Translate modern English text into Church Slavonic (Церковнославянский), the liturgical language of Eastern Orthodox and some Catholic churches, using Cyrillic script and traditional grammatical forms.
Church Slavonic (Церковнославя́нскій язы́къ) is the liturgical language used in Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, and some Roman Catholic churches of Slavic tradition. It evolved from Old Church Slavonic, the first literary Slavic language created by Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century, and remains in active liturgical use today.
This translator helps you convert modern English text into Church Slavonic using traditional Cyrillic orthography, including archaic letters like Ѣ (yat), Ѳ (fita), and Ѵ (izhitsa). You can also translate Church Slavonic passages into English to understand liturgical texts, prayers, and hymns.
Church Slavonic uses a specialized Cyrillic alphabet with letters no longer found in modern Russian or other Slavic languages. It also employs a unique system of abbreviations called titla (титла) — superscript marks placed over words to indicate sacred names and frequently used liturgical terms. Numbers are written using Cyrillic numerals rather than Arabic digits.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Въ нача́лѣ сотворѝ Бг҃ъ нб҃о и зе́млю.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Гдⷭ҇и, поми́луй на́съ.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Блаже́нъ мꙋ́жъ, и́же не и́де на совѣ́тъ нечести́выхъ.
Отче нашъ, Иже еси на небесѣхъ
Our Father, Who art in heaven
Old Church Slavonic (OCS) is the original 9th-century literary language created by Cyril and Methodius, preserved in early manuscripts. Church Slavonic is its later development, standardized over centuries for liturgical use. Church Slavonic incorporates regional influences (particularly Russian in the Russian recension) and underwent orthographic reforms, but retains the core grammar and vocabulary of OCS. This translator uses the later Church Slavonic tradition as found in modern liturgical books.
Titla (ти́тла) are superscript marks placed over abbreviated sacred words in Church Slavonic texts. For example, Богъ (God) is abbreviated as Бг҃ъ, Господь (Lord) as Гдⷭ҇ь, and Іисусъ (Jesus) as Іⷭ҇. This system of abbreviation, called nomina sacra, was inherited from Greek manuscript tradition and is a distinctive feature of Church Slavonic liturgical texts.
Bulgarian and Macedonian are generally considered the closest modern languages to Old Church Slavonic, since OCS was based on the South Slavic dialect of Thessaloniki. However, the Russian recension of Church Slavonic (used in Russian Orthodox liturgy) has been heavily influenced by Russian phonology and vocabulary over centuries, making it more accessible to Russian speakers in practice.
Church Slavonic retains several archaic Cyrillic letters eliminated from modern Russian: Ѣ (yat), Ѳ (fita, from Greek theta), Ѵ (izhitsa, from Greek upsilon), Ꙋ (uk, a digraph for 'u'), І (decimal i), Ѕ (zelo), Ѡ (omega), Ѧ (little yus), and Ѯ/Ѱ (ksi/psi, from Greek). Each has specific orthographic rules governing its use.
Yes. Set the translation direction to 'Church Slavonic → English' and paste the Slavonic text. The translator will render it into readable English. This is helpful for understanding texts like the Otche Nash (Lord's Prayer), the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, or the Psalter in their Church Slavonic versions.
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