bohemia, Lesser Poland, and principalities of the Kievan Rus', retaining its characteristically Eastern South Slavic linguistic features.
By the mid-11th century, OCS had diversified into regional varieties or recensions, influenced by local Slavic vernaculars. These varieties are collectively known as the Church Slavonic language. The Serbian recension, for instance, has four separate variants: Zeta-Hum, Raška, Resava, and Slavonic-Serbian. The Russian recension of New Church Slavonic has been the language of books since the 17th century.
Church Slavonic is still used by some Orthodox churches, such as the Montenegrin Orthodox Church and the Russian True Orthodox Church, as well as Greek Catholic Churches in Slavic countries. It represents a later stage of OCS and is the continuation of the liturgical tradition introduced by Saints Cyril and Methodius.
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The Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic alphabet was used to write the Old Church Slavonic language and was later adapted to write many other languages. It spread throughout the East Slavic and some South Slavic territories, being adopted for writing local languages such as Old East Slavic. Its adaptation to local languages produced a number of Cyrillic alphabets. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, for example, emerged very early on, probably in the 10th century, and was updated in the 19th century by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, who removed certain graphemes no longer represented in the vernacular and introduced graphemes specific to Serbian.
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Old Church Slavonic in modern times
Old Church Slavonic (OCS) is the first Slavic literary language and the oldest documented written Slavonic language. It is thought to have been based on the dialect of the 9th-century Byzantine Slavs living in the Province of Thessalonica (in present-day Greece). It was initially written with the Glagolitic alphabet, but this was later replaced by Cyrillic, developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century. Old Church Slavonic played an important role in the history of Slavic languages, serving as the basis for later Church Slavonic traditions.
In modern times, Old Church Slavonic is still used liturgically by many Christian Orthodox churches. It is also used by some churches that consider themselves Orthodox but are not in communion with the Orthodox Church, such as the Montenegrin Orthodox Church and the Russian True Orthodox Church. The Russian Old Believers and Co-Believers also use Church Slavonic. In addition, it is used by Greek Catholic Churches in Slavic countries, for example, by Croatian, Slovak, and Ruthenian Greek Catholics.
Church Slavonic represents a later stage of Old Church Slavonic, and is the continuation of the liturgical tradition introduced by Saints Cyril and Methodius in the late 9th century. The Russian recension of New Church Slavonic has been the language of books since the second half of the 17th century. It generally uses the traditional Cyrillic script, but certain texts are printed in modern alphabets with the spelling adapted to the rules of local languages.
In recent centuries, Church Slavonic has been fully replaced by local languages in non-Slavic countries. Even in some Slavic Orthodox countries, the modern national language is now used for liturgical purposes. The Russian Orthodox Church, which contains around half of all Orthodox believers, still holds its liturgies almost entirely in Church Slavonic. However, there are parishes that use other languages, such as Russian or Ukrainian, with the approval of church authorities.
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Frequently asked questions
Old Church Slavonic (OCS) is the first Slavic literary language and the oldest documented written Slavonic language. It is also referred to as Old Bulgarian.
Old Church Slavonic was used in the 9th century by the missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius for preaching to the Moravian Slavs and for translating the Bible and other religious texts into Slavic. The latest date for OCS is given as roughly 1100, after which manuscripts show more linguistic variation.
Old Church Slavonic was used in the Moravian Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. It later spread to other South-Eastern, Central, and Eastern European Slavic territories, including Croatia, Serbia, Bohemia, Lesser Poland, and principalities of the Kyivean Rus'.
Initially, Old Church Slavonic was written with the Glagolitic alphabet, which was created by St. Cyril based on Greek minuscule. In the 9th century, the Cyrillic script was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire and gradually replaced Glagolitic.
Old Church Slavonic had certain linguistic features that showed it to be a member of the South Slavic group of languages. For example, the front nasal ę of LCS retains its front quality in South Slavic, whereas it develops a back quality in both the East and West dialects. As a result, OCS has męso where Czech has maso.
