This article explores the figure of Saint Mac Nisse, a legendary companion of Saint Patrick, within the context of early medieval hagiographical tradition. Particular focus is given to his genealogical origins and his depiction in the Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick, where he emerges as a paradigmatic saint of elevated sanctity. The study includes an annotated translation of a late Latin vita of Mac Nisse, which, to date, has not been rendered into any modern language. The translation and commentary offer new insights into the construction of sanctity, ecclesiastical memory, and textual transmission in early Irish Christianity.

   This publication presents the first Russian- language translation of the Buchedd Beuno — the hagiography of S. Beuno, one of the most venerated local saints of medieval Wales. The translation is accompanied by a detailed historical commentary and an introductory essay tracing the development of S. Beuno’s cult from its earliest attestations in written sources to its gradual decline in the Late Middle Ages. The introduction further examines the manuscript tradition and transmission of the Buchedd. The publication concludes with an overview of prior editions of the text.

   This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of Welsh Bible translations and pivotal role in shaping both the literary standard and national identity of Wales. Through a diachronic and comparative examination of
translations produced from the sixteenth to the twenty- first century, situated within their respective historical and cultural contexts, the study demonstrates how successive versions of the Bible contributed to the standardisation and
enrichment of the Welsh literary tradition. Particular emphasis is placed on the seminal translations by William Salesbury (1567) and William Morgan (1588), which laid the foundations for modern Welsh orthography and literary style, as well as on more recent translations tailored to colloquial usage and younger readerships.

   The article’s originality lies in its systematic treatment of the entire Welsh biblical translation tradition, including lesser- studied dialectal and simplified versions from the twentieth and twenty- first centuries — sources that have hitherto received little attention in both Russian and Western scholarship.

   The findings suggest that Welsh Bible translations not only reflect internal linguistic developments but also perform a vital sociocultural function, actively sustaining the Welsh language in the face of longstanding Anglophone pressure.

   This article examines the reasons behind the transformation of several ethnically Irish saints into Scots in the context of a treatise on the Anglo-Scottish union written by the Scottish jurist Thomas Craig. It argues that this reinterpretation was not Craig’s invention but rather a continuation of a historiographical tradition established in Scottish historical writing since the fourteenth century. The article concludes that Craig’s appeal to the Celtic Church was shaped by the influence of the Reformation and the Protestant vision of a unified Britain.

  This article investigates a hitherto overlooked episode in the history of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia, focusing on the position adopted by the Church of Cyprus during the archiepiscopacy of Makarios III — also the first President of the Republic of Cyprus. Particular attention is devoted to the role of the Soviet and Czechoslovak governments in obstructing recognition of Czechoslovak autocephaly by the Cypriot Church in 1951. The author assesses the diplomatic and ecclesiastical initiatives of the primate of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church, supported by Patriarch Alexy I (Simansky) of Moscow, to secure Archbishop Makarios’s acknowledgment of its autocephalous status. The findings shed new light on inter-Orthodox relations in the context of Cold War ecclesiastical diplomacy and contribute to a fuller understanding of Archbishop Makarios’s international significance within twentieth-century Eastern Orthodoxy.

   This article explores the development of diplomatic relations between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church from 2001 to 2006. It focuses particularly on two landmark events: the visit of Pope John Paul II to Athens in May 2001, and the reciprocal visit of Archbishop Christodoulos (Paraskevaidis) of Athens to the Vatican in December 2006. The study examines the stated aims and principal avenues of cooperation pursued by both Churches during this period, including the reaffirmation and safeguarding of the spiritual foundations of European civilisation, joint responses to global challenges in the early 21^st century, and collaboration in educational, scientific, and cultural domains. While longstanding theological and ecclesiastical differences remained, the article highlights a notable broadening of inter- church dialogue and contact during these years, reflecting a cautious but meaningful rapprochement in the context of evolving ecumenical relations.

   The work is devoted to the study of the role of the enlightened artist, academician of painting K. P. Stepanov (1854–1910) in preserving the traditions of ancient Russian painting. On his personal initiative, the icon painting chamber was established at the Donskoy Monastery, where young artists from Vladimir icon painting villages were initially trained. This school of church painting was created with interest in the amount of 100 thousand rubles, the charitable capital of the Seleznev family, invested in commemoration of the soul of State Councilor N. D. Seleznev. The school was opened in September 1908 on Ostozhenka Street, in the building of the Council of Orphanages, where Seleznev worked, invited famous icon painters and already the first students have successfully completed a number of prestigious orders.