Jan Stanislav Institute of Slavistics SAS
Dúbravská cesta 9
841 04 Bratislava
841 04 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Director
Phone: +421 2 5920 9412
Secretariat
Phone: +421 259 209 411
Context, Mission and Scientific Profile
The Jan Stanislav Institute of Slavistics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, a public research institution, is a specialised basic-research workplace focused on the study of the Slovak language, culture and history in a comparative Slavistic and intercultural context. Within the system of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, it belongs among the profile institutes that systematically develop Slavistic research in its linguistic, historical and cultural complexity and connect research on the Slovak environment with research on Slavic and non-Slavic linguistic and cultural contacts, especially Slovak-Latin, Slovak-Old Church Slavonic, Slovak-Hungarian and Slovak-German contacts.
The mission of the Institute is to develop interdisciplinary research on Slovak cultural and linguistic identity in the broader Slavic and European context, to systematically examine the historical and cultural ties of Slovakia, and to make fundamental sources and scholarly knowledge accessible to the domestic and international academic community. A special place within this mission is held by research on biblical texts, their linguistic and terminological structure, as well as the preparation of a new translation of the Bible into contemporary standard Slovak together with a scholarly commentary, based on a non-confessional and scientific approach. At the same time, the Institute fulfils a coordinating function in the field of Slavistics in Slovakia, especially through cooperation with the Slovak Committee of Slavists and the organisation of international scholarly events.
The scientific profile of the Institute is based on four main pillars. The first is historical-comparative research on Slavic languages with regard to the Slovak language, including research on Old Church Slavonic and Church Slavonic, language contacts and the development of terminology. The second pillar is research on biblical texts and the Christian literary tradition, including the analysis of terminological discourses, the translation of the Bible into contemporary Slovak and the preparation of a scholarly commentary. The third pillar is research on the Slovak cultural-historical and religious environment, particularly in the field of the history of education, church history and the Byzantine-Slavic tradition, including the systematic processing of the personal and institutional history of church structures in the territory of Slovakia. The fourth pillar is interdisciplinary research on contact areas, including research on language, literature, folklore, material culture and settlement history in the Slovak-Polish, Slovak-Rusyn-Ukrainian, Slovak-South Slavic and Slovak-German environments.
Organisationally, the Institute is based on a flexible model of thematically profiled research teams. It carries out research through these teams and in cooperation with domestic and foreign research institutions and universities, placing emphasis on basic research, critical editions of sources and their interpretation. The research profile of the Institute also includes systematic research on Slovak historical sources, including materials preserved in the Vatican archives, and their processing in critical editions, through which the Institute contributes to knowledge of Slovak history in the European context. The name of the Institute follows the work of Ján Stanislav (1904–1977), whose scholarly legacy represents a methodological starting point for systematic Slavistic research in Slovakia.
Strategy (2025–2029)
The strategic objective of the Jan Stanislav Institute of Slavistics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences for the period 2025–2029 is to strengthen its position as a profiled interdisciplinary basic-research workplace that systematically connects linguistic research, research on biblical texts, research on historical sources and research on cultural-historical processes in the Slavic and Central European context. During this period, the Institute aims to achieve the stabilisation of its personnel capacities, the strengthening of its international scholarly relevance and the expansion of the societal impact of its research, especially in the areas of cultural identity, education and access to sources.
Achieving this objective presupposes the continuation of institutional transformation, which responds to the existing limits of personnel provision and to the long-term predominance of linguistic research at the expense of other components of Slavistics. Following the international evaluation of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute deliberately develops thematically profiled research teams and creates a more balanced interdisciplinary model encompassing linguistics, historiography, religious studies, ethnology and other related humanities disciplines. The aim of this transformation is to remove the existing thematic disproportion and to create a stable basis for the long-term scientific growth of the workplace.
Part of this strategy is also the planned incorporation of the Institute, from 1 January 2027, into the Centre for the Humanities of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, which is to be established by merging the Jan Stanislav Institute of Slavistics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute of World Literature of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Musicology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The Institute sees this step as an opportunity to strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation, make more effective use of personnel and organisational capacities, and become more substantially involved in domestic and international research structures. At the same time, within this framework, it aims to preserve and further develop its own scholarly profile in the field of Slavistic research.
A key instrument of development is also the strengthening of the educational and generational continuity of the workplace. The Institute participates in doctoral education in cooperation with the university environment in two study programmes: with Trnava University it implements the study programme Slovak History, and with Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra the study programme Slavistics. This strengthens its educational function, broadens its professional scope and at the same time creates space for the systematic training of a new generation of researchers. The strategic intention of the Institute is to connect research and doctoral education so that doctoral students become a natural part of the long-term research lines of the workplace.
The scientific-research strategy of the Institute is based on four priority areas. The first is linguistic research on the Slovak language in the Slavistic context, including historical-comparative research, research on language contacts, terminological systems and the development of scholarly and religious language. The second priority is research on biblical texts, their linguistic and terminological structure, and the preparation of a new translation of the Bible into contemporary standard Slovak together with a scholarly commentary. The third strategic direction is systematic research on historical sources, especially documents preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Archive, which will be processed in critical editions within the editorial series *Monumenta Vaticana Slovaciae*. The fourth priority is research on the Slovak cultural-historical and religious environment and interdisciplinary research on contact areas, focused on linguistic, cultural and historical interactions in the Central European space.
In the years 2025–2029, the Institute intends to translate these priorities into concrete outputs, particularly the preparation and publication of critical editions of sources, the building of specialised textual and translation corpora, the processing of research databases and the creation of publications of international significance. The strategic intentions also include the implementation of thematically specific projects with long-term scientific and societal impact, such as the topographical mapping of the population of the Byzantine-Slavic rite in the territory of Slovakia from the early Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century. This research, together with editorial activity and the translation of biblical texts, forms the basis for building unique scholarly outputs with international reach.
The Institute plans to achieve these objectives through targeted international cooperation, active participation in domestic and foreign grant schemes, systematic editorial activity and the development of long-term research infrastructures. Emphasis will be placed on connecting basic research with forms of making results accessible that will enable their broader professional and societal use.
The societal impact of the Institute’s research lies above all in making fundamental historical and cultural sources accessible, in creating a scientifically prepared translation of the Bible into contemporary Slovak, and in deepening knowledge of Slovak history and cultural identity in the European context. The results of the research are applicable in the academic environment, in higher education, in cultural and memory institutions, as well as in broader social practice.
The Jan Stanislav Institute of Slavistics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, a public research institution, is a specialised basic-research workplace focused on the study of the Slovak language, culture and history in a comparative Slavistic and intercultural context. Within the system of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, it belongs among the profile institutes that systematically develop Slavistic research in its linguistic, historical and cultural complexity and connect research on the Slovak environment with research on Slavic and non-Slavic linguistic and cultural contacts, especially Slovak-Latin, Slovak-Old Church Slavonic, Slovak-Hungarian and Slovak-German contacts.
The mission of the Institute is to develop interdisciplinary research on Slovak cultural and linguistic identity in the broader Slavic and European context, to systematically examine the historical and cultural ties of Slovakia, and to make fundamental sources and scholarly knowledge accessible to the domestic and international academic community. A special place within this mission is held by research on biblical texts, their linguistic and terminological structure, as well as the preparation of a new translation of the Bible into contemporary standard Slovak together with a scholarly commentary, based on a non-confessional and scientific approach. At the same time, the Institute fulfils a coordinating function in the field of Slavistics in Slovakia, especially through cooperation with the Slovak Committee of Slavists and the organisation of international scholarly events.
The scientific profile of the Institute is based on four main pillars. The first is historical-comparative research on Slavic languages with regard to the Slovak language, including research on Old Church Slavonic and Church Slavonic, language contacts and the development of terminology. The second pillar is research on biblical texts and the Christian literary tradition, including the analysis of terminological discourses, the translation of the Bible into contemporary Slovak and the preparation of a scholarly commentary. The third pillar is research on the Slovak cultural-historical and religious environment, particularly in the field of the history of education, church history and the Byzantine-Slavic tradition, including the systematic processing of the personal and institutional history of church structures in the territory of Slovakia. The fourth pillar is interdisciplinary research on contact areas, including research on language, literature, folklore, material culture and settlement history in the Slovak-Polish, Slovak-Rusyn-Ukrainian, Slovak-South Slavic and Slovak-German environments.
Organisationally, the Institute is based on a flexible model of thematically profiled research teams. It carries out research through these teams and in cooperation with domestic and foreign research institutions and universities, placing emphasis on basic research, critical editions of sources and their interpretation. The research profile of the Institute also includes systematic research on Slovak historical sources, including materials preserved in the Vatican archives, and their processing in critical editions, through which the Institute contributes to knowledge of Slovak history in the European context. The name of the Institute follows the work of Ján Stanislav (1904–1977), whose scholarly legacy represents a methodological starting point for systematic Slavistic research in Slovakia.
Strategy (2025–2029)
The strategic objective of the Jan Stanislav Institute of Slavistics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences for the period 2025–2029 is to strengthen its position as a profiled interdisciplinary basic-research workplace that systematically connects linguistic research, research on biblical texts, research on historical sources and research on cultural-historical processes in the Slavic and Central European context. During this period, the Institute aims to achieve the stabilisation of its personnel capacities, the strengthening of its international scholarly relevance and the expansion of the societal impact of its research, especially in the areas of cultural identity, education and access to sources.
Achieving this objective presupposes the continuation of institutional transformation, which responds to the existing limits of personnel provision and to the long-term predominance of linguistic research at the expense of other components of Slavistics. Following the international evaluation of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute deliberately develops thematically profiled research teams and creates a more balanced interdisciplinary model encompassing linguistics, historiography, religious studies, ethnology and other related humanities disciplines. The aim of this transformation is to remove the existing thematic disproportion and to create a stable basis for the long-term scientific growth of the workplace.
Part of this strategy is also the planned incorporation of the Institute, from 1 January 2027, into the Centre for the Humanities of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, which is to be established by merging the Jan Stanislav Institute of Slavistics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute of World Literature of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Musicology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The Institute sees this step as an opportunity to strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation, make more effective use of personnel and organisational capacities, and become more substantially involved in domestic and international research structures. At the same time, within this framework, it aims to preserve and further develop its own scholarly profile in the field of Slavistic research.
A key instrument of development is also the strengthening of the educational and generational continuity of the workplace. The Institute participates in doctoral education in cooperation with the university environment in two study programmes: with Trnava University it implements the study programme Slovak History, and with Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra the study programme Slavistics. This strengthens its educational function, broadens its professional scope and at the same time creates space for the systematic training of a new generation of researchers. The strategic intention of the Institute is to connect research and doctoral education so that doctoral students become a natural part of the long-term research lines of the workplace.
The scientific-research strategy of the Institute is based on four priority areas. The first is linguistic research on the Slovak language in the Slavistic context, including historical-comparative research, research on language contacts, terminological systems and the development of scholarly and religious language. The second priority is research on biblical texts, their linguistic and terminological structure, and the preparation of a new translation of the Bible into contemporary standard Slovak together with a scholarly commentary. The third strategic direction is systematic research on historical sources, especially documents preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Archive, which will be processed in critical editions within the editorial series *Monumenta Vaticana Slovaciae*. The fourth priority is research on the Slovak cultural-historical and religious environment and interdisciplinary research on contact areas, focused on linguistic, cultural and historical interactions in the Central European space.
In the years 2025–2029, the Institute intends to translate these priorities into concrete outputs, particularly the preparation and publication of critical editions of sources, the building of specialised textual and translation corpora, the processing of research databases and the creation of publications of international significance. The strategic intentions also include the implementation of thematically specific projects with long-term scientific and societal impact, such as the topographical mapping of the population of the Byzantine-Slavic rite in the territory of Slovakia from the early Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century. This research, together with editorial activity and the translation of biblical texts, forms the basis for building unique scholarly outputs with international reach.
The Institute plans to achieve these objectives through targeted international cooperation, active participation in domestic and foreign grant schemes, systematic editorial activity and the development of long-term research infrastructures. Emphasis will be placed on connecting basic research with forms of making results accessible that will enable their broader professional and societal use.
The societal impact of the Institute’s research lies above all in making fundamental historical and cultural sources accessible, in creating a scientifically prepared translation of the Bible into contemporary Slovak, and in deepening knowledge of Slovak history and cultural identity in the European context. The results of the research are applicable in the academic environment, in higher education, in cultural and memory institutions, as well as in broader social practice.