#Exhibit of the Month

The Gospel is a fundamental liturgical book of the Orthodox Church that brings together the four apostolic testimonies about the Son of God - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - "inspired by the same Holy Spirit, the one true and sole author of the Gospel." The Gospel, or the Good News, testifying to the Glory of Christ, refers to the full teaching and deeds of the Savior; the four Gospels are regarded as the four sustaining pillars of the Church.
St. Jerome (c. 340-420), author of the first complete Latin translation of the Holy Scriptures, assigned to the four evangelists the living creatures that appear in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel (1:5). Thus, the Evangelist Matthew, the first to relate the Nativity of the Lord, is accompanied in imagery by the angel who announced the miracle; the Evangelist Mark, likened to St. John the Baptist - "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" - is associated with the lion. The Evangelist Luke, who opens his Gospel with the priest Zechariah, is personified by the winged ox, recalling the ox's sacrificial role; and the Evangelist John, for his elevated theological vision, is associated with the eagle.
This altar Gospel, printed in 1890 at the Lavra Pecerska printing house in Kyiv, contains - in addition to the four canonical Gospels - other liturgical texts: readings for Vespers, the Divine Liturgy, prayers, and services.
It is a large-format Gospel measuring 37 × 48 cm, bound in cardboard and leather. The gilded metal cover is fitted with two metal clasps and gilt edges. Five vertical-oval icon plaques in polychrome enamel are applied to the cover, which is engraved with vegetal and geometric ornamentation. The central plaque depicts the "Resurrection of the Lord"; in the corners of the upper register appear the faces of the Evangelists Matthew and John, and in the lower register those of Luke and Mark. Printed in red and black, the volume comprises 428 leaves; the text is enriched with various typographic ornaments - vignettes, initials, engravings, frontispieces, etc. Pagination is indicated on the leaves, the folio number appearing in the upper right.
The Gospel of Matthew is printed on pages 1-105, the opening page accompanied by the scene of the Nativity of the Lord. The Gospel of Mark continues on pages 104-168, its representative scene being the Baptism of the Lord. The Gospel according to Luke occupies pages 172-273, its opening page bearing the scene of the Annunciation. The Gospel according to John is included between pages 280-358, the evocative scene being the Crucifixion of the Lord.

The Lavra Pecerska printing house, cited in the colophon, has long roots - traditionally founded by Archimandrite Elisei Pletenetsky (1595-1624) in 1615 - although the precise dates of its earliest publications remain a matter of debate. This copy entered the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova under inventory number FB-23062-35; acquired in 1982, it was transferred to the MNIM collections in 1996 from the holdings of the Museum of the History of Religion.

Virtual Tour

European Night of Museums 2014

This year, two of the most important events in the worldwide community of museums - International Museum Day and Night of Museums were celebrated by the National Museum of History of Moldova on May 17. On this occasion, the museum prepared for visitors many interesting and varied activities, which started at 11:00 and ended at 02:00.

The theme for these extraordinary celebrations was "Museum collections make connections...between visitors, generations and cultures of the world.

Poster International Day of Museums 2014

The International Museum Day program started at 11:00 and ended at 18:00; it included a series of activities in the museum's rooms and in the courtyard. Among them:

In the museum's rooms:

Opening of the International Museum Day

Presentation of the museum's publications:

- Album "National Museum of History of Moldova (1983-2013)"

- A. Grițco. "Karl Schmidt"

- "Marketing in Contemporary Museum - Achievements and Problems"

Opening of the temporary exhibition "Courage and Faith" (Military decorations from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova)
Concert of classical music "The Realm of Music", with the participation of children from the Center for Aesthetic Education "Lăstărel"
Workshops for children and their parents: "Historical artifact through the eyes of a child", "Little ceramists", "History and art of writing"

In the courtyard:

Brass Band Concert of the Center for Aesthetic Education "Lăstărel"
Exhibition of retro cars
"A day in the life of a prehistoric community" - interactive activities in the reconstructed Cucutenian dwelling
Contemporary Ceramic Workshop led by ceramist I. Prividiuc
Children's toy fair. Children came to the museum with their toys, which they donated to an orphanage.
Games and contests for children, music and dance show with participation of artistic groups from the Center for Aesthetic Education "Lăstărel"
Workshops of medieval weapon skills and of electronic shooting organized by the Academy „Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Presentation of the album "Moldova. Military tradition and culture" edited by the Academy „Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The activities dedicated to the International Museum Day were attended by 2371 people.

The European Night of Museums was celebrated from 18:00 to 2:00.

The program included:

In the museum's rooms:

Visiting the permanent and temporary exhibitions, entertainment with characters in costumes of different times
A musical journey through time:

- French music concert featuring winners of the National Francophone Song Festival 2014

- Musical interludes performed by pianist Vera Stoyanov, winner of International Music Competitions, and violinist Lia Rusu, winner of the National Music Competitions

- Chamber music performed by students of the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts

Thematic guided tours in the temporary exhibition "History of a Coin"
French films screenings, in the museum's Film Library "Clio": Ernest et Célestine by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner; Le Prénom by Alexandre de La Patellière and Mathieu Delaporte; Populaire by Régis Roinsard; Le gamin au vélo by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne
Interactive exhibition "My Country, My Family". The Night of Museums participants were invited to come with a family photo (older than 30 years), which will be exhibited in the hall of the museum within the exhibition reconstructing the history of the local community during a century. The exhibition included pictures owned by the Bejan, Chiciuc, Foca, Guja, Oprea, Sîrbu, and Semenciuc families.
Workshop "Newfound Stories. Hairstyle in History". Students of the Chisinau Professional School no. 1 presented the history of hairstyles (in ancient times, the Middle Ages, the modern time and the interwar period) and did all interested hairstyles from different periods of time.
"Behind the Exhibitions of the National Museum of History of Moldova" - interactive demonstrations and discussions. Museum restorers invited visitors to know how to identify, preserve and restore archaeological pottery, old books, clocks and icons.
Workshops for children and their parents: Origami Workshop "The Magic of Cucuteni Pottery" and the Glass Painting Workshop
Medieval armor stand and Photo Studio "Retro-Museum", in which the visitors could try on knights' armor and / or to make a picture in a specially designed vintage environment.
Screening Kaleidoscope of the Night 2014

In the courtyard:

"A night in the life of a prehistoric community" - interactive activities in the reconstructed Cucutenian dwelling
Interactive Workshops on weapon skills, archery, and javelin organized by the Academy „Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Performance "Military Traditions. Between Past, Present and Future" staged by students of the Academy "Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They offered a great costume show presenting mastery of weapons from different times.
Night guided tour "Architectural landmarks of Chisinau downtown". By means of two buses of the Urban Bus Fleet there were organized 14 guided tours to Stefan cel Mare Street, from one end to another, to discover some interesting details about the emblematic buildings of Chisinau.
Concert with Konstantin Pawliuk and the group "Clipele Moldovei"
Battles of knights and fire juggling staged by the Historical Club "Ensifer"
Concert of the band "No Stresss"

The celebration of the European Night of Museums at the National Museum of History of Moldova was attended by 15 845 people.