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The Konikovo Gospel is one of extreme importance for the dialects of the Macedonian language, particularly because it was written in the south and thus is vital for the study of the language spoken by the descendants of Cyril and Methody. The Konikovo Gospel has for some time now been circulating in the scholar world and even on the internet, and has been mentioned previously, albeit briefly, in this forum.

The fact that the Slavic tongues and scripts were forbidden in the churches within the Ottoman Empire from 1767 explains the necessity of the Macedonian peasantry to have the holy writings written in their language. Hence the Greek version with the native Macedonian version beside it, however both written with the Greek script due to the long-term consequences of the above mentioned matter.

What is indeed most amazing is the closeness that the written dialect has to the Macedonian dialects of today, as is told the Konikovo Gospel is written in the vernacular, the common dialect of the people in the region, rather than the traditional Church Slavonic which after almost a century of non-existence temporarily lost its common use amongst the Macedonian populace and the other Slavic people within the Ottoman Empire regarding Church and biblical matters.



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OU’T PERVO BESHE RETCHTA, I RETCHETA BESHE SOS BOGA, I BOG BESHE RETCHTA. VOA BESHE OT PERVO SOS BOGA. SITE RABOTI ZARDI NIZ LAKARDIATA SE TCHINIA, I BEZ NEGO NESATCHINE NIKOE OT KOLKU SE TCHINIA. OUT NEGO BESHE ZHIVOT – I ZHIVO


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KE VIDOA GOSPODA.

I JESUS PAK MU KAZHA - MIR NA VAS - KE ME POSHTI TATKO, I JAZE POSHTAM NA VAS

I KE RETCHE VOA, DOINA NA NIH, I RETCHE ZEMAITE DUH SFETIJ

I NA KOGOTO GREHOVETAI PROSTITE, SE PROSTENI, I NA KOGO ZAPRITE SE ZAPRENI

I THOMA SE VELISHE BLIZNAK, EDNO OT DVANAISTE, NE BESHE SOS NIH, KOGA DOIDE JESUS. MU VELEA (……..) DRUZITE UTCHENITSOI – VIDOHME GOSPODA

I ON MU RETCHE - AKO NE VIDAM NA RATSETEMU NISIANITAIOT KARFIITE, I AKO NE KLADAM PRASTOTMI NA NISIANITE OT KARFIITE, I AKO NE KLADAM RAKATAMI NA REBROTOMU, NEKE VERUVAM

BOGA NIKOI NEKOI PAT NEGO VIDE - EDINORODNIOT SIN, SHTO EI OT PA ZVATA NA TATKOTO, ON GO RAZRETCHE - I VEA EI MARTURIATA NA JOANNA - KOGA POSHTIA