Cyrillic Manuscript Heritage Volume 32 December 2012 The Ohio State THE HILANDAR RESEARCH LIBRARY Columbus University THE RESOURCE CENTER FOR MEDIEVAL SLAVIC STUDIES Ohio Keynote Speaker Set Renewing Ties: A Productive Trip for 6th International to Serbia and Bulgaria Hilandar Conference By Predrag Matejic Mirjana ðivojinoviƒ, Director–Byzantine In- From September 16-30, I was able stitute, President–Hilandar Committee, and to visit Serbia and Bulgaria, taking Member–Serbian Aca- this opportunity to re-establish and ƒ demy of Sciences and renew our relationships with numer- Arts, has accepted our ous scholars and academic insti- ivojinovi invitation to give the tutions in these countries. In addi- ð keynote address at the tion, I was privileged to receive from 6th International Hi- the University of Sofia “St. Kliment landar Conference at Ohridski” their highest honor. Photo by Maria Nestorova The Ohio State Univer- Arriving in Sofia, I enjoyed first sity, 19-21 July 2013. seeing two of our more recent visit- Photo courtesy M. She will speak on the ing scholars to the HRL, Svetlina 19th at the welcome re- Nikolova, now retired Head of the Predrag Matejic receives St. Kliment ception for conference participants and guests. Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre Ohridski Medallion at ceremony Her topic will be related to the medieval his- of the Bulgarian Academy of Sci- tory of Hilandar Monastery as shown through ences, and Svetlana Kuiumdzhieva, recently elected Vice-President of the Bulgarian historical documents, the topic to which she Academy of Sciences (for the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts). In fact, con- has devoted much of her scholarly life. tinuing discussions with Dr. Kuiumdzhieva led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between RCMSS and the Central Library and Central Archives of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) that should continue to facilitate research INSIDE FEATURES at the Hilandar Research Library, as well as make it easier for OSU researchers to accomplish on-site research in Bulgaria. It was also a chance to see once more Sßbina Director’s Desk – Page 2 Aneva, Deputy Director of the BAS Central Library, as well as to meet the Director of this library, Dincho Krßstev. HRL Journal featuring Tatiana Popova The especially busy week there continued with a ceremony during which I was – Page 4 awarded the “Medallion of St. Kliment of Ohrid with Blue Ribbon” by Prof. Dr. Ivan The Scete Paterikon by William R. Veder Ilchev, Rector (President) of the University of Sofia. It was an unexpected honor. At – Page 5 this ceremony, I saw other university administrators and professors, including Dimi- tßr Peev, Liliana Stoianova, Stanislava Stoianova, Anna-Maria Totomanova, and Vasia MSSI Alumni Update: Where Are They Velinova (who is the Director of the “Ivan Duichev” Slavo-Byzantine Research Cen- Now? – Pages 6, 7, 9 and 10 tre ). I was pleased to see numerous friends and researchers from several institu- tions in Bulgaria in attendance, including several former guest researchers at the RCMSS/HRL News Notes – Page 8 HRL: Ivan Biliarski, Margaret Dimitrova, Aksiniia Dzhurova, Boriana Khristova, Anisava Miltenova, Angelina Mincheva, Mariana Tsibranska, Nina Vutova, and MSSI 2013 Announcement – Page 9 even Igor Kaliganov of Russia, who was in Sofia. Also present at the ceremony were Richard Damstra, Educational and Cultural Attaché of the American Embassy Gifts in Kind, Donors – Page 11 continued on page 3 2 Cyrillic Manuscript Heritage December 2012 We have received proposals from two historians for research support next sum- Director’s Desk Dr. Predrag Matejic mer. The first request was from Mihajlo Popoviƒ of the Austrian Academy of Sci- ences, and the second from Vlada Stanko- The review of the archival material re- focused on mutual interests in medieval viƒ, professor, University of Belgrade. Dr. lating to the history of HRL and RCMSS Slavic (manuscript) studies and Hilandar Popovic has recently authored a book in while preparing my presentation for Bul- Monastery. Several Serbian scholars, in- German on Mara Brankoviƒ, a daughter garia gave me the cluding members of the Academy of Sci- of the 15th-century Serbian ruler of Smede- opportunity to ences and Arts, theologians, and others, revo, wurap Brankoviƒ. Betrothed to Sul- reacquaint myself benefitted from this exchange. tan Murad II in 1431, as Sultanida Mara, with many letters It was also in 1986 that Mirjana ðivo- she was able to champion and even pro- and documents. jinoviƒ spent a week at the HRL consult- tect certain Eastern Orthodox interests. While it is true that ing the microfilms of Hilandar monastery, Several long-time HRL supporters re- I had been present in particular, those of certain Byzantine cently stopped by to visit: the Ostich and for many of these edicts. Dr. ðivojinoviƒ has over 30 publi- Pancoe families for the graduation of Laura events, this review cations related to the history of Hilandar Pancoe from OSU; and Alex Machaskee served to remind Monastery, its dependencies (sketes), and me of much that I other properties. We look forward to wel- continued on page 10 had forgotten. I found this research particularly impor- tant for the Serbian portion of my trip. Af- ter all, the contacts between my father and the Hilandar Research Project with Serbian scholars pre-dated the Bulgarian. It was on the photographic expedition in the sum- Matejic Photo by P. mer of 1971 in Hilandar Monastery that my father and I first met Professor Dimitrije Bogdanoviƒ, who is associated with and largely responsible for much of the 20th- century scholarship on Hilandar Monas- tery and its manuscripts. In fact, at the end L to R: Michael and Diane Pancoe (née Ostich), daughter and OSU graduate Laura, of Ohio State’s expedition that summer, I grandparents George and Geraldine Ostich, Natalie Pancoe, and Michael Ostich, Jr. flew to Belgrade on behalf of Dr. Bogdano- viƒ and his colleagues and their own work in Hilandar that same summer. It was then coming her again and showing her the Hi- CYRILLIC MANUSCRIPT that I first learned of the Archeographic landar Research Library in its new setting HERITAGE Commission of the Serb National Library. within the renovated Thompson Library. Our archives contain a steady corre- In the past few months, HRL welcomed Director/Curator: PREDRAG MATEJIC spondence between Dr. Bogdavnoviƒ and return research visits by Jenn Spock and Associate Curator: M.A. JOHNSON my father, and evidence of an increasing Isolde Thyret and Rod Bohac. Isolde and Assistant Curator: LYUBOMIRA GRIBBLE Managing Editor: HELENE SENECAL desire for greater collaboration. One of the Rod, in fact, planned to research in Russia Media Consultant: LORRAINE NETRETIƒ concrete results of this was the joint de- certain of the original Russian manuscripts RCMSS/HRL GA: LAUREN RESSUE scription of a number of Slavic manuscripts they first studied here in the HRL on mi- in the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount crofilm. If they are among our most fre- Hilandar Research Library Athos by the two scholars. Based on an quent users, the record for a visiting re- Resource Center for analysis of microfilms during part of a six- searcher who traveled the longest is surely Medieval Slavic Studies month research stay in the HRL by Dr. Bog- held by Tatiana G. Popova (see p. 4). She The Ohio State University danoviƒ, a co-authored catalog was pub- and her daughter, Daria, came from the Rus- 119 Thompson Library lished in 1989. Sadly, Prof. Bogdanoviƒ was sian far north, from the city of Severodvinsk 1858 Neil Ave Mall literally days away from a return to Ohio on the White Sea. In order to fly from Mos- Columbus, Ohio 43210-1286 State and the HRL for a three-month re- cow, they first traveled by train for more search visit in 1986 when he suddenly took than 24 hours. Before them, Anatol Schme- Telephone: 614-292-0634 ill and passed away on June 14. lev, Curator of the Russsian and Common- Fax: 614-688-8417 The 1986 research trip was to be sup- wealth of Independent State Collection of E-mail: [email protected] ported by a U.S. Information Agency grant the Hoover Institution at Stanford, arrived Website: cmrs.osu.edu/rcmss/ sponsoring an exchange during 1985-1988 to do research on the history of the Rus- Blog: http://library.osu.edu/blogs/ between Ohio State and Yugoslavia that sian Orthodox Church in the United States. medieval-slavic/ December 2012 Cyrillic Manuscript Heritage 3 Productive Trip, continued from page 1 dozens of other books given by scholars, I most helpful in acquainting me with recent sent them back by mail, since I could not changes as well as new opportunities. In in Sofia, and Professor Eric De Sena, Di- possibly carry so many books while travel- addition, a number of recent noteworthy rector of the American Research Center in ing. The packages have already started to publications were given as gifts to the HRL. Sofia. arrive, and the names of these donors can It was also important to spend time with Hours later, I was in Blagoevgrad, some be found among the gift-in-kind donors in the recently-appointed Head of the Archeo- 60 miles away, at South-West University this issue. graphic Commission of the Serbian National “Neofit Rilski” in order to present a paper After spending some time visiting at an international conference on “The 250th and meeting with several other schol- ƒ Anniversary of the Slaveno-Bulgarian ars individually or in the Bulgarian Na- History of Paisii of Hilandar.” This impor- tional Library, the Bulgarian Academy tant work written in 1762 by Paisii, a monk of Sciences, the University of Sofia, and of Hilandar Monastery, is considered the the “Ivan Duichev” Slavo-Byzantine Miroljub Jokovi first modern history of Bulgaria and a semi- Research Centre, it was time to travel nal work delineating the medieval and the on to Beograd.