Russian Synodal Translation (RUSS76)

Overview

The Russian Synodal Translation (Синодальный перевод) is the most widely circulated and historically significant Bible translation in the Russian language, first published as a complete Bible in 1876. The translation effort began in 1813 under the newly established Russian Bible Society, with the permission of Tsar Alexander I, and under the supervision of Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow, who oversaw the project from 1816 until his death in 1867. [1][2] The Gospels were published in 1818 and a complete New Testament appeared in 1820, but the project was halted in 1825 when the Russian Bible Society was disbanded under Tsar Nicholas I. [1][3] During this period, individual scholars continued translation work privately: Father Gerasim Pavsky produced Old Testament translations from Hebrew that were confiscated by the Synod in 1841, and Archimandrite Macarius (Glukharev) translated from Hebrew between 1834 and 1844 but was denied publication — yet both scholars' work later served as resources for the official Synodal translation. [1][4] Translation resumed in 1858 when Tsar Alexander II granted permission, and the Holy Synod entrusted the work to four Orthodox theological academies in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, and Kiev. [1][2] The Old Testament was translated primarily from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, though the drafts were checked against the Greek Septuagint and Church Slavonic versions. [1][5] The complete Bible was published by the Holy Synod in 1876 and remains the most widely used Russian Bible translation, used across Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant communities. [1][3]

Translation History

  • 1813: Russian Bible Society established; translation work begins
  • 1816: Metropolitan Philaret appointed supervisor of translation
  • 1818: Gospels published in Russian
  • 1820: Complete New Testament published
  • 1825: Russian Bible Society disbanded; translation halted under Nicholas I
  • 1834–1844: Pavsky and Macarius produce private translations (suppressed)
  • 1858: Translation work resumes under Alexander II
  • 1860: Four theological academies commissioned
  • 1876: Complete Bible published by the Holy Synod

Translators and Contributors

  • Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow (1782–1867) — chief supervisor and editor of the translation from 1816 until his death; author of the 1834 memorandum advocating translation from original-language texts [1][2]
  • Father Gerasim Pavsky — professor of Hebrew whose private Old Testament translations were confiscated in 1841 but later informed the Synodal translation [1][4]
  • Archimandrite Macarius (Glukharev) — missionary who independently translated Old Testament books from Hebrew (1834–1844); his work contributed to the final translation [1][4]

Language and People

Russian (ISO 639-3: rus) is spoken by approximately 154,000,000 people in China. [Glottolog: russ1263]

Publishing and Organizations ## References