top of page

Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic

Summary

Old Church Slavonic, developed in the 9th century by Saints Cyril and Methodius, was the first Slavic literary language. It was used for translating the Bible and other religious texts, primarily for Slavic-speaking Christian communities. Written originally in the Glagolitic alphabet and later in Cyrillic, the language has a fusional grammar with seven cases and a rich verbal system. Though no longer spoken natively, it survives as a liturgical language in some Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, serving as a vital link to early Slavic culture and literature.

Stats

  • Language Family: Indo-European

  • Writing System: Glagolitic, Cyrillic

  • Writing System Type: Alphabet

  • Writing Direction: L to R

  • Tones / Pitch Accent: N

  • Morphology: Fusional

  • Cases: 7

  • Grammatical Gender / Noun Class: 3

  • Number of Verb Tenses: 7

  • Word Order: SVO

  • Number of Vowels (Monophthongs): 11

  • Number of Consonants: 24

Areas Where Spoken

Liturgical use in some Christian Orthodox Churches

Resources

Find us on our socials

  • TikTok
  • X
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
Logo
bottom of page