#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

January 2024

Mihai Eminescu: volumes of works from the NMHM collection

On January 15, in tribute to the birthday of the great poet Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), the Republic of Moldova celebrates the National Day of Culture. In the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova there are several materials related to the name of the illustrious Romanian poet and prose writer, such as books, paintings, medals, coins, philately pieces and cartophile, etc. On this occasion, we present to the public two volumes signed by Mihai Eminescu, representing the author's oldest editions from our book collection.

The first book entitled "Political and literary writings: original manuscripts and collections from newspapers and magazines" vol. 1: 1870-1877 - XXXV, 451 p. was published in Bucharest in 1905. The cover is original, made of paper. On the forced sheet there is a stamp with the text: "Gheorghe Papaghiuc Library. Iasi". On the verso title page: "Publishing Institute of Graphic Arts "Minerva". On page V-XXXV, introduction signed by Ion Scurtu, dated Bucharest, June 10, 1905". Of the planned edition in 3 volumes, only volume 1 appeared (laudatory articles in the press of the time). On the back cover, the list of books published in the collection of the Library of Romanian Writers, classic authors and modern authors was placed.

The second book is "Complete Works. Poems - Short stories - Novel - Theater - Thoughts - Writings: Literary, Economic, Political and Philosophical - Letters - Critique of pure reason by Kant" with a preface and an introductory study by A. C. Cuza, Iași 1914: edited by Librăria Românească / Ioan V. Voinescu and N. Georgescu - Institute of Graphic Arts N.V. Ștefănescu & Co.: Ștefan cel Mare street, no. 38.

Three illustrations representing Mihai Eminescu at different ages are inserted in the volume: M. Eminescu after a photograph from 1879-1880 (between pages 184-185); M. Eminescu after a photo from the years 1884-1885 (between pages 344-345) and the photo of M. Eminescu from the age of 20, which is missing in our volume.

Alexandru C. Cuza (1857-1947), who signed the preface and the introductory study of the volume, was a professor of political economy at the University of Iași, a contemporary of Mihai Eminescu whom he knew. Because of the political activity of A.C. Cuza, one of the founders of the far-right movement in Romania, known for its extremism and anti-semitism, the 1914 edition was banned in 1948. Many copies of this edition were destroyed in the early years of the communist regime.

#Exhibit of the Month

Altar Gospel (1890)

January 2024

Mihai Eminescu: volumes of works from the NMHM collection

#Exhibit of the Month