Word choice.
This is the most difficult aspect of translating a Slavonic text. Many Slavic words have numerous and very broad definitions; some phrases are redundant; many words are implied and omitted. Sometimes the closest English equivalent is a modern word which seems out of place, at other times the closest word is dated and little known. I have tried to provide diverse renderings, trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid unnecessary archaisms. Retaining the exact tense was not always possible, nor is it always essential, as in many constructions there are numerous tenses which do not form a coherent whole.
A couple examples of the nuances of translating may be useful. The word “и,” which usually means “and,” can also mean “yet;” occasionally it is meaningless. The “же” ending can mean “however,” “and,” “although,” “but,” “while” &c. “Оубо” can mean any number of things which add emphasis: “so,” “then,” “thus,” “very,” “therefore,” “consequently,” “moreover,” “heed,” “likewise,” “even…” As is stated in the preface, I tried to follow the text word-for-word. For example, “She was at the times of Tsar Maksimian” I did not change to, “She lived during the reign of Emperor Maximian.” There is a reason: the author did not wish to emphasize the words “lived” and “reign;” otherwise he would have used them himself.
Syntax and punctuation.
Punctuation was minimally altered throughout the passages. The appropriate words were capitalized. The capital letters of the Slavonic text as well as the rubrics were highlighted. Quotation marks were inserted, except around quotes from the Bible, most of which are technically paraphrase. Some prayers and biblical texts were not translated, as this is outside of my capacity. Some parentheses were inserted, as around the words in the margins, which were brought into the main text. Many periods had to be changed into commas and vice versa, because these marks play a different role in Slavonic than they do in modern English.
I tried to refrain from changing the structure of sentences, yet many words and phrases had to be rearranged to aid the reader. As was stated, many commas had been added to preserve word sequence, yet many had to be removed, to safeguard the meaning. Many commas not integral to the commatic structure of the texts were nonetheless retained, even where they seem out of place, in order to preserve as much of the style as possible - in order to split the segments of speech intended to be read on different breaths. The semicolon was inserted in many places where it is unclear whether a comma or a period would be the better choice. (The semicolons in Slavonic are usually used at the end of passages, to set them off from the next, or to add emphasis.) The texts were broken into paragraphs. Many passages were broken up into vertically arranged phrases, for ease of reading. This is entirely artificial - the same could have been done with the other articles. Question and exclamation marks were inserted.
Transliteration of personal and place names.
Б - B, rarely V
В - V, rarely B, sometimes U, as in “Eupl”
E - E (not Ye), as in “Elena”
И, Й - I, occasionally Y, as in “Sergiy” or “Lydia”
K - K, as in “Kikilia” (Cicily), or C, as in “Constantinople”
KS - KS, rather than X
Oу, У - U, or V, as in “Valentian”
Ф - F, or Th, as in “Theodore,” or Ph
Х - H, or occasionally Ch, as in “Antiochia”
S - Z, rarely S
Я - Ya, or sometimes J, as in “Trojan”
Ъ and Ь are sometimes omitted, but Ь is occasionally designated by an apostrophy. An apostraphy is also used to emphasise a phonemic pronunciation, as with the name, Mus’h; (Oct. 26) Otherwise the transliteration is usually phonetic
Slavonic endings and Greek letters were retained.
Transliteration of words in the footnotes.
Ж - Zh.
И - I, rarely Y, as in “Presbyter”
Ф - F; Х - H; Ц - Ts, or Tz; Щ - Sch
Ъ is omitted at the end of words, but is otherwise indicated by a period; Ы - “.i”; Ь is designated by an apostraphy
Ю - Yu; Я - Ya; Oу - Ou
A period was also sometimes inserted into a word to emphasize the phonemic pronunciation: e.g. “n.in.e” for, ныне.
Words in the footnotes occasionally contain endings which the definitions do not reflect.
Apologia.
I do not insist on any particular transcription of names; let those with a firmer grounding in their history correct my mistakes. Nor do I insist on the controversial “Birthgiver-of-God,” or “Permanently-a-Maiden,” or on substituting “for all ages” for вовеки веком. Присно, I translate as “forever,” “always” or “perpetually,” as the situation seems to dictate. The biblical paraphrase was not chacked against any authority, and place names were insufficiently researched.