ASCETIC TEACHING «ABOUT HEAVEN AND SPIRITUAL LAW»

Abstract

The research presented in our article aims to study Old Georgian translation («About heaven and spiritual law» – translator Ephrem Mtsire) of famous works authored by Mark the Monk. It should be emphasized that the teachings contained in the work have not been the subject of special research until now. First of all, we had the obligation to textually process and prepare for publication the old Georgian translation of the mentioned teachings. We compared the mentioned translation with the Greek original, we identified the terminological-stylistic features of the translator. Also, our goal was to translate the original (Greek) text into new Georgian, discuss the content of Mark the Monk teachings, and their exhaustive theological analysis. For visibility, we will present the research conducted by us in the abstract, the unpublished part of which will be published in the next article. The critical text of the old Georgian translation and the new Georgian translation of the Greek original are not given in the presented article.
As a result of the philological-theological analysis of Greek and Georgian texts, the following issues were revealed:
a) First of all, it should be noted that the translation is made with meticulous accuracy in relation to the original. Almost all the participle forms of the Greek verb are translated into Georgian with the participle, and the personal form of the verb is conveyed by the personal form. This kind of translation is typical for Ephrem Mtsire (Kekelidze 1980: 254).
b) The old Georgian translation of Greek terms is distinguished by its special meaning and content. In many cases, this or that Greek term of complex content is specified with the relevant old Georgian equivalent, which helps the Georgian reader to adequately understand the teachings of complex theological content.
c) Here we find that due to damage to the A-60 manuscript, the last chapter of the Ephraimian translation is missing some sentences (ch. 11) (A-60, 14).
d) As for the question of the author of the works, researcher A. Galland published Mark’s works in 1772: «Bibliotheca veterum patrum antiquotumque scriptorium ecclesiaticorum Graecorum», where he named Makari Great as the author of the work (Durand 1999: 37; Ашмарин 2013: 40-41).
In the oldest Georgian manuscript of the 10th century Mark the Monk is named as the author of the mentioned works, after that, Ephrem Mtsire, who worked in the 11th century, names Mark the Monk as the author of the same works. Old Russian translations confirm the same.