Novgorod Codex - List of Texts

List of Texts

The following concealed texts, among others, have been found so far:

  • a multitude of psalms, written down several times each
  • the beginning of the Apocalypse of John
  • the beginning of a translation of the treatise “On virginity” by John Chrysostom, of which a Slavonic translation had not been known
  • a multitude of examples of the alphabet, in a short version (а б в г д е ж ѕ з и ї к л м н о п р с т оу ф х ц ч ш щ ѿ) and a full version (а б в г д е ж ѕ з и ї к л м н о п р с т оу ф х ц ч ш щ ѿ ъ ѣ ѫ ѭ ю я ѧ ѿ) as well as with an enumeration of the letter names (азъ боукы вѣдѣ глаголи…)
  • the tetralogy “From Paganism to Christ” (title from Zaliznyak): four so far unknown texts titled “Moses’ Law” (Russian “Закон Моисеев”), “The Unstrengthening and the Unpeacing” (“Размаряющие и размиряющие”), “Archangel Gabriel” (“Архангел Гавриил”), and “Jesus Christ’s Law” (“Закон Иисуса Христа”).
  • a fragment of the so far unknown text “On the Concealed Church of Our Saviour Jesus Christ in Laodicea and On the Laodicean Prayer of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
  • a fragment of the so far unknown text “Tale of the Apostle Paul on Moses’ Secret Patericon”
  • a fragment of the so far unknown text “Instruction by Alexander of Laodicea on Forgiveness of Sins”
  • a fragment of the so far unknown text “Spiritual Instruction from the Father and the Mother to the Son”

The great number of so far unknown texts in the Novgorod Codex might be explained by the fact that the writer belonged to a Christian community declared heretical by the ‘official’ church — probably a dualistic group similar to the Bogomils. After the ‘official’ church had prevailed, the sect’s texts were no longer copied and most traces of the existence of this heresy were erased. An especially symptomatic example of the scribe’s attitude to the ‘official’ church is the following excerpt from the “Spiritual Instruction from the Father and the Mother to the Son”:

Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве еретикы. The world is a town in which heretics are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы неразоумъны. The world is a town in which unwise people are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы непокоривы. The world is a town in which disobedient people are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы непорочъны. The world is a town in which blameless people are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы невиновъны. The world is a town in which innocent people are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы непрѣломъны. The world is a town in which inflexible people are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы недостоины такоѩ кары. The world is a town in which people not deserving of this punishment are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы недостойны такого отълѫчения. The world is a town in which people not deserving of this exclusion are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы прѣчистыѩ вѣры. The world is a town in which people of pure faith are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы достоины хвалы. The world is a town in which people worthy of praise are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы достоины прославления. The world is a town in which people worthy of veneration are excluded from the church.
Миръ естъ градъ въ немъ же отълѫчаѭтъ отъ цръкъве чловѣкы неотъстѫпъны отъ правыѩ вѣры х҃совы. The world is a town in which people not forsaking the true faith in Christ are excluded from the church.

Work on the Novgorod Codex is continuing. Scholarly literature, so far published only in Russian, is listed in the Russian Wikipedia article.

Read more about this topic:  Novgorod Codex

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