Editorial

Abstract

The year 2016 marked the 1100th anniversary of the passing of St. Clement of Ohrid (July 27, 916). This anniversary has particular significance for research on the heritage of the first Slavic bishop among the South Slavs, because in the last few decades a number of original and translated texts closely connected to his and his supporters’ activities have been discovered and introduced into academic discourse. As a result, the scholarship has undergone fundamental shifts in the assessment of his contribution to the development of the Slavonic liturgy.

To gain an overview of the current state of research, the Balkan Cabinet of the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy, the National Committee of Slavists of the Russian Federation, and the academic journal Slověne jointly organized with the financial support of the Orthodox Cultural and Educational Center “Light of Valaam” an interdisciplinary seminar, “St. Clement of Ohrid and the Formation of the Byzantine-Slavonic Liturgy” (October 19–20, 2015), and brought together scholars from Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, and Russia. In their contributions, the participants examined various historical, archaeological, linguistic, liturgical, and canonical sources linked to the activity of St. Clement of Ohrid that provide valuable insights into his contribution to the formation and development of the Slavonic liturgy.

The present issue consists of the papers based upon the individual contributions to the conference. In some cases, they provide analyses which diverge from the traditional views of the development of the Slavonic liturgy and literature, and thus introduce a number of controversial topics, which are intended to stimulate further investigation.

[The ideas expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board of this journal.]