The Letter of Patriarch Dionysius of Constantinople to Novgorod (1467): Fate of the Slavic Translation

Abstract

The Letter issued by the Patriarch Dionysius of Constantinople was sent to Novgorod in 1467 and affirmed Gregory Bulgarian as the only legal Kiev Metropolitan. It is known in two handwritten copies, glued into the same Gospel of 16th century. The research of these copies let us ascertain that one of them was written in 1460th and had the form of the document, not of the bookish copy. We can suppose that ambassadors had this Slavic version of the Letter with them in Lithuania. The Supplements include the text of the Letter according to the oldest copy with alternative readings according to the copy of 17th century.