Catenae on the Catholic Epistles in Apostolus Christinopolitanus from the 12th Century

This paper presents a study and partial edition of the Slavonic translation of the catenae on the Catholic Epistles preserved in the Apostolus Christinopolitanus (twelfth century). This manuscript constitutes the oldest and most complete Slavic Apostolos with commentaries and contains two distinct series of catenae, which represent the least studied component of this complex codex. The primary aim of the study is to examine the relationship between the two catenae in terms of content, translation technique, and language. Particular attention is devoted to those sections in which both catenae occur, namely the First and Third Epistles of John and the Epistle of Jude. The analysis demonstrates that the manuscript preserves two distinct Slavonic translations of the same Byzantine catena attributed to Andreas, transmitted in two different versions. The study further shows that the Apostolus Christinopolitanus is a composite text incorporating at least two sources: one comprising Acts, the Catholic Epistles, and Catena 1, and another comprising the Epistles and Catena 2. This research thus sheds new light on the history of translation and exegetical commentary on the New Testament in Old Church Slavonic.