Three previously unknown copies of the Ostroh Bible discovered on Mount Athos

He wrote about this on his Facebook page.

"There are about 350 surviving copies of the Ostroh Bible in the world today. "Now three more previously unknown copies have been added to this list. Judging by the marginalia on the old printed books, they belonged to Ukrainian Athonite monks of the late 16th and early 17th centuries (all these marginalia (some of them very unique) require a separate study)," he said.

In addition to the three copies of the Ostroh Bible, the same monastery's library also contains the following old printed books published in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Kyiv Metropolia: The Gospel (Vilno, 1575); On the One True Faith (Ostroh, 1588); Adelzphotes (Lviv, 1591); Words of St. Basil the Great, (Ostroh, 1594) - 3 copies; Margarit of Chrysostom, (Ostroh, 1595) - 2 copies; Edifying Gospel (Krylos, 1606 – edition by Bp. Gideon Balaban); Instruction of John Chrysostom (Ostroh, 1607); Grammar by Meletii Smotrytsky (Ev'e, 1619); Vertograde of Soul (Vilno, 1620) – 2 copies; Interpretations of Chrysostom on the Apostle Paul (Kyiv, 1623); Abba Dorotheus and the Lemonarass/Flower Garden (Kyiv, 1623); The Lives of Barlaam and Joasaph (Kuteyninsky Monastery, 1637); The Teaching Gospel (Kyiv, 1637); The Gospel (Vilna, 1644); The Trebnik of Peter the Great (Kyiv, 1646); The Lexicon Slavenorosky (Kuteyninsky Monastery, 1653); Dioptra or Spiritual Mirror (Kuteyninsky Monastery, 1654, in one book embodying the Paradise of Thought, (1659); The Pechersky Otechnik (Kyiv, 1661); New Heaven with New Stars (Lviv, 1665); Peace to God and Man (Kyiv, 1669); The Life of St John of Ryla (Kyiv, 1671), etc.

There is also a large number (more than 140 copies) of old Ukrainian printed books from the 18th century.

In another Athos monastery, the scholar also discovered old printed books from the 17th century published in the Kyiv Metropolis: "Medicine for the Mind" (Ostroh, 1607); "Dioptra or Mirror" by Vitalii Dubensky (Vilno, 1612); "John Chrysostom" (Lviv, 1614); "Vertograd of the Soul" by monk Fikara of Mount Athos (Vilno, 1620); "Conversations" by John Chrysostom (Kyiv, 1623 and 1624); "Lexicon" by Pamva Berynda (Kyiv, 1627); "Triodion" (Kyiv, 1627 and 1632); Abba Dorotheus (Kyiv, 1628); "Nomokanon" (Kyiv, 1629); "Akathistnik" (Kyiv, 1629 and 1677); "Octoechos" (Lviv, 1630); Anthologion (Lviv, 1632); Book of Hours (Lviv, 1642); Gospel (Lviv, 1644); Trebnyk of Petro Mohyla (Kyiv, 1646); Akathistnik (Lviv, 1660); Paterik of the Pechersk (Kyiv, 1661); The Spiritual Sword by Lazar Baranovych (Kyiv, 1666); Innocent Gisel (Kyiv, 1669); Sermons by Anthony Radyvilovsky (Kyiv, 1676 and 1688); Anthologion (Chernihiv, 1678); Book of the Lives of Saints by Dmitriy Tuptalo (Kyiv, 1689 and 1700); The Apostle (Kyiv, 1695), ect.

"This is not a complete list... There are especially many publications of the Kyiv Cave Monastery printing house from the 18th century (over 140). All of these are priceless treasures of the Ukrainian spiritual and cultural heritage, which are stored in the closed libraries of the Athos monasteries.

A large number of Ukrainian old printed books of the 16th-18th centuries preserved on Mount Athos attest to the close contacts of Athos monasteries with the clergy and monks of the Kyiv Metropolis, as well as with the Ukrainian Cossacks and Cossack officers (including hetmans and kosh atamans of the Zaporozhian Sich), and the spiritual and cultural influence of the Kyivan Church throughout the Orthodox world, including in the world centre of Orthodox monasticism, Mount Athos. This is the subject of separate further research. And this is a matter of our national pride," said Dr. Serhii Shumylo.