Facsimile Editions of Manuscript Books in the Collections of the Scientific Library of Volyn Orthodox Theological Academy

Abstract

Each nation preserves and protects its book heritage, takes care of it, studies, popularises and interprets it, thus bringing its achievements from the past to the future, and passing them on from ancestors to descendants. Ukraine has its own rich and vivid history of ancient book publishing. Among Ukrainian national monuments, the origins of which lie in the depths of time, the manuscript book occupies a special place. Each manuscript work is unique, and has an artistic face unique to it. Over the past decades, the work of returning original manuscripts to Ukraine in the form of facsimile editions has intensified. Previously inaccessible Ukrainian manuscripts stored in Austria, Italy, Poland, the USA, France and other countries, have become available to all those wishing to thoroughly study the most valuable monuments of national culture and understand their value in illuminating historical processes. As part of the project “Returning Cultural Heritage to Ukraine”, the efforts of the Gorobets publishing house, as well as other publishing houses, have resulted in the return of many ancient Ukrainian manuscript books in the form of facsimile copies.

The Scientific Library of the Volyn Orthodox Theological Academy (Lutsk, Ukraine) has a considerable number of collections. Among the large number of books, the facsimile editions stored in the library's collections deserve special attention, the description of which is given below.