Volodymyr Zelensky 2019 presidential inauguration 04

The Peresopnytsia Gospel ( uk, Пересопницьке Євангеліє, ''Peresopnytske Yevanheliie''), dating from the 16th century, is one of the most intricate surviving East Slavic

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

s. It was made between 15 August 1556 and 29 August 1561, at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Iziaslav, and the Monastery of the Mother of God in

Peresopnytsia Peresopnytsia is a small village of Rivne Raion in the Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. It belongs to the Verkhivsk rural council and located on Stubly River, a tributary of Horyn River. In 11th - 13th centuries it was one of two main cities of Horyn Rive ...

, Volyn'. The scribe was Mykhailo Vasyl’ovych, son of an archpriest from Sianik, who worked under the direction of Hryhorii, the

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

of the Peresopnytsia Monastery. The manuscript is a

Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...

containing only the four Gospels of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

, and is ornamented with

Glagolitic The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...

characters, which were influenced by the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

style. This is the first known example of a

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

Old Ukrainian translation of the

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...

text of the

Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

. The Peresopnytsya Gospels are the best-known translations of canonical texts into the Old Ukrainian language. Luxuriously decorated under the influence of the Italian Renaissance, the work also shows characteristic Ukrainian decorations, and a high artistic level in the miniatures of the Ukrainian

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

-painting school connected with Byzantine and Eastern Slavonic traditions. The Peresopnytsya Gospels were commissioned by Princess Nastacia Yuriyivna Zheslavska-Holshanska (Zaslavska-Olshanska) of Volyn, and her daughter and her son-in-law (Yevdokiya and Ivan Fedorovych

Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; lt, Čartoriskiai) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dyna ...

). After its completion, the book was kept in the Peresopnytsya Monastery. On 17 April 1701 it was presented to Pereyaslav Cathedral by

Ivan Mazepa Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (also spelled Mazeppa; uk, Іван Степанович Мазепа, pl, Jan Mazepa Kołodyński; ) was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. ...

the

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

of Ukraine. Scholar

Osip Bodyansky Osip Maksimovich Bodyansky (russian: Осип Максимович Бодянский, uk, Осип Максимович Бодянський; 1808–1877) was a notable Russian Imperial Slavist of Ukrainian Cossack descent who studied and taugh ...

discovered the book at the Pereyaslav Seminary and published a paper on the subject. Later on it was held in the Poltava Seminary, Poltava Museum of History and Regional Studies,

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Ea ...

preserve. On 24 December 1948 this treasure of Ukrainian culture was placed at the

Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine The Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, VNLU ( uk, Національна бібліотека України імені В.І. Вернадського) is the main academic library and main scientific information centre in Ukraine, one of th ...

. All six

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

s since 1991 have taken the oath of office on the Gospels:

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...

(1991),

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corru ...

(1994),

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

(2005),

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

(2010),

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

(2014), and

Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

(2019). On November 9, 2010, on the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language, ADEF-Ukraine publishing house presented the Peresopnytske Evangelie edition. Origins and present. The book contains reduced facsimile copies of images of the original texts, the original text transliterated into the modern Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet (with the addition of a little more than ten letters from the Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet) and a translation of the Peresopnytskyi Gospel into modern Ukrainian.Оригінал — у книгосховищі, факсиміле розходяться по світу
Голос України. 4 серпня 2011

References

External links

Peresopnytsia Gospel
at the

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was creat ...

Information on the Peresopnytsia Gospel
from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Role of the Gospel in Ukrainian inaugurations

Peresopnytsya Gospel
Treasure of the National Library of Ukraine, displayed via The European Library
Copy of Peresopnytsia Gospel Passed to Vatican

{{National symbols of Ukraine East Slavic manuscripts Gospel Books Ukrainian culture 16th-century biblical manuscripts History of Christianity in Ukraine 16th-century illuminated manuscripts National symbols of Ukraine Ukrainian presidential inaugurations Bible translations into Ukrainian Cyrillic manuscripts Early printed Bibles

See also

References

External links