Exact copy of the "Peresopnytsia Gospel"
Residents of Rivne and Volyn regions celebrated the traditional holiday of the Peresopnytsia Gospel. It was on the border of two regions of Ukraine in princely Peresopnytsia 449 years ago that the Ukrainian First Book was born from the pen of the monastery's monks, on which Ukrainian presidents now take the oath, reports the publication News.
The Peresopnytsia Gospel is considered the first Ukrainian translation of scripture. The history of Peresopnytsia, which from a large princely city turned into a small village, is a unique mirror of Ukrainian history. The greatest flourishing of Peresopnytsia occurred in the 12th–13th centuries. In the Galician-Volyn and Kyiv chronicles, the Liturgy near the memorial sign – "Peresopnytsia Gospel" – has 18 mentions.
The second period of Peresopnytsia's glory came with the activity of Archimandrite Gregory at the local monastery. It was then that Princess Olshanska allocated funds for translating the Gospel from Church Slavonic into Old Ukrainian. Today, the original of the Gospel is kept in the capital's Vernadsky Library, writes Abzac.org.
As for the legendary Peresopnytsia, it was forgotten in Soviet times, says the head of Rivne's "Prosvita" Svitlana Nikolina: "Until Independence, no one remembered or knew that the Peresopnytsia Gospel was born in this village, and no one talked about the significance of the Peresopnytsia Gospel at all.
Thanks to people like Yevhen Shmorhun, Vasyl Krasny, this sign appeared here and every year people gather to affirm: no matter how they try to destroy us, no matter how they push for a second state language, this is Ukrainian land, and it will always be. Because we have our writers, and there are children who will write books that will make them famous. But for now, they have written books that will make them known among classmates, relatives, and friends..."
Every year in Peresopnytsia, the writing community and lovers of the native language sum up the literary year and award the winners of the traditional student competition. Awarding the prize winners, the writer and initiator of the memorial sign to the Peresopnytsia Gospel, Yevhen Shmorhun, reminded that plans to create a historical and cultural center here were supported by President Kravchuk. But over time, even the already approved project by architect Viktor Kovalchuk disappeared.
On May 12, the Verkhovna Rada supported the proposal of Rivne deputies to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Peresopnytsia Gospel in August next year. By this date, as reported by Deputy Chairman of the Rivne Regional State Administration Oleksiy Hubanov, the road in the ancient village will be repaired, stable electricity supply will be ensured, and the area around the memorial sign will be put in order. "We plan next year, for the next holiday, to restore at this holy place both the museum and other memorial objects that should demonstrate what happened here and what the Peresopnytsia Gospel is. For this, the authorities and the community will work all next year," the official assured.
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