The Peresopnytsia Gospel. Facsimile edition in the Old Ukrainian language

The book «The Peresopnytsia Gospel»

In 1556-1561, there was no fantasy or nonfiction genre, and the main reading was the Holy Scriptures. That is why Princess Zaslavska commissioned Archimandrite Hryhorii and his assistant Mykhailo Syianotskyi to make a Gospel in "simple vernacular," that is, understandable to the average reader.

This is how the Peresopnytsia Gospel was born-a handwritten book made on parchment in a single copy, bound in dark brown leather and decorated with silver naiads depicting the evangelists and the crucifixion of Christ in the center. The journey of the Peresopnytsia Gospel in time and space is a fascinating and sometimes detective story. For almost 450 years, the Peresopnytsia Gospel passed from one hand to another, from churches to libraries. And finally, in 2008, at the initiative of the ADEF-Ukraine publishing house and with the blessing of Metropolitan Volodymyr, a facsimile copy of the Peresopnytsia Gospel was published.

The aim of the edition was to recreate the original cover, to convey the tactile sensations of turning the pages printed on special Swedish paper, to show the luxury of gilded miniatures with the image of the Evangelists, which begin each of the 4 Gospels - the description of the life of Jesus Christ. And this we have succeeded in doing. In the facsimile copy we have recreated the exact dimensions of the book 24x38 cm. The thickness of the facsimile edition of the book is 12 cm. The weight of the facsimile edition of the Peresopnica Gospel is close to the original - 7,3 kg.

Two interesting questions arise.

1. Why is the Peresopnytsia Gospel called the main book of the country? Because in 1991, when preparations were underway for the inauguration of the first president, Leonid Kravchuk, after the proclamation of Ukraine's independence, the Constitution of Ukraine had not yet been adopted. Because the book Peresopnytsia Gospel is of great size and is a true shrine of the Ukrainian people, because it proves in writing the existence of the Ukrainian nation as early as the 16th century, so it is this book - the Peresopnytsia Gospel - that has become a symbol of spirituality and continuity of Ukrainians from medieval times to the present day.

2. Why can't Ukrainian presidents read the book of their own oath? Because the Peresopnytsia Gospel is an example of the Old Ukrainian language of literary sources, which has its origins in the Old Slavonic language. Namely, the absence of vowel letters in many words, the absence of intervals between words, the placement of the ending "sya" in verbs before the word, for example, "sya begins" - "begins" and others.

Therefore, to make it easier to read, we published the book "The Peresopnytsia Gospel. Origins and Present", which has a transliteration and an edition in modern Ukrainian.

We offer the Peresopnytsia Gospel (facsimile edition) for private libraries, as a wedding and anniversary gift, as a legacy to children and grandchildren. The Peresopnytsia Gospel is a wonderful gift to your school or university, which you will graduate from, or to the library of your hometown or village. On the last page of the book, you can make a dedication and go down in history as a patron and benefactor.