Elizabeth Bible
Encyclopedia
The Elizabeth Bible is the authorized version of the Russian Orthodox Church
. Elizabeth Bible was the third complete printed edition of the Bible
in Church Slavonic, published in Russia
in 1751 under and with the assistance of the Russian Empress Elizabeth.
In 1712, Tsar
Peter the Great
issued an ukaz ordering the printed Church Slavonic text to be carefully compared with the Greek of the Septuagint and to be made in every respect conformable to it. The revision was completed in 1724 and was ordered to be printed, but the death of Peter (1725) prevented the execution of the order. The manuscript of the Old Testament of this revision is in the synodal library at Moscow.
Under the Empress Elizabeth the work of revision was resumed by an ukaz issued in 1744, and in 1751 a revised Elizabeth Bible, as it is called, was published. Three other editions were published in 1756, 1757, and 1759, the second somewhat revised.
In the main the translation of the Old Testament (excluding Latin Esdras
) was based on a manuscript of the Codex Alexandrinus
(circa 420) from Brian Walton's London Polyglot (1657). Third Esdras
was translated from Vulgate
. Also translators used Codex Vaticanus
(circa 350), Editio Complutensis (1514-1517), Editio Aldina (1518) and Editio Sixtina (1587) in their work.
All later reprints of the Russian Church Bible are based upon this second edition (1756), which is the authorized version of the Russian Church
.
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. Elizabeth Bible was the third complete printed edition of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in Church Slavonic, published in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1751 under and with the assistance of the Russian Empress Elizabeth.
In 1712, Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
issued an ukaz ordering the printed Church Slavonic text to be carefully compared with the Greek of the Septuagint and to be made in every respect conformable to it. The revision was completed in 1724 and was ordered to be printed, but the death of Peter (1725) prevented the execution of the order. The manuscript of the Old Testament of this revision is in the synodal library at Moscow.
Under the Empress Elizabeth the work of revision was resumed by an ukaz issued in 1744, and in 1751 a revised Elizabeth Bible, as it is called, was published. Three other editions were published in 1756, 1757, and 1759, the second somewhat revised.
In the main the translation of the Old Testament (excluding Latin Esdras
2 Esdras
2 Esdras or Latin Esdras is the name of an apocalyptic book in many English versions of the Bible . Its authorship is ascribed to Ezra. It is reckoned among the Apocrypha by many Protestant churches. Although Second Esdras exists in its complete form only in Latin, it was originally written in...
) was based on a manuscript of the Codex Alexandrinus
Codex Alexandrinus
The Codex Alexandrinus is a 5th century manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early history of Christianity...
(circa 420) from Brian Walton's London Polyglot (1657). Third Esdras
2 Esdras
2 Esdras or Latin Esdras is the name of an apocalyptic book in many English versions of the Bible . Its authorship is ascribed to Ezra. It is reckoned among the Apocrypha by many Protestant churches. Although Second Esdras exists in its complete form only in Latin, it was originally written in...
was translated from Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
. Also translators used Codex Vaticanus
Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus , is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible , one of the four great uncial codices. The Codex is named for the residence in the Vatican Library, where it has been stored since at least the 15th century...
(circa 350), Editio Complutensis (1514-1517), Editio Aldina (1518) and Editio Sixtina (1587) in their work.
All later reprints of the Russian Church Bible are based upon this second edition (1756), which is the authorized version of the Russian Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
See also
- Slavic translations of the BibleSlavic translations of the BibleThis article deals with the history of translation of the Bible into Slavic languages, beginning in the second half of the 9th century....
- Ostrog Bible (1581), the first complete printed edition of the Church Slavonic BibleOstrog BibleThe Ostrog Bible was one of the earliest East Slavic translations of the Bible and the first complete printed edition of the Bible in Old Church Slavonic, published in Ostroh, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , by the printer Ivan Fyodorov in 1581 with the assistance of the Ruthenian Prince...
- Moscow Bible (1663), the second complete printed edition of the Church Slavonic Bible
External links
- Bible in Church Slavonic text of the Elizabeth Bible (PDF texts in Church Slavonic; webpage in Russian)
- Ostrog Bible (Church Slavonic text with parallel text in Ukrainian; PDF-version of R. Turkonyak's edition)