Assoc. Prof. PhD Svetlina Nikolova 

Field of scientific qualifications 

Cyrillo-Methodian studies, Old Bulgarian textology, Slavonic palaeography and codicology, history of the Mediaeval Slavonic texts, Orthodox Eastern Church literatures, byzantology, Bible Studies.

Name and office address 

Svetlina Nikolova Todorova, 13 Moskovska St. 1000 Sofia, P.O.Box 432, fax (3592) 986 69 62, tel. (359 3) 987 02 61, e-mail: kmnc@bas.bg; home address – 1309 Sofia, Bozhurishte Street 131V/V ap. 53.

Command of languages

good command of English, French, Polish, Russian; Old Bulgarian, Ancient Greek; uses Serbo-Croatian.

Education, scientific degrees and academic ranks

Higher education in Bulgarian philology (1964, “St. Clement Ohridski” Sofia University); 1970 – PhD with subject of the dissertation “The Patericon Stories in Old Bulgarian Literature”, defended at the Faculty of Slavonic Philology of Sofia University; 1971 – research associate at the Cyrillo-Methodian Commission with the Presidium of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (transformed in 1980 into Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre); 1982 – Assoc. Prof. at the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Posts occupied so far

1983-1993 scientific secretary of the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre; since May 1994 director of the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre.

Place of work and position

director of the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Scientific and teaching acctivity

research projects the applicant has headed and in which has participated, courses and exercises taught

Head of the project “Sources on the Life and Work of Cyril and Methodius” under a three-year contract with the Natioanl Fund “Scientific Researches” with international partcipation (1992-1995) after its completion awarded by the fund. Head of the project “The Old Bulgarian Translation of the Old Testament” under contract  with the National Fund “Scientific Researches” (1994-1997, completed); participant in the project “Cyrillo-Methodian Encyclopaedia” under contract with the National Fund “Scientific Researche” (1991-1995, completed).

Head from the Bulgarian side of five international project: 1. Cultural Links between Northwestern and Southeastern Europe during the Middle Ages: Cyrillic monuments of Southern Slavonic origin, on the territory of the Grand Lithuanian Principality (with the Chair of Slavonic Philology at the University of Vilnius, Lithuania, since 1995, finansed by the Foundation “Open Society”); 2. Computational Linguistics, Philological Studies and Classical Philology (with the Institute of Computer Linguistics in Pisa, Italy, 1995-1997, under the agreement between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the CNR, completed and the work has been approved by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and CNR); 3. Copies of Cyrillo-Methodian Texts in Russian and Bulgarian Collections of Manuscripts (with the “V. V. Vinogradov” Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, under an agreement between the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1996-1998, completed);  4. Virtual Library and Information Instruments for Old Bulgarian Studies and Its Sources (with the Institute of Computational Linguistics in Pisa, under the agreement between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the CNR, 1998-2000 completed); The Bulgarian Medieval Culture Heritage in the Khludov Collection in the State Historical Museum, Moscow (with Department of Slavonic Philology at Wienna University, under project “Arts Development” Fund in the frame-work of Pha.re programme of EU, 1999).

Executive secretary of the series “Cyrillo-Methodian Studies” (vol. 1-13, 1984-2000; chief editor since vol. 8 – 1991); member of the editioral board of the journal “Palaeobulgarica”, published by the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre (since 1991), elected editor-in-chief of  the journal by the Scientific Council in 1992.

Scientific director of four post-graduate students at the Cyrillo-Methodian Centre.

Taught a special cource in textology (1989-1994) in succession at the Blagoevgrad Higher Pedagogical Institute, the “St. Clement Ohridski” Sofia University and the “Paissii Hilendarski” Plovdiv University. Since 1996 has taught the regular course in Old Bulgarian Literature at the “Nikolai Pavlovich” National Academy of Art in Sofia. Since 1997 has taught special course “Controversial Qestions of the Cyrillo-Methodian Work” for the “Bulgarian Philology” speicality at the “Paissii Hilendarski” Plovdiv University.

Publishing Activity, Quotations

Author of a scientific monograph for which there have been six positive reviews in Bulgatia, the Czech Republic and Romania, and of a book – publication of Bulgarian Mediaeval Monuments of the 13th c. (two positive reviews in Bulgaria); of 104 scientific studies and articles published in Bulgarian, French, German, Romanian, Russian in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and Croatia; of 65 scientific communications, reviews, surveys, etc., published in Bulgaria, Poland, Russia and Ukraine in Bulgarian, French and Russian; has participated in compiling and editing 27 volumes of scientific literature on Cyrillo-Methodian and Old Bulgatian questions. Her works have been quoted 293 times in 151 learned publications (56 of them abroad), brought out in Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Grece, Italy, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Czech Republic, the USA. Seven biographical articles in Bulgarian and English have been published about her in Bulgaria, Great Britain and the USA.

Scientific Applied Activity

Member of the editioral board on the only in Bulgaria seven-volume series in the field of Old Bulgarian studies “Old Bulgarian Literature”; 20 broadcasts of the Bulgarian National Radio, dedicated to the work of Cyril and Methodius and the Old Bulgarian Literature of the 9th-10th c.; compiler in 1981 under the title “Cyrillo-Methodian Pages” where for the first time the texts are read in the Old Bulgarian language; consultant on two popular-science films on Cyril and Methodius (1982, 1985), prepared by Interfilm, the Hungarian Television and the Bulgarian Television; participation in six programmes of the Bulgarian Television dedicated to May 24 and the problems of the Cyrillo-Methodian studies.

Participation in Scientific Councils and Scientific Expert Commisions

Member of the Scientific Council of the Cyrillo-Methodian Centre (since 1982), of the Scientific Council of the “Sts Cyril and Methodius” National Library (since 1992) and the Commission of Philological Sciences and Art Criticism at the Higher Certifyng Commission (1992-1997) – secretary of the Commission.

Member of the Council on Foreign Bulgarian Studies at the Managing Board of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (since 1995), member of the Council on Bulgarian Studies of the Ministery of Education and Sciences (up to 1997 – and Technologies) since 1995; member of the Expert Council for the Scientific Archives of the BAS at the Managing Board of the BAS (since 1997).

Membership in International and National Professional Learned Associations, Federations, Societies, etc.

Deputy-chairman of the Slavonic Biblical Commission at the International Committee of Slavists (since 1988), deputy-chairman of the Bulgarian National Committee of Slavists (since 1991); member of the International Bibliographical Association – Cambridge, England (since 1993); member of the Union of Scientifists in Bulgaria (since 1976); member of the Early Slavic Studies Association – USA (since 1995).

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