#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

Exhibitions

„20 years of Moldovan Leu ”

November 29th, 2013 - January 10th, 2014

There are 20 years on November 29^th, 2013 since the introduction intro circulation of the national coin of Republic of Moldova. The Exhibition organized by the National Museum of History of Moldova in collaboration with the National Bank of Moldova has the aim to commemorate this event and familiarize the large public with the history of introduction of Moldovan Leu.

The period from the declaration of Sovereignty and Independence until the introduction of the leu was been cumbersome and difficult for the young state Republic of Moldova. The republic has confronted a strong inflation and a big deficit in food production and other goods. The country was in need of its own monetary system to stand up these problems. The Republic of Moldova has known several stages and types of temporary money units until the presidential decree no. 200 „Regarding the introduction of national coin in Republic of Moldova" from November 24^th, 1993 has been signed.

In order to create a comprehensive picture of leu instruction history the exhibition presents a series of materials preceding the monetary reform that reflect the elaboration and implementation process of provisional money, numismatic and commemorative coins issued by the National Bank of Moldova. A large part of exhibited documents and pieces are part of master Gheorghe Vrabie's collection, artist from the Republic of Moldova, author and designer of national banknotes and coins. Among these are graphic sketches of Ştefan cel Mare' image from both series of leu, pictures reflecting the creation of banknotes, different ornamental elements, NBM' logo, different symbols and representations on the front and back of banknotes.

The public has the occasion to see black and white and color coupons called „Consumer's card" introduced in circulation at the beginning of year 1991 by the National Bank and the Government to protect the consumer market from Moldovan SSR. These are followed by coupons with multiple value introduced on June 2^nd, 1992 equivalent with the Soviet Ruble to 1:1, which had values of 200, 50, 1000 and 5000 (rubles). On September 20^th, 1993 had been introduces the 5 lei coupon as payment method equivalent to 5000 coupons (rubles). The 5 lei banknote, called then a coupon, represented actually one of the first three types of leu elaborated by master Gheorghe Vrabie. All these banknotes can be seen in the exhibition showcases. They are followed by samples of banknotes that are in use today, metallic coins including those drawn out of circulation and jubilee and commemorative coins. The first jubilee coin issued by the National Bank of Moldova has been consecrated to the fifth anniversary from Republic of Moldova's Declaration of Independence with a nominal value of 100 lei. The first series of such coins - Monasteries of Moldova - has been inaugurated in 2000. Samples from this series with a nominal value of 50 lei, from silver, picture images of 20 monasteries from Republic of Moldova. The graphical sketches have been realized by artists Vitalie Pogolșa and Simion Zamșa. There were later introduced other series of commemorative and jubilee coins: Historic Events; Alley of Classics from Public garden „Ştefan cel Mare și Sfânt" from Chișinău; Sport; Personalities; Sacred Places; Monuments of Moldova; Holidays, culture, traditions of Moldova; Red book of Republic of Moldova.

#Exhibit of the Month

Altar Gospel (1890)

„20 years of Moldovan Leu ”

November 29th, 2013 - January 10th, 2014

#Exhibit of the Month