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  • Introduction

     

    Church Slavonic is the shared liturgical language of all Orthodox Slavic peoples, and until the 19th century, it was also used in Wallachia and Moldavia, the predecessors of modern Romania. Church Slavonic is also used in the liturgical practice of the Serbian Orthodox Church. 

    This language was given to the Slavic peoples upon baptism, thanks to the efforts of the holy brothers from Thessaloniki, Cyril and Methodius, who translated the Holy Scriptures, services, lives of the saints, and theological works from the rich Greek language into a language understandable to our ancestors. 

    However, we should not assume that the ancient Slavs fully understood this newly developed literary standard. The holy Slavic educators used the Slavic language material (words) to construct a language for the Church and high culture. Often, ancient Slavic expressions of vague or broad meaning became specific terms. 

    For example, the terms for time, godina (year) and čas (hour) in the Proto-Slavic language referred to: 

    • A long period suitable for performing an action – godina (year), and 
    • A shorter period suitable for performing an action – čas (hour). 

    The saints used these terms and gave them new, specific meanings. Baptized ancient Slavs understood such words but had to learn their new meanings. Likewise, Saints Cyril and Methodius created complex words from Slavic language material characteristic of Greek, such as Ev+charizo = Blago+darim (to give thanks) and Ev+logia = Blago+slovlje (blessing). In other words, Church Slavonic was as recognizable to ancient Slavs as it is to us; they had to study it to master it. 

    This high-style language can be understood today as jargon—a specialized language, or "a variety of a language used for identification and communication within a socially defined group—by profession, social status, age, and the like—whose members share common interests or lifestyles." (Bugaric, R: Jargon, p. 10 – 11, Belgrade, 2003: Knjižara Krug) Such jargon sets standards not only for the language of church hymns but also permeates our everyday communication, with a specific selection of terminology that identifies us as people of the Church. As our Russian brothers might say, the question of Church Slavonic's comprehensibility is actually a question of deepening one's spiritual life. It is known that some Russian elders would begin their sermons in simple Russian, and as inspiration from above grew, they would gradually transition to Church Slavonic. 

    Although this language has its own phonetics, lexicon, grammar, syntax, and a unique accentuation system, we should approach it as a dialect of our native language during study, somewhat as we approach the language of Stevan Sremac in “Zona Zamfirova,” Boris Stanković in “Koštana,” as well as the verses of Njegoš and Dubrovnik literature. We should adopt it as a variant of our native language without overthinking, respecting all its characteristics. 

    However, in learning Church Slavonic, we should make an additional small effort that is often overlooked. The rhythm of this language stems from its accents, which are neither Russian nor Bulgarian, but Old Štokavian, as characterized by prota Branko Cvejić in his church singing textbook, Belgrade, 1950. Along with him, other Serbian church music experts (e.g., Bishop Dionisije Popović, Gavrilo Boljarić, Stevan S. Mokranjac) adhered to the accents written in the service books when singing and recording melodies. 

    Reading and singing by accent allows us to experience the same text consistently and facilitates harmonious communal singing and recitation of prayers. 

    The knowledge thus gained does not dictate how one will read in their parish church. In this regard, the priest has the final say. It is an approach that builds us as disciplined students, ultimately developing us into disciplined singers.

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  • Ĺ Ñ

  • ĹE ĹI ÑE ÑI

  • YE

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  • yi

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