“Srednobălgarskite iztočnici meždu ezikovata inovacja i priemstvenostta: lingvotekstologičeski nabljudenija” [= Middle Bulgarian sources between linguistic innovation and continuity: linguistic and text-critical observations “].

This paper proposes a fresh approach to the linguistic and text-critical study of Middle Bulgarian manuscripts, focusing not only on their linguistic innovations but also on continuity within the textual tradition. The author emphasizes the need to investigate the linguistic and textual features of Middle Bulgarian manuscripts in the broader context of the transmission of Old Bulgarian texts, by comparing testimonies of South Slavic and East Slavic origin and by applying the principles of textual criticism. The article discusses the discovery of the archaic verbal participle «byšęšt-/byšǫšt-» in a Middle Bulgarian manuscript of the Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus, which is analysed in comparison with its variant readings found in East Slavic manuscripts. Finally, a number of observations are presented regarding the transmission history, the challenge of determining the original form of the participle, and its potential connections to the translation techniques of a specific literary school of the First Bulgarian Empire.