Old Church Slavonic Online

An important key to unlocking the thread of development of the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition is determining the source of the writing systems for the early OCS corpus. Tradition assigns to St. Cyril authorship of 'the' Slavic alphabet. The question lies before scholars as to just which alphabet is 'the' Slavic alphabet, for the early documents of OCS are written in either the Glagolitic or the Cyrillic alphabet. It is generally assumed that one of these is 'the' alphabet composed by Cyril himself, and the other a later revision of the former. The quest, then, is to determine which alphabet is the more archaic.

The general concensus among scholars is that the Glagolitic alphabet (not represented in these lessons for reasons of practicality) is the more archaic. This conclusion stems from the following:

(1) The language encountered in the Glagolitic manuscripts is typically felt to preserve more archaic features than the Cyrillic counterpart. This impression comes from the higher frequency in the Glagolitic manuscripts of uncontracted long forms of adjectives, and from the relative paucity of forms of the secondary sigmatic aorist. It is assumed that greater frequency of archaic linguistic features indicates earlier production of the manuscripts.

(2) There is a definite Glagolitic scribal tradition in the Czech and Slovak (Moravian) regions, where Cyril is assumed to have travelled first in his missionary work. In particular the Kiev (Kyiv) Missal, deemed oldest of our OCS documents on linguistic and palaeographic grounds, displays some phonological and morphological affinities with a Czech-speaking region. Some words of the Glagoltic corpus are felt to be distinctly of Czech origin. In addition, German and Latin loanwords into OCS would presumably have entered the language from the west through Moravian territory; some of these words are found only in Glagolitic manuscripts.

(3) In Istria and Croatia a Glagolitic manuscript tradition is also found, and this too lies in the Western reaches of the Slavic world. The Glagolitic tradition in fact still continues into the modern era.

(4) It is generally assumed that phrases such as složi pismena and the Latin litteras... sclaviniscas denoting 'slavic writing' would not have been used for the Cyrillic alphabet. The Cyrillic remains so obviously close to the Greek alphabet that it would not have been seen as a separate writing system.

(5) There are examples of palimpsests, where a Glagolitic original has been overwritten with the Cyrillic script; yet there are no examples of the reverse procedure. In addition, some Cyrillic manuscripts contain isolated Glagolitic letters, or individual words written in Glagolitic.

On the other side, some propose that Cyril in fact created what we term the Cyrillic alphabet. The Glagolitic is assumed to be a secondary creation, brought about in the period after the deaths of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The presumption is that, after the Saints had passed away and the Pope issued orders forbidding the Slavonic liturgy, their disciples felt the need to devise an alphabet dissimilar from the Greek. The close ties between Moravia and the Western Church led to anti-Greek sentiment in the region, and the obvious resemblance of the Cyrillic alphabet to the Greek would have been a hindrance to their missionary efforts.

One even finds references which lead one to believe Cyril might not have been the originator of the alphabet at all. For example, in a Life of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, there is the following passage concerning Cyril's stay in the city of Chersonese in the Crimea about the year 860:

Обрѣтє жє тѹ єваггєліє и ѱалтырь рѹсьскыми писмєнъі писано, и чловѣка ѡбрѣтъ глаголюща тою бєсѣдою, и бєсѣдова с нимъ, и силѹ рѣчи пріимъ, своєи бєсѣдѣ прикладаа различнаа писмєна, гласнаа съгласнаа, и къ богѹ молитвъі творѧ, въскорѣ начѧтъ чєсти и сказати, и мноѕи сѧ ємѹ дивлѧхѹ, бога хвалѧщє.

"And he found there the Evangel and Psalter written with Russian letters, and upon finding a man who spoke the language, talked with him; and perceiving the power of the speech, he added various letters for his own language, consonant vocal sounds; and praying to God, immediately began to compose and reveal, and many marvelled at him, glorifying God."

As can be seen, although arguments in favor of the priority of Glagolitic are strong, they are by no means iron-clad. It is clear that, at the present moment, the question of which alphabet St. Cyril himself composed must remain an open one.

Reading and Textual Analysis

The following selection begins the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-13. These verses are particularly noteworthy for their illustration of the distinction between short and long forms of the adjective. For example блажєни ништиі renders 'blessed are the poor'. The definite substantive 'the poor' requires use of the long adjective form ништиі, whereas the predicate to this definite substantive merely takes the short form блажєни.

ѹзьрѣвъ жє народъі вьзидє на горѫ і ѣко сѣдє пристѫпишѧ къ н҄ємѹ ѹчєници єго |

• ѹзьрѣвъ -- verb; past active participle; nominative singular masculine of <ѹзьрѣти, -р҄ѭ, -риши> see, perceive -- seeing
• жє -- conjunction; <жє> and, but -- and
• народъі -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <народъ> crowd, multitude -- the multitudes
• вьзидє -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <възити, -идѫ, -идєши> go up -- he went up
• на -- preposition; <на> in, on; at, against; for -- into
• горѫ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <гора> mountain -- a mountain
• і -- conjunction; <и> and -- and
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- when
• сѣдє -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <сѣсти, сѣдѫ, -дєши> sit down -- he was set
• пристѫпишѧ -- verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <пристѫпити, -пл҄ѭ, -пиши> come up to, step up -- came
• къ -- preposition; <къ> to, for -- unto
• н҄ємѹ -- demonstrative pronoun; dative singular masculine of <*и> he -- him
• ѹчєници -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <ѹчєникъ> student, disciple -- disciples
• єго -- pronoun; genitive singular masculine of <*и> he -- his

і отвръзъ ѹста своѣ ѹчаашє ѧ глагол҄ѩ |

• і -- conjunction; <и> and -- and
• отвръзъ -- verb; past active participle; nominative singular masculine of <отъврѣсти, -връзѫ, -връзєши> open -- he opened
• ѹста -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <ѹста> mouth, lips -- mouth
• своѣ -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <свои, своє, своја> own, one's own -- his
• ѹчаашє -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <ѹчити, ѹчѫ, ѹчиши> teach -- (he) taught
• ѧ -- pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <*и> he -- them
• глагол҄ѩ -- verb; present active participle; nominative singular masculine of <глаголати, -л҄ѭ, -л҄ѥши> say, speak -- saying

блажєни ништиі дѹхомь ѣко тѣхъ єстъ цѣсарьство нєбєсьскоє |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• ништиі -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <ништь, ништє, ништа> poor, beggarly -- (the) poor
• дѹхомь -- noun, masculine; instrumental singular of <дѹхъ> spirit -- in spirit
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• тѣхъ -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- theirs
• єстъ -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <ѥс-, ѥсмь, ѥси> be -- is
• цѣсарьство -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <цѣсарьство> kingdom -- the kingdom
• нєбєсьскоє -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <нєбєсьскъ> heavenly, of heaven -- of heaven

блажєни плачѫштєи ѣко ти ѹтѣшѧтъ сѧ |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• плачѫштєи -- verb; present active participle; nominative plural masculine of <плакати, плачѫ, -чєши> weep, mourn -- they that mourn
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• ти -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- they
• ѹтѣшѧтъ сѧ -- reflexive verb; 3rd person plural present of <ѹтѣшити, -шѫ, -шиши> comfort -- shall be comforted

блажєни кротьци ѣко ти нашєдѧтъ зємл҄ѭ |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• кротьци -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <кротъиъ> mild, tame -- the meek
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• ти -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- they
• нашєдѧтъ -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <наслѣдити, -ждѫ, -диши> inherit -- shall inherit
• зємл҄ѭ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <зємл҄ја> earth, land -- the earth

блажєни ал҄чѫштиі і жаждѫштиі правъдъі ради ѣко ти насъітѧтъ сѧ |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• ал҄чѫштиі -- verb; present active participle; nominative plural masculine of <алкати, алчѫ, алчєши> hunger -- they which do hunger
• і -- conjunction; <и> and -- and
• жаждѫштиі -- verb; present active participle; nominative plural masculine of <жѧдати, -ждѫ, -ждєши> thirst, desire -- thirst
• правъдъі -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <правьда> justice -- righteousness
• ради -- postposition; <ради> for, for the sake of, because of -- after
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• ти -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- they
• насъітѧтъ сѧ -- verb; 3rd person plural present reflexive of <насъітити, -штѫ, -тиши> satisfy, sate -- shall be filled

блажєни милостивиі ѣко ти помиловани бѫдѫтъ |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• милостивиі -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <милостивъ> compassionate, full of grace -- the merciful
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• ти -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- they
• помиловани -- verb; past passive participle; nominative plural masculine of <помиловати, -лѹѭ, -лѹѥши> pity, have mercy on -- obtain mercy
• бѫдѫтъ -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <бъіти, бѫдѫ, бѫдєши> be, become -- shall

блажєни чистиі сръдцємь ѣко ти бога ѹзьрѧтъ |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• чистиі -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <чистъ> pure, clean -- the pure
• сръдцємь -- noun, neuter; instrumental singular of <срьдьцє> heart -- in heart
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• ти -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- they
• бога -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <богъ> god -- God
• ѹзьрѧтъ -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <ѹзьрѣти, -р҄ѭ, -риши> see, perceive -- shall see

блажєни съмирѣѭштиі ѣко ти съіновє божіи нарєкѫтъ сѧ |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• съмирѣѭштиі -- verb; present active participle; nominative plural masculine of <съмирјати, -јаѭ, -јаѩши> make peace -- the peacemakers
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• ти -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- they
• съіновє -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <съінъ> son -- the children
• божіи -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <божьи> divine, of god, god's -- of God
• нарєкѫтъ сѧ -- verb; 3rd person plural present reflexive of <нарєшти, -рєкѫ, -рєчєши> call, name -- shall be called

блажєни ізгънани правъдъі ради ѣко тѣхъ єстъ цѣсарьство нєбєсьскоє |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed (are)
• ізгънани -- verb; past passive participle; nominative plural masculine of <изгънати, иждєнѫ, -нєши> drive out -- they which are persecuted
• правъдъі -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <правьда> justice -- righteousness'
• ради -- postposition; <ради> for, for the sake of, because of -- for... sake
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• тѣхъ -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- theirs
• єстъ -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <ѥс-, ѥсмь, ѥси> be -- is
• цѣсарьство -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <цѣсарьство> kingdom -- the kingdom
• нєбєсьскоє -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <нєбєсьскъ> heavenly, of heaven -- of heaven

блажєни єстє єгда поносѧтъ вамъ і иждєнѫтъ въі і рєкѫтъ вьсѣкъ зълъ глаголъ на въі лъжѫштє мєнє ради |

• блажєни -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <блажєнъ> blessed -- blessed
• єстє -- verb; 2nd person plural present of <ѥс-, ѥсмь, ѥси> be -- are ye
• єгда -- relative adverb; <єгда> when -- when
• поносѧтъ -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <поносити, -шѫ, -сиши> upbraid -- (men) shall revile
• вамъ -- pronoun; dative plural of <тъі> you, thou -- you
• і -- conjunction; <и> and -- and
• иждєнѫтъ -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <изгънати, иждєнѫ, -нєши> drive out -- persecute
• въі -- pronoun; accusative plural of <тъі> you, thou -- you
• і -- conjunction; <и> and -- and
• рєкѫтъ -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <рєшти, рєкѫ, рєчєши> say, tell -- shall say
• вьсѣкъ -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <вьсѣкъ> each, every -- all manner of
• зълъ -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <зълъ> evil, bad -- evil
• глаголъ -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <глаголъ> word, speech -- ...
• на -- preposition; <на> in, on; at, against; for -- against
• въі -- pronoun; accusative plural of <тъі> you, thou -- you
• лъжѫштє -- verb; present active participle; nominative plural masculine of <лъгати, лъжѫ, -жєши> lie, speak falsely -- falsely
• мєнє -- pronoun; genitive singular of <азъ> I -- my
• ради -- postposition; <ради> for, for the sake of, because of -- for... sake

радѹитє сѧ і вєсєлитє сѧ ѣко мъзда ваша многа єстъ на нєбєсєхъ | тако бо ізгънашѧ пророкъі іжє бѣшѧ прѣждє васъ |

• радѹитє сѧ -- verb; 2nd person plural imperative reflexive of <радовати сѧ, -дѹѭ, -дѹѥши> rejoice, be glad -- rejoice
• і -- conjunction; <и> and -- and
• вєсєлитє сѧ -- verb; 2nd person plural imperative reflexive of <вєсєлити, -л҄ѭ, -лиши> entertain; (refl.) rejoice -- be (exceeding) glad
• ѣко -- conjunction; <јако> as, when; in order to; that; because; (introduces quotation) -- for
• мъзда -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <мъзда> reward, pay -- reward
• ваша -- possessive adjective; nominative singular feminine of <вашь> of you, your -- your
• многа -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <мъногъ> much, many -- great
• єстъ -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <ѥс-, ѥсмь, ѥси> be -- is
• на -- preposition; <на> in, on; at, against; for -- in
• нєбєсєхъ -- noun, neuter; locative plural of <нєбо> heaven, sky -- heaven
• тако -- adverb; <тако> thus, in this way -- so
• бо -- adverb; <бо> for -- for
• ізгънашѧ -- verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <изгънати, иждєнѫ, -нєши> drive out -- persecuted they
• пророкъі -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <пророкъ> prophet -- the prophets
• іжє -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <ижє> who, which -- which
• бѣшѧ -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <бъіти, бѫдѫ, бѫдєши> be, become -- were
• прѣждє -- preposition; <прѣждє> before -- before
• васъ -- pronoun; genitive plural of <тъі> you, thou -- you

въі єстє соль зєми аштє жє соль обѹѣєтъ чимь осолитъ сѧ | ничьсомѹжє бѫдєтъ къ томѹ да ісъіпана бѫдєтъ вънъ і попираєма чловѣкъі |

• въі -- pronoun; nominative plural of <тъі> you, thou -- ye
• єстє -- verb; 2nd person plural present of <ѥс-, ѥсмь, ѥси> be -- are
• соль -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <соль> salt -- the salt
• зєми -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <зємл҄ја> earth, land -- of the earth
• аштє -- particle; <аштє> if, whether -- if
• жє -- conjunction; <жє> and, but -- but
• соль -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <соль> salt -- the salt
• обѹѣєтъ -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <обѹјати, -јаѭ, -јаѥши> become stupid; become tasteless -- have lost his savour
• чимь -- interrogative pronoun; instrumental singular neuter of <чьто> what -- wherewith
• осолитъ сѧ -- verb; 3rd person singular present reflexive of <осолити, -л҄ѭ, -лиши> salt -- shall it be salted
• ничьсомѹжє -- pronoun; dative singular neuter of <ничьтожє> nothing -- for nothing
• бѫдєтъ -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <бъіти, бѫдѫ, бѫдєши> be, become -- it is (thenceforth good)
• къ -- preposition; <къ> to, for -- ...
• томѹ -- demonstrative pronoun; dative singular masculine of <тъ> that, that one -- (but)
• да -- conjunction; <да> in order to, that; may, let; and, then -- to
• ісъіпана -- verb; past passive participle; nominative singular feminine of <исъіпати, -пл҄ѭ, -пл҄ѥши> shake out, pour out -- cast
• бѫдєтъ -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <бъіти, бѫдѫ, бѫдєши> be, become -- be
• вънъ -- adverb; <вънъ> out, outside -- out
• і -- conjunction; <и> and -- and
• попираєма -- verb; present passive participle; nominative singular feminine of <попирати, -аѭ, -аѥши> tread on -- to be trodden (under foot of)
• чловѣкъі -- noun, masculine; instrumental plural of <чловѣкъ> man, human -- men

Lesson Text

ѹзьрѣвъ жє народъі вьзидє на горѫ і ѣко сѣдє пристѫпишѧ къ н҄ємѹ ѹчєници єго | і отвръзъ ѹста своѣ ѹчаашє ѧ глагол҄ѩ | блажєни ништиі дѹхомь ѣко тѣхъ єстъ цѣсарьство нєбєсьскоє | блажєни плачѫштєи ѣко ти ѹтѣшѧтъ сѧ | блажєни кротьци ѣко ти нашєдѧтъ зємл҄ѭ | блажєни ал҄чѫштиі і жаждѫштиі правъдъі ради ѣко ти насъітѧтъ сѧ | блажєни милостивиі ѣко ти помиловани бѫдѫтъ | блажєни чистиі сръдцємь ѣко ти бога ѹзьрѧтъ | блажєни съмирѣѭштиі ѣко ти съіновє божіи нарєкѫтъ сѧ | блажєни ізгънани правъдъі ради ѣко тѣхъ єстъ цѣсарьство нєбєсьскоє | блажєни єстє єгда поносѧтъ вамъ і иждєнѫтъ въі і рєкѫтъ вьсѣкъ зълъ глаголъ на въі лъжѫштє мєнє ради | радѹитє сѧ і вєсєлитє сѧ ѣко мъзда ваша многа єстъ на нєбєсєхъ | тако бо ізгънашѧ пророкъі іжє бѣшѧ прѣждє васъ | въі єстє соль зєми аштє жє соль обѹѣєтъ чимь осолитъ сѧ | ничьсомѹжє бѫдєтъ къ томѹ да ісъіпана бѫдєтъ вънъ і попираєма чловѣкъі |

Translation

(Matthew 5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: (2) And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, (3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (5) Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (6) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (7) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (8) Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (9) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (10) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteouness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (13) Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Grammar

26. The Present Active Participle

The present active participle follows the twofold nominal declension, except in the nominative and accusative singular and plural. In the oblique cases, the suffix -ęšt- or -ǫšt- is added to the verbal stem, and the case endings are added to this suffix. Those verbs with third person plural present ending in -ętŭ take the suffix -ęšt-, those with -ǫtŭ take -ǫšt-. In the nominative singular masculine, the suffix -ęšt- yields -ę; the suffix -ǫšt- yields -ę or -y. Soft stem verbs take -ę, hard stems take -y.

According to the classification of verbs into five conjugations, the above means that verbs of conjugations I, II, and V have nominative singular masculine -y, and suffix -ǫšt-. Verbs of conjugation III have nominative singular masculine -ę and suffix -ǫšt-; verbs of conjugation IV have nominative singular masculine -ę and suffix -ęšt-.

Verbs of conjugations I, II, and V follow the paradigm of ити, идѫ, идєши 'go'.

Verbs of conjugation III follow the paradigm of знати, знаѭ, знаѥши 'know'.

Verbs of conjugation IV follow the paradigm of молити, мол҄ѭ, молиши 'beg'.

Note in particular the accusative singular masculine ending -ь and the nominative plural masculine ending -є.

The definite (long) forms are constructed by appending the corresponding form of the third person pronoun. ити, идѫ, идєши 'go' illustrates the forms.

The nominative singular neuter does not correspond to the indefinite (short) form, but instead shows the full stem -ęšt- / -ǫšt-. The tense jer of the accusative singular masculine may be vocalized as и, producing идѫштии. The genitive singular masculine form may be contracted to yield идѫштааго or идѫштаго. The instrumental singular feminine shows the variant идѫштѫѭ.

The verb 'be' forms participles съі, сѫшти 'being', built from the ѥс- stem, and бѫдъі, бѫдѫшти 'future, that to come', from the same stem as бѫдѫ 'I become'. One finds in later Russian Church Slavonic texts the form бъішѧшт-, e.g. нє бъішащи водѣ 'because there will not be water'.

27. The Conditional of бъіти and the Conditional-Optative Mood

The verb бъіти, бѫдѫ, бѫдєши 'be' has modal forms unattested for other verbs. No dual forms survive.

The expected second person plural form is *bite. The alternate forms in the plural are generated by analogy with the aorist. The aorist of бъіти often replaced the above forms in the conditional role: singular бъіхъ, бъі, бъі; dual бъіховѣ, бъіста, бъістє; plural бъіхомъ, бъістє, бъішѧ.

These forms are used in the conditional-optative, which is a modal formation derived from the l-participle used in conjunction with the conditional forms of бъіти. For example мошти, могѫ, можєши 'be able' yields могли бимъ 'we would be able'; бъіти gives бъілъ, бимь 'I would be, I would like to be'. The conditional-optative is often used in contrary-to-fact statements: аштє сѧ би нє родилъ 'if he had not been born'. This construction was also be used in purpose clauses: слѹгъі ѹбо моѧ подвиѕалъі сѧ бишѧ да нє прѣданъ бимь июдѣомъ 'then my servants would fight, that I not be handed over to the Jews.' In the last clause, бимь is found with the past passive participle прѣданъ, rather than a past active l-participle. Such clauses with да stood alone indicating a wish: јарѹ да бъі обрѣлъ лютѣшѧ 'Oh, if he had found more cruel people!' The form of бъіти was sometimes dropped altogether, leaving only the participle: ѥша и нє събрали събора 'if they had not been able to bring together the council'.

28. The First Conjugation

The first conjugation contains those verbs whose present tense stem ends in є and whose infinitive stem is

(a) the root without suffix, e.g. нєс-ти 'to carry', 2 sg. pres. нєс-є-ши

or

(b) enlarged by the suffix а, e.g. зъв-а-ти 'to call', 2 sg. pres. зов-є-ши.

The conjugation is illustrated by the verbs нєсти, нєсѫ, нєсєши 'carry'; рєшти, рєкѫ, рєчєши 'tell'; зъвати, зовѫ, зовєши 'call'; пѧти, пьнѫ, пьнєши 'stretch'. The forms of the asigmatic aorist are supplied for the verb мошти, могѫ, можєши 'be able'.

зъвати has alternate imperfect forms зъваахъ, зъваашє, etc. The common verb начѧти, начьнѫ, начьнєши 'begin' follows the paradigm of пѧти.

29. The Accusative Case

The accusative case is used for the direct object of transitive verbs (unless negated), e.g. иродъ ... съвѧза <і>и и въсади <і>и въ тьмьницѫ 'Herod... bound him and threw him in prison'. Some verbs may take a double accusative, for example сътворѭ <і>ва ловьца чловѣкомъ 'I will make you two fishers of men'. The accusative is used for objects of participles, e.g. исѹсъ жє слъішавъ слово глагол҄ємоє 'Jesus, having heard the word being spoken...'. It may also denote the object of the infinitive, as in хотѧ <і>и ѹбити 'wanting to kill him'; or of a verbal noun: по приѧтии ... даръ 'after receiving... the gift'.

The accusative may express duration in time or extent in space, much like the English use of 'for' in the phrases 'for seven days' or 'for seven miles'. One finds examples тогда жє прѣбъістъ на н҄ємь жє бѣ мѣстѣ дъва дьни 'then He remained in the place in which He was for two days.' Since numbers greater than four are treated as nouns rather than adjectives, phrases of extent may show only the numeral in the accusative, while the noun quantified is in the genitive: і пошть сѧ дьниі (чєтъіри дєсѧти) і ноштиі (чєтъіри дєсѧти) 'and having fasted for forty (of) days and for forty (of) nights'. Here, чєтъіри is the feminine accusative plural adjective modifying дєсѧти. Another example is бѣ жє виѳаньја близ иєрѹсалима јако пѧть на дєсѧтє стадии 'Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen (of) stades.' The noun пѧть 'five' is in the accusative, denoting extent or distance; стадии 'of stades' is in the genitive.

With prepositions the accusative often denotes the object or goal of directed motion. Examples are идєтъ на гробъ 'she is going to the grave' and вьзидє на горѫ 'He went upon the mountain'. An extension of this use to a metaphysical context is found in вьси вѣрѫ имѫтъ въ нъ 'All will have faith in Him'.

30. Participles

OCS makes frequent use of participles, favoring participles in instances where English would typically employ a dependent clause with a finite verb form. Generally speaking, present participles denote actions ongoing at the time of the main verb, while past participles describe actions begun and usually completed by the time of the main verb. For example, in рєчє жє притъчѫ к н҄имъ глагол҄ѧ... 'He told a parable to them, saying...', the present participle глагол҄ѧ describes an action contemporaneous with the past action рєчє. The main verb may itself be a participle, as in the case of исѹсъ жє слъішавъ слово глагол҄ємоє... 'And Jesus, having heard (slyšavŭ) the word being said (glagol'emoe)...'. Participles employed both short (e.g. слъішавъ) and long (e.g. глагол҄ємоє) adjective endings. The long forms were more common in cases other than nominative and accusative.

Disrupting the simple interpretation of how the time-frame of present and past participles relates to that of the main verb is the fact that OCS inherits from Common Slavic a new manner of distinguishing aspect which differs from the parent PIE system. Within OCS, certain verbs are inherently completive or incompletive. Thus the present participle of a completive verb will denote an action in a completed state by the time of or shortly after the time of the main verb. Similarly, the past participle of an incompletive verb will denote an action not necessarily finished by the time of the main verb. Completive verbs are often marked by prefixes. Take as an example и єжє аггєлъі похвалимъ дръжитъ сѧ скврънавъіима рѫкама 'one praised by angels is held by dirty hands'. The present participle похвалимъ has completive aspect.

A participle is often used alongside a finite verb where English would have two finite verbs. For example, сѧдѣтє сьдє доньдєжє шьдъ помол҄ѫ сѧ 'sit here while, having gone, I pray' may be rendered more smoothly as 'sit here while I go and pray'.

Some passive participles have lost some of their verbal force. Present passive participles often denote the possibility of the verbal root, e.g. видимъ 'visible', нєразоримъ 'indestructable'. Past passive participles often lose the verbal force altogether, e.g. прокажєнъ 'leprous', съмѣр҄єнъ 'humble'.

The resultative participle is special, being used only in compound tense formations with an accompanying form of бъіти 'be'. It occurs almost exclusively in the nominative short form.