EntranceHow to quickly learn to read Church Slavonic. Lessons of the Church Slavonic language for everyone who wants to quickly and independently master it
MATERIALSTO STUDY
CHURCH SLAVIC
LANGUAGE
Introduction
How to master the Church Slavonic language? It is clear that no one is able to complete this task in one or two months. As in studying any foreign language, you need perseverance, desire, personal work. Every (modern) person in school tried (some under pressure, some anyway) to cope with such a task, but often it turned out to be so overwhelming that many people think that mastering languages is the lot of only a select few who are capable of them. But is this really the case, or is the problem something else? N. F. Zamyatkin, who has studied many foreign languages on his own, asserts with full confidence that the problem is essentially the same - in the methodology. He outlined his method for mastering foreign languages in the book “It is impossible to teach you a foreign language.”
What is the essence of his method?
Create a separate language center in the central nervous system by listening to dialogues in this language for a long time;
Load a “language matrix” into this center by repeatedly speaking loudly the above dialogues in a foreign language;
Fill it with vocabulary and grammar ( The best way– reading books with minimal use of a dictionary), use and enjoy.
Why this particular approach?
To suppress the initial reaction of rejection of a foreign language by your “I”, which is most closely connected with your native language. To develop close to ideal pronunciation. To master basic grammar. To remember the basic vocabulary in the context. To teach elementary reading, the next stage will be the transition to “marathon” reading of unadapted literature. To produce basic skills listening comprehension of foreign speech. To get into the rhythm and harmony of a foreign language. To create a bridgehead from which you will conduct a further attack on the “enemy”.
How to use this method in studying the Church Slavonic language?
For us, this language is not completely unfamiliar or distant, we encounter it all the time, and this is a big plus. The existing tradition of pronunciation and reading makes the path of “entering” the language extremely easy. After all, in Church Slavonic there is no reduction known to many other languages, when “one hears Manchester, but writes Liverpool.” This means that the first stage will be easy and relaxed for us. There is probably no longer a clergyman who does not have some studio recording of the psalter or gospel in Church Slavonic. Even if it is not technically possible to cut up small passages, then at least you can listen to short psalms, then repeat them several times. It is, of course, not difficult to carefully study the meaning of these texts - everyone has a Bible.
The only problem that can arise is spiritual and moral. These texts are sacred and prayerful for us, and repeating them purely technically, not prayerfully, is problematic.
Next stage. After we have learned to read selected passages in Church Slavonic well enough, we begin free reading. Many grammatical forms Church Slavonic is close to us due to its great similarity with the Russian language. Many words are also close. All this also makes it easier to solve the problem.
The presented course of the Church Slavonic language is, in fact, an introduction to its study, a tool with the help of which, with constant diligence, it is quite possible to master the language and, at a minimum, understand it perfectly.
Instructions for the church reader on how to read in church,
compiled according to the teachings of the holy fathers and ascetics, according to the instructions of the church charter and on the basis of the centuries-old experience of Divine services of the Russian Orthodox Church (in abbreviation)
Read reverently, with the fear of God
1. A God-fearing reader must always remember that he is proclaiming praises and prayers for himself and for all those praying in the temple, where God Himself, His Most Pure Mother, Angels and saints are always invisibly present. The Lord, the Knower of the Heart, knows the feeling and attitude with which the reader performs his duties.
2. A God-fearing reader knows that those present in the temple notice his mistakes, his inattention, etc., and may be tempted by this. Therefore, he does not allow negligence, he is afraid of angering God. For the Scripture says: “Cursed is every man who does the work of the Lord with negligence” (Jer. 48:10). By reading prayers aloud in the holy church for all believers, we are doing God’s work, so read reverently and gracefully, clearly and slowly.
Prepare carefully for reading
3. For the reading that you must perform, you must carefully prepare: familiarize yourself with it in advance and carefully read the text, paying attention to the pronunciation of words, stress, and content in order to read correctly, consciously and meaningfully. If you don’t read well, don’t be lazy to practice reading more often, read it several times and ask someone else who knows to check you.
Read intelligently
4. Read so that, first of all, you yourself understand what you are reading, and so that the prayers and psalms read penetrate into your heart.
5. At the same time, do not forget the people standing in the temple, and read in such a way that the people understand you, so that they, together with you, the reader, pray with one mouth and one heart and glorify the Lord - this is why we gather in holy temple.
6. When reading in Church, always remember that through your lips the prayer of all those present is pronounced and ascended to the Throne of God, and that every word you utter should penetrate the ear and soul of every person praying in the church.
Read slowly, clearly and clearly
7. Therefore, do not rush when reading holy prayers, and do not degrade prayers by hasty reading, do not anger God. Hasty and indistinct reading is not perceived by the ears, thoughts and hearts of those listening. Such reading and singing, in the words of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, is “pleasing to the lazy, sadness of heart and sighing to the good, but temptation and harm to all who come (to the temple”).
8. A God-fearing reader will not read quickly and carelessly to please the few, so as not to deprive all those praying of the opportunity to pray reverently and attentively. For he understands well that due to the reader’s negligence, many are embarrassed and tempted and may even leave the temple. Persons who are prone to sectarianism or who are generally inclined to see shortcomings in Orthodoxy, having heard careless and irreverent reading and singing in our churches, may completely fall away from Orthodoxy into sectarianism or cool towards the faith. Thus, through the fault of careless readers and singers, our Orthodox worship, churches, clergy and Orthodoxy itself are dishonored, and those who pray are deprived of many meaningful prayers and religious and moral edification.
In view of this, the church reader should not allow rapid reading, which turns into negligence, and should not fulfill the requests of those who require him to violate his duty of reverent reading. For it is more fitting to obey God than men (Acts 5:29).
9. In order to know the limits at what speed to read, it is necessary to read with understanding of what is being read, and not mechanically, and not only to pay attention to the external side of reading, but also to the content, while praying in your soul.
We must learn to read so freely, without tension, that when reading there is no difficulty in pronouncing words, abbreviations (titles), stress, in choosing the height and strength of the voice, raising and lowering the voice, etc. - in short, so that attention is distracted as little as possible on the reading technique itself, but focused more on the meaning of what was being read and the reader’s heartfelt perception of it.
A reverent reader acquires such an instinct when he himself, in church and at home, tries to pray carefully with his mind and heart. Then he learns from experience that when reading quickly, it is impossible for those praying to have time to grasp the content of the prayer and pray with both mind and heart.
When reading, you should avoid the other extreme: you should not stretch out the reading unnecessarily.
Read with meaningful stops
Read it correctly, in the church way
13. When reading, the pronunciation of words should be Slavic, that is, each letter in the word should be pronounced as printed, for example: solid, but not solid(there is no letter e in the Slavic language); father, but not father, century, but not Vic, his, but not evo or yoga, wretched, but not pathetic. However, here, as in other cases, there are no rules without exceptions. Yes, words Aggel, Loggin, Pagcratius pronounce: Angel, Longinus, Pancratius.
14. When reading Slavic, you should pay attention to accents and titla (abbreviation signs) in order to pronounce words correctly.
15. We must observe the ancient pattern of church reading. When reading, you should not artificially highlight or, as it were, emphasize the meaning of what you are reading. Secular artistic expression is inappropriate in church reading. You need to read without pouring out your feelings through modulations and changes in voice; You should not give tenderness, tenderness, severity or any other feeling to your voice - the church reader is not an actor. Let the holy prayers influence the listeners with their own spiritual dignity. The desire to convey to others your feelings and experiences or to influence them with changes in your voice is a sign of conceit and pride (Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov).
18. It is necessary to read in a moderate voice, not to weaken or strengthen it too much, but to balance it in such a way that all the words clearly reach the ears of each person praying. It goes without saying that the larger the temple or the more people, the more necessary it is to strengthen the voice, but in no way turn it into a shout.
19. The reader should stand straight in front of the book, without bowing, and read without shuffling his feet, without putting them to the side, not sway his body, have his hands freely lowered, not shake his head, read slowly, but not drag, pronounce the words clearly, clearly (with clear diction and correct articulation), making semantic stops in the sentence itself.
If it is read on a stand (lectern), the reader must ensure that the veil on the stand lies straight and not crookedly, and if it sank low, raise it.
G.I.Shimansky (1915–1970)
Part 1. Church Slavonic alphabet and reading rules
The modern Russian alphabet goes back to the Old Church Slavonic, hence the great similarity in the writing of letters. There are some letters in the Church Slavonic alphabet that are unknown to modern writing. This is “zelo” - /z/, “i” - /i/, “omega” - /o/, digraph “ot” - /ot/, “yat” - /e/, “yus small” - /ya/ , “xi” - /ks/, “psi” - /ps/, “fita” - /f/, “izhitsa” - /i/, /v/. Also, the “uk” inside the word and “ya” have a somewhat peculiar style. Details about the rules for reading letters are in a separate appendix. A number of letters - zelo, fert, xi, psi, fita and izhitsa are used only in foreign words; “and” (i) is written before a vowel, and in the position before consonants - in case of borrowing. After “a” and “e”, izhitsa (v) denotes the sound “v”, in other positions - “i”.
Yat - in ancient times there was a separate sound, historically long / e / and somewhat reminiscent of a diphthong / no / . Even in the time of Lomonosov, some dialects distinguished it with a separate sound. At the present time, this sound has completely merged with /e/. In Church Slavonic it continues to play a large role.
Another feature of Slavic graphics is stress. There are acute, heavy, invested stress, as well as aspiration; combinations of aspiration with acute and heavy stress. In reality, differences in stress do not matter for reading; this is the “Greek” inheritance of Church Slavonic. The invested stress plays a grammatical role: it is placed over the forms of the plural and dual numbers, if they coincide with any form of the singular number.
The title, an abbreviation icon on the letter of one or more letters, plays a big role in the alphabet. Tilo is placed above words denoting special veneration and respect. There are combined titles - when the letters “d”, “r”, “g”, “s”, “o” appear on the letter. A word with a title is read the same as without a title. At the end of the appendix there is a list of words with abbreviations under the title.
The special purpose of the title is to indicate numbers. The Church Slavonic alphabet, following the Greek tradition, expresses numbers through the letters of the alphabet. The title is placed above the letter indicating the number, if this number is single digit or ten. If a number is written with two or more letter signs, then the title is placed above the second one from the end. The list of numbers is included in the appendix.
Sometimes in a letter you can find a small loop over a consonant in the middle of a word or at the end of a preposition - this is “erok”. It means "b". Accordingly, it is not pronounced. A peculiarity of Church Slavonic is the obligatory presence of an unpronounceable “ъ” after a consonant if the word ends with it. This is the heritage of the ancient Russian and Old Slavonic traditions of reading and writing.
So, in Church Slavonic there is a rule: how it is written is how it is read. The exception is the combinations -ia, -aa in names, months, and some other words, where they are read as -iya, -aya. In the words Bog, good, Lord and their derivatives, there is a tradition of pronouncing “g” as a voiced variant of “x”.
Reading exercises: 1). Listen to the reading of the first psalm in audio format several times. 2). Follow the text several times while listening. 3). Read it yourself several times. 4). Check your reading with the speaker’s reading, correct your pronunciation.
5). Compare this text with the Russian translation:
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked and does not stand in the way of sinners and does not sit in the congregation of the wicked, but his will is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on His law day and night! And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which brings forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither; and in everything he does, he will succeed. Not so - the wicked; but they are like dust blown by the wind. Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Repeat the same exercise with the second psalm:
Why do peoples rebel, and nations plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up, and the princes take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed. “Let us break their bonds, and cast off their fetters from us.” He who lives in heaven will laugh; the Lord will mock him. Then He will say to them in His anger and His wrath will lead them into confusion: “I have anointed My King over Zion, My holy mountain; I will proclaim the decree: The Lord said to Me: You are My Son; today have I begotten You; ask of Me, and I will give the nations to an inheritance for you, and the ends of the earth for your possession; you will smite them with a rod of iron; you will break them in pieces like a potter's vessel." So, understand, kings; learn, judges of the earth! Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Honor the Son, lest He be angry, and lest you perish on [your] journey, for His anger will soon kindle. Blessed are all who trust in Him.
The main problem in mastering the vocabulary of the Church Slavonic language is the presence of paronyms - words that have historically changed their meaning greatly, and for this reason it has become difficult to guess the meaning of such a word. Example: to stagger - to rush about, to exalt; punishment - instruction, admonition. You need to pay special attention to such words. Such words should be remembered in context - an associative series is created. There is a dictionary that it is advisable to use when studying such words: Sedakova O.A. Church Slavic-Russian paronyms. – M.: Greco-Latin cabinet Yu.A. Shichalina, 2005.
In the Church Slavonic language there is such a phenomenon - positional softening of consonants - palatalization. Otherwise - the transition of some consonants (k, g, x) to others (h/ts, zh/z, sh/s):
This is due to the fact that in ancient times the sounds k, g and x were always hard and for this reason they changed to hissing or whistling. The transition to sibilant (zh, sh) is possible only in the vocative case (in circulation).
There has long been heated debate about how to read the psalms more correctly - in Church Slavonic or in Russian. Conservatives are of the opinion that it is impossible to change the ancient tradition in the Old Slavonic language - they say, this will contribute to the severing of ties between generations of Orthodox Christians and the gradual loss of the “prayer” of the Psalter.
Their opponents believe that the psalms in Old Church Slavonic are archaic and incomprehensible to modern man, and therefore requires modernization. Both sides have pros and cons that we can agree with, but we'll leave this one controversial issue for the consideration of theologians and let’s talk better about how to learn to read the psalms in Church Slavonic.
Learning to read Orthodox psalms in Old Church Slavonic
Today you can buy a collection of psalms in Old Church Slavonic at any church store. However, a person who does not speak the ancient language of Orthodox worship, opening it, will understand that he not only does not understand the meaning of the psalms, but simply cannot read them. The Church Slavonic alphabet, created in the 10th century by the enlightenment missionaries Methodius and Cyril, partly consists of letters of the Greek alphabet, and partly of Slavic letters, which only vaguely resemble the modern letters of the Russian alphabet.
Therefore, when buying a Psalter, pay attention to the fact that the psalms in Church Slavonic are written in Russian letters - by comparing ancient and modern texts, you will gradually learn to distinguish individual words. A dictionary of the Church Slavonic language will not hurt at first - from it you can learn the rules for reading letters, as well as figure out how to correctly read the psalms in Church Slavonic without vowels (with titles).
Orthodox psalms in Church Slavonic - from reading to understanding
Learning to read Orthodox psalms in Old Church Slavonic is not difficult: just a few simple rules and the language barrier in reading will be a thing of the past. Things are a little more complicated with reading comprehension: difficulties arise due to the specific features of ancient biblical texts. In order to enjoy not only reading beautiful and melodious psalms in Old Church Slavonic, but also from understanding their meaning, I recommend buying the Psalter with a translation into Russian, as well as
Church Slavonic language for everyone. Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters! Emerging in Lately the tendency to reduce the sacred Church Slavonic text to the human mind through translation, not always successful and accurate, into Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and other languages Slavic peoples, as well as the urgent need of every Orthodox soul to read Church Slavonic language prompted me to specifically write lessons of the Church Slavonic language for posting on the website of our church for everyone who wants to quickly master it.
These lessons are partially based on the materials of the classes that take place in our Sunday school for adults on Sundays at 17-00 (classes in the Church Slavonic language alternate with classes on general questions of faith, catechism, Orthodox worship, dogmatic theology, Orthodoxy in Japan, etc. .) at our church of the holy supreme apostles Peter and Paul in the city of Shostka. Lessons are intended for rapid practical independent mastery of this church language.
First of all, if you don’t already have it, you need to purchase Orthodox prayer book in Church Slavonic(preferably a pocket edition in a hard cover with a sewn bookmark - such a prayer book is very convenient to use). Please note the following when purchasing:
1) it should be published canonically Orthodox Church(for example, the publishing house of the Moscow Patriarchate);
2) the text should be two-colored - black (the text of the prayers itself) and red (they highlight the names of the prayers and various kinds of instructions, as well as the first capital letter prayers);
3) the text itself must be clear, not small, not dense (sometimes this is done to save space), all characters (especially superscripts) must be clearly visible and distinguishable;
4) it should contain everything you need:
– Morning prayers with memorials for the living and for the dead;
– Prayers for those coming to bed;
– Canons (at least three: P damned to our Lord Jesus Christ, m Olebny Ko
Blessed Virgin Mary, and A guardian angel);
– Akathists (at least two: AND to the Sweetest Jesus, P Holy Mother of God);
– Follow-up to Holy Communion;
– Troparion (holidays and Sundays);
– Prayers of thanksgiving after Holy Communion;
– Canon and hours of Easter;
– The rite of funeral litia performed by a layman;
– Various prayers (check availability prayers before taking prosphora and holy water –
Unfortunately, it is not found in all prayer books!);
- The Commandments of God and the Beatitudes.
I strongly recommend that you purchase, in addition to the Orthodox prayer book, also Psalter on Church Slavonic language, And New Testament on Church Slavonic language(these requirements apply to those set out above in the first three points when choosing an Orthodox prayer book) .
How gratifying and useful it will be for us to hear in church every word spoken by the reader, deacon, priest, or sung by the choir, and also to take part in the reading during the service. We will begin to distinguish words, get used to them and understand their deepest meaning, going back to the original meaning. They will take shape and accumulate in our hearts, and from the fullness of our hearts our lips will, in their measure, utter eternal verbs pleasing to God; then we will be able to feel the taste and aroma of real prayer. We will breathe deeply with this language, after the stale breath of our secularized, clouded, vain and mundane modern language. What a joy and benefit it is for us to learn it, because only thanks to this will the endless and innumerable mysteries of God be revealed to us, contained both in the words of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, and between their lines; only on it will we be able to humbly speak with God himself, for He himself gave it to us through Saints Cyril and Methodius!
So, my dears, having prayed, let us begin to climb not only the linguistic ladder, but also the spiritual one, raising our minds to this living, pure, kind, spiritually high and sanctified by the Grace of the Holy Spirit of the Church Slavonic language, leading us along the right path of knowledge of God.
And finally, I would like to introduce you to a wonderful spiritual poem by Viktor Afanasyev about the Church Slavonic language:
He is the most prayerful in the world,
He came into being by the will of God,
The language of our wondrous Psalter
And patristic books;
He is a royal decoration
Church service,
A spring of living grace,
The Lord's comfort to us -
Church Slavonic language.
I wish you when studying Church Slavonic language, as well as reading or praying in it , feel spiritual joy and, inspired, “infect” (in the words of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh) your neighbors with this language, striving for internal self-improvement!
May the Lord and Mother of God bless you all on all the paths of your life!
Sincerely, P. E. Ivlev
Lesson 1. Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet
Learning any language begins with the alphabet. This is exactly how the Church Slavonic language has always been taught, starting with Ancient Rus'. But there were no dictionaries, textbooks or grammar then (they appeared only in the 17th century). Therefore, at that time, they first learned letters in order to recognize them, then mastered their combinations in order to pronounce them correctly, then read sentences, and finally, memorized prayers from the Book of Hours and psalms from the Psalter, and thus learned everything! And we will start the same way. We will study letters along with their way(i.e. by style), name(or as they say now, the name), meaning of the name, pronunciation, and its numerical value. Let’s also see how this letter is reflected in our modern writing to see that all Church Slavonic letters form the basis of our modern language and writing.
The Russian alphabet originates from the Church Slavonic alphabet, which is called “ Cyrillic"in honor of its creator - Saint Cyril Equal to the Apostles(only 50 days before his death, Saint Constantine took the schema with the name Cyril; he rested in Rome on February 14, 869 at the age of 42; his relics are in the Church of Saint Clement in Rome) with the assistance of his brother - Saint Methodius(he died on April 6, 885 at the age of about 60 years and was buried in the cathedral church of Velehrad, the capital of Moravia).
Let me remind you that the first Slavic alphabet, which was created by St. Cyril in the 9th century, was “glagolitic”. It was she who was the first writing that was revealed to him by God in prayers, and which best corresponded to the sounds of Slavic speech, and was also suitable for expressing Christian concepts. With its help, it was possible to construct phrases in such a way that a coherent and consistent narrative was obtained - the same as in the Greek originals. (Actually, the word “glagolitic” is not a special name; literally translated into modern language, “glagolitic” means “an initial letter, a system of letters (or sounds).” Therefore, any alphabet can be called Glagolitic. The word “glagolitic” becomes the name of a certain writing system much later). At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century in
Bulgaria began to replace the “Glagolic alphabet” with “Cyrillic alphabet”. In the last column of the table I have given the Glagolitic alphabet to compare it with the Cyrillic alphabet.
Let's look at the Church Slavonic alphabet. It consists of 40 letters:
Church Slavonic alphabet Cyrillic:
| No. | Name of letters (its name) | Numerical meaning of letters | Letters | ||
| 1 | Ah, ah | а44зъ | [A] | a\ = 1 | |
| 2 | B, b | beeches | [b] | No | |
| 3 | In, in | lead | [V] | in\ = 2 | |
| 4 | G, g | verb | [g] / [n] | r\ = 3 | |
| 5 | D, d | good2 | [d] | d\ = 4 | |
| 6 | E, e, e | there are | [e] | є\ = 5 | |
| 7 | F, F | live | [and] | No | |
| 8 | Ѕ, ѕ | Selw2 | [z] (used to be [dz]) | ѕ\ = 6 | |
| 9 | Z, z, | earthS | [h] | z\ = 7 | |
| 10 | And, and | and4ezhe (and octal) | [And] | and\ = 8 | |
| 11 | I, i | u3(and decimal) | [And] | i\ = 10 | |
| 12 | K, k | ka1kw | [To] | k\ = 20 | |
| 13 | L, l | people | [l] | l\ = 30 | |
| 14 | Mm | you think | [m] | m\ = 40 | |
| 15 | N, n | na1sh | [n] | n\ = 50 | |
| 16 | O, o, oh | џнъ | [O] | o\ = 70 | |
| 17 | W,w | Size | [O] | (t = 800 ) | |
| Q, q | It's solemn | ||||
| 18 | P, p | rest | [P] | n\ = 80 |
| No. | Image of Cyrillic letters (style) | Name of letters (its name) | Modern pronunciation of letters | Numerical meaning of letters | Letters |
| 19 | R, R | rtsy2 | [R] | p\ = 100 | |
| 20 | With, with | word | [With] | c\ = 200 | |
| 21 | T, t | firmly | [T] | t\ = 300 | |
| 22 | U, u, y | yk | [y] | µ\ = 400 | |
| 23 | F, f | fe1rt | [f] | f\ = 500 | |
| 24 | X, x | dick | [X] | x\ = 600 | |
| 25 | T,t | џтъ | [from] | t = 800 | |
| 26 | Ts, ts | tsy2 | [ts] | c\ = 900 | |
| 27 | H, h | worm | [h] | h\ = 90 | |
| 28 | Sh, sh | sha2 | [w] | No | |
| 29 | sch, sch | now2 | [sch] | No | |
| 30 | b, b | є4ръ | hard sign (means the hardness of the previous consonant; sometimes replaced by a sign called paerok or erok) | No | |
| 31 | Y, y | є3ры2 | [s] | No | |
| 32 | b, b | є4рь | soft sign (means the softness of the previous consonant) | No | |
| 33 | Uh, uh | I4t | [e] | No | |
| 34 | Yu, Yu | yu5 | [Yu] | No | |
| 35 | I, I | i5 | [I] | No | No |
| 36 | Z, z | yu4s small | [I] | No | |
| 37 | X, x | xi2 | [ks] | x\ = 60 | No |
| 38 | P,p | psi2 | [ps] | p\ = 700 | No |
| 39 | F, f | fita2 | [f] | f\ = 9 | |
| 40 | V, v | and4zhitsa | [i] / [in] | No |
As we can see from the table, each letter of the Cyrillic alphabet has its own image or outline, i.e. how is she from image looks, looks or is written. This is exactly how icon painters paint them with a brush on their icons (after all, an image becomes an icon only after an inscription is made on it). Previously, scribes used a specially sharpened quill or cane for their work, and devoted themselves to writing and decorating books with great reverence. There is a very interesting art of Church Slavonic calligraphy (some call it cursive), but it is extremely difficult to find a specialist in it. Without touching on the theme of the decor and pattern of ancient books, it is worth saying that not only the name of the letter, but also its image (inscription) had a mysterious meaning, were deeply symbolic and carried higher knowledge, calling us to be closer to heaven. The image of the Cyrillic letters that you see in the table, and which is now used everywhere when printing prayer books and liturgical books in Church Slavonic, goes back to such a solemn and slow type of writing as charter, when the letters were written strictly vertically, they had strong main pillars and thin strokes and serifs. Each letter was written out separately with a cane or a broad-pointed pen, in several steps.
Let me also mention that to highlight book titles and various titles, it is used ligature(in Rus' already in the 15th century it was widely used and was most often made with red paint based on cinnabar). This is a continuous pattern of letters that makes up a decorative letter, where there are no spaces between words, all letters are of different heights and widths. Several letters, merging, could become one, and some voids could be filled with patterns.
Elm: “From Mark the Holy Gospel”
Next we see in the table Name each letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. Previously, the alphabet was taught by the names of the letters, and the alphabet by its name, by the name-word, composed a sermon, and various prayers were composed from the names of the letters. Currently, unfortunately, we call our letters only “a”, “be”, “ve”, etc. (due to the spelling reform of 1917 - 1918 carried out by the Bolsheviks) - this is all that remains of their beautiful, pure, mysterious and deeply meaningful names: “a44зъ” ( A h), “beeches” (b at ki), “lead” (in e di), etc. If we put three modern letters “a b c” side by side, what do we get? Nothing! Because they were depersonalized, deprived of their name. Now let’s put the first three letters of the Cyrillic alphabet next to each other by name, and we will get a44з ььки веди, and now you have already said in Church Slavonic “I recognized the letters”
or “Know the ABC” or, going back to the original meaning: “My presence (stay) here on earth consists in Holy Bible know". You hear?! What “smart beads” were made from just three letters, and what spiritual tension we felt, didn’t we? It is precisely this high style (raising and making us transcendental), and the fullness of the meaning that have been lost! I think that this was precisely the goal of the “creators” of the Russian language reform at the beginning of the 20th century.
ABOUT meaning of letter names and them pronunciation we will find out in the next lesson when we talk about reading and using letters.
Also in the table you can see a column with numerical value letters. In Church Slavonic, numbers are indicated only by letters. Arabic and Latin numerals are not used in Church Slavonic texts. We will talk about this in more detail in a separate lesson dedicated to the depiction of numbers in the Church Slavonic language.
God bless you all and Mother of God!
Explanatory note
In memory of Nina Pavlovna Sablina
“N.P. SABLINA belonged to that small flock that stands in the Name of the Word. Candidate of Philological Sciences, associate professor, teacher with forty-five years of experience, all her life she cared about the restoration of Russian linguistic culture, the highest and nourishing part of which is the living Church Slavonic language.” (Irina Rubtsova)
Our conscience will torment us for a long time:
They didn’t know, they didn’t save...
The Lord takes the best to heaven
From the sinful suffering earth.
And death suddenly, like a mine,
The breath of life was interrupted.
Equal to the Apostles Nina
She probably called her sister.
And now she flies above us,
Her soul is pure as snow...
Look: it sparkles like a flame,
The edge of the verbal saber. (Tatiana Egorova)
“Linguistics is of exceptional importance for the development of the mind,” said Professor Archpriest V.V. Zenkovsky. In the popular imagination, literacy has always been viewed as the key to the Divine Scripture; the great teacher S.A. paid special attention to the study of the Church Slavonic language in his rural school. Rachinsky.
Among the reasons allegedly preventing modern people to attend Divine services is often called “incomprehensibility” of the liturgical language. We also have to explain to the children why the Church still prays on this ancient language, and why it should be studied.
The Church Slavonic language was never spoken; it was created by the holy brothers of Thessaloniki specifically for communication with God, as a language elevated above worldly vanity, the language of Divine services and communication with God. To refuse it would mean to greatly impoverish ourselves, to trivialize our communication with God.
It is impossible to appreciate the beauty and poetry of the Church Slavonic language if you don’t understand it at all, but for this you have to work hard. Convincing children of the need to study the Church Slavonic language, we present a well-known argument - no one has any objections to the need to know in English for professional growth. In the same way, spiritual growth requires knowledge of the sacred language, the language in which the saints prayed, in order for us to join in their spiritual experience.
In class, on the advice of N.P. Sablina, we give examples of how, say, the familiar exclamation “Let’s get out there!” would sound. in modern language - “Attention!” This usually makes children smile and convinces them that there is no need to rush into translating the service into a modern language.
Speaking about the need to teach the Church Slavonic language, Ph.D. Zhuravlev V.K. believes that our children’s mastery of the Church Slavonic language is their churching, their introduction to the Temple. He notes that “from time immemorial, Russian children learned to read from the Psalter and the Book of Hours,” but then “as a result of the seventy-year reign of the atheistic regime, the Church Slavonic language was expelled from the public education system... Clergymen and shepherds were killed in order to “scatter the flock. And somewhere there are lambs roaming - Russian kids. But we have the sacred horn, the Church Slavonic language. He will lead the Russian children to the Temple of God. And may Holy Rus' rise again!”
Svirepova O.V., teacher of Church Slavonic language courses at the Serpukhov deanery,
Zakharova L.A., director of the Vertograd Sunday school
Educational and thematic plan
Part 1. Church Slavonic Namebook. 4th grade (10-11 years old)
Lesson 1. Bequeathed image of the native language Lesson 2. Az and Buki
Lesson 3. Lead and Verb
Lesson 4. Good and Live
Lesson 5. Eat and Yat
Lesson 6. Zelo and Earth
Lesson 7. Izhe and I decimal
Lesson 8. Kako and Ludie
Lesson 9. Thoughts and Ours
Lesson 10. On, Omega and Ot
Lesson 11. Peace and Rtsy
Lesson 12. Word and Firmly
Lesson 13. Uk and Her
Lesson 14. Fert and Fita
Lesson 15. Tsy and the Worm
Lesson 16. Sha and Shta
Lesson 17. Er, Er and Er
Lesson 18. Me and Yus small, Yu
Lesson 19. Xi and Psi
Lesson 20. Izhitsa
Lesson 21. ABC prayer
Lesson 22. Poems
Lesson 23
Part 2. Basics of Church Slavonic literacy. 5th grade (11-12 years old)
Lesson 1. Openwork superscript
Lesson 2. Words under titles
Lesson 3. Letter Numbers
Lesson 4. Alternating consonants.
Lesson 5. Vocative case
Lesson 6. Disagreement.
Lesson 7. Verb “To be”
Lesson 8. Reading rules. Psalm 1.
Lesson 9. Personal pronouns 1st and 2nd person
Lesson 10. Personal pronouns 3rd person
Lesson 11. Psalm 90. Reading
Lesson 12. Psalm 33. Reading
Lesson 13. Psalm 50. Reading
Lesson 14. Glagolitic and Cyrillic
Lesson 15. Test