This post is by Matt Young, Reference Librarian for Russia and Belarus in the European Reading Room.
The Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room is pleased to announce that its copy of the Ostroh Bible (also rendered as the Ostrog or Ostrih Bible) has been fully digitized and is available on the Library of Congress website. A milestone in Slavic publishing, the bible came off the press in 1581 in Ostroh, a city in present-day Ukraine which was at the time part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The work represents the first printing in one volume of the Old and New Testament in Church Slavic, the liturgical language of the Eastern Orthodox Church used in several Slavic countries.
Title page of the Ostroh Bible. Biblīa, siri︠e︡chʹ, Knigy Vetkhago i Novago Zavi︠e︡ta po i︠a︡zȳkū slovenskū : ō︠t︡ʺ evreĭska vʺ ellinnʹskiĭ i︠a︡zȳkʺ sedmi desętʺ i dvi︠e︡ma bogomūdrymi prevodniki, prezhe voploshcheniaę G-a B-a i S-psa nashego I-s KH-a, 350 li︠e︡ta, na zhelaemoe poveli︠e︡nie Ptolomeę Filadelʹfa t︠s︡-ra egypetska. [Vʺ Ostrozi︠e︡ : Poveli︠e︡nīem knzę Vasilīę Konstantinovicha Ostrozʺkago, napechatana Ivanomʺ Ḟeodorovymʺ], 1581. Rare Book and Special Collections Division.The bible was the initiative of Konstiantyn Ostrozkyi, a prince in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who was deeply committed to the Eastern Orthodox faith. This was significant as the commonwealth during this period was the site of intense religious competition between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox believers. To promote Orthodox efforts, Ostrozkyi established an academy with a printing press to produce translations of religious literature. Its crowning achievement was what would become known as the Ostroh Bible, the first complete printed bible in Church Slavic and the first one in Cyrillic type. The Ostroh Bible would serve as the model for later printings of the Old and New Testament in Church Slavic.
The translation for the Ostroh Bible was primarily based on the Gennadius Bible, the first manuscript of the Old and New Testament in Church Slavic combined into one codex. The manuscript was completed in 1499 in the city of Novgorod (present-day Russia) and a copy was gifted to Ostrozkyi by the first czar of Russia, Ivan IV, known to English speakers as Ivan the Terrible. To supplement the Gennadius Bible, Ostrozkyi formed a committee to find other sources for translation, including versions of the Old and New Testament in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. The result was the inclusion of passages and books in the Ostroh Bible which were lacking in the Gennadius Bible, such as the Third Book of Maccabees.
View of the city of Novogord where the Gennadius Bible was compiled. Astapov (Ostapov), Nikolaĭ. Vid Novagoroda.World Digital Library.
In addition to unifying Orthodox believers with a standard text, the Ostroh Bible is a landmark achievement in Ukrainian literature, holding a special place of pride for Ukrainians to this day. For the bible’s preface, Herasym Smotrytskyi, the first rector of the Ostroh academy which Ostrozkyi founded, composed two poems commemorating the book’s publication. Along with the Muskovy-born printer Ivan Fedorov, Smotrytskyi played a major role in the book’s translation and publication. Although many of his works are now lost, Smotrytskyi is known for his polemical as well as satirical works which often blended elements of the local Ukrainian vernacular. His poems in the Ostroh Bible are considered one of the earliest examples of Ukrainian poetry in print.
One of Smotrytsky’s poems in the preface for the Ostroh Bible. The Ostrozkyi family crest lies at the center of the page. Biblīa, siri︠e︡chʹ, Knigy Vetkhago i Novago Zavi︠e︡ta po i︠a︡zȳkū slovenskū : ō︠t︡ʺ evreĭska vʺ ellinnʹskiĭ i︠a︡zȳkʺ sedmi desętʺ i dvi︠e︡ma bogomūdrymi prevodniki, prezhe voploshcheniaę G-a B-a i S-psa nashego I-s KH-a, 350 li︠e︡ta, na zhelaemoe poveli︠e︡nie Ptolomeę Filadelʹfa t︠s︡-ra egypetska. [Vʺ Ostrozi︠e︡ : Poveli︠e︡nīem knzę Vasilīę Konstantinovicha Ostrozʺkago, napechatana Ivanomʺ Ḟeodorovymʺ], 1581. Rare Book and Special Collections Division.The Ostroh Bible is remarkable for its ornamental features. One striking element is the intricate edge pattern of the bible with geometric patterns reminiscent of hearts and flowers. The Ostroh Bible also has beautiful illustrations and markers throughout, including columns, angelic figures, decorative initial letters, and the crest of the Ostrozkyi family.
The wonderfully detailed edge pattern of the Ostroh Bible. Biblīa, siri︠e︡chʹ, Knigy Vetkhago i Novago Zavi︠e︡ta po i︠a︡zȳkū slovenskū : ō︠t︡ʺ evreĭska vʺ ellinnʹskiĭ i︠a︡zȳkʺ sedmi desętʺ i dvi︠e︡ma bogomūdrymi prevodniki, prezhe voploshcheniaę G-a B-a i S-psa nashego I-s KH-a, 350 li︠e︡ta, na zhelaemoe poveli︠e︡nie Ptolomeę Filadelʹfa t︠s︡-ra egypetska. [Vʺ Ostrozi︠e︡ : Poveli︠e︡nīem knzę Vasilīę Konstantinovicha Ostrozʺkago, napechatana Ivanomʺ Ḟeodorovymʺ], 1581. Rare Book and Special Collections Division.From an estimated initial print run of one to four thousand, around 350 copies of the Ostroh Bible have been identified throughout libraries and institutions worldwide. The copy at the Library of Congress was acquired in 1958 through exchange with the former Lenin State Library, now Russian State Library. It remains one of a handful of copies in the United States and is a cornerstone of the Ukrainian collection at the Library of Congress. The Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room is excited to share this treasure with you.
Explore the text and illustrations of the Ostroh Bible here.
