October 15, 2025

On the Problem of Original of the Greek Translation of the “Kievan Synopsis” from the N. P. Rumyantsev’s Collection (MS RSL. F. 265. No. 615.1)

Key Points

The Greek translation in MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615.1 is an abridgment dated to the early 19th century.
Textual analysis reveals the translation derives from a Romanian version, differing from prior Greek translations.
Codicological information highlights structural elements of the manuscript, contributing to understanding its context.
Differences between this Greek translation and Kosmas Iverites' work illustrate editorial choices and adaptations.

Abstract

The paper deals with the insufficiently studied Greek translation of the “Kievan Synopsis” in the MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615.1 dated to the first quarter of the 19th century. Codicological information about the manuscript is provided. The composition and structure of the text are analyzed in comparison with the editions of the “Kievan Synopsis” and with the previous Greek translation of the “Kievan Synopsis” made by Hierodeacon Kosmas Iverites in 1693. It is established that the text of the MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615.1 contains an abridgment of the second edition of the “Kievan Synopsis” of 1678, however, it is not a direct translation from the Church Slavonic original. Textual and linguistic evidences are provided that the original of the Greek translation in the MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615.1 has been the Romanian translation of the “Kievan Synopsis” made by an anonymous author in the late 17th — early 18th centuries. The difference between the MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615.1 and the translation of Kosmas Iverites, due to the Romanian original, are analyzed, the reflection of the Romanian translation in the RSL. F. 256, No. 615.1 is revealed. The language and style of the Greek translation MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615 are characterized. The author assumes the translator belonged to European—educated Greek intellectuals who had lived and worked in Romania or Bessarabia in the late 18th — first quarter of the 19th century. In the Appendix there is a list of chapters of the “Kievan Synopsis” 1678, Romanian translation, and the MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615.1, where the omissions in the MS RSL. F. 256. No. 615.1 compared with the Church Slavonic and Romanian are indicated.

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