All Topics  
Ostrog Bible

 
Ostrog Bible

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Ostrog Bible
 
 
  Topics Ostrog Bible Topic Home

The Ostrog Bible (; ) was one of the earliest East Slavic translations of the Bible
Slavic translations of the Bible

This article deals with the history of bible translations into Slavic languages, which begins with the second half of the 9th century....
 and the first complete printed edition of the Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 in Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic, also known as Old Bulgarian, or Old Macedonian, was the first literary Slavic language, based on the old Solun dialect of the Thessaloniki region by the 9th century Byzantine Greeks missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius, who used it for translation of the Bible and other Ancient Greek language ecclesiastica...
, published in Ostrog
Ostroh

Ostroh is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine, located on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the Capital of the Ostrozkyi Raion and is itself designated as a special administrative subordination within the oblast....
, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th and 17th-century Europe, formed by a Union of Lublin of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569....
, by the Muscovy printer Ivan Fyodorov
Ivan Fyodorov (printer)

Ivan Fyodorov , was one of the fathers of Russian printing. He was also a master cannon maker and the inventor of a Barrel Mortar .In 1532 he graduated from Jagiellonian University with bachelor degree....
 in 1581 with the assistance of the Ukrainian Prince Konstantin Ostrogski
Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski

Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski was a Grand Duchy of Lithuania prince, starost of Volodymyr-Volynskyi, marshal of Volhynia and voivode of the Kiev Voivodeship, Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth....
.

The Ostrog Bible is unique among Church Slavonic Bibles in that the Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 was translated not from the (Hebrew) Masoretic text
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
, but from the (Greek) Septuagint
Septuagint

The Septuagint , or simply "LXX", is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd century BC and 1st century BC in Alexandria....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ostrog Bible'
Start a new discussion about 'Ostrog Bible'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Ostrogbible
The Ostrog Bible (; ) was one of the earliest East Slavic translations of the Bible
Slavic translations of the Bible

This article deals with the history of bible translations into Slavic languages, which begins with the second half of the 9th century....
 and the first complete printed edition of the Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 in Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic, also known as Old Bulgarian, or Old Macedonian, was the first literary Slavic language, based on the old Solun dialect of the Thessaloniki region by the 9th century Byzantine Greeks missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius, who used it for translation of the Bible and other Ancient Greek language ecclesiastica...
, published in Ostrog
Ostroh

Ostroh is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine, located on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the Capital of the Ostrozkyi Raion and is itself designated as a special administrative subordination within the oblast....
, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th and 17th-century Europe, formed by a Union of Lublin of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569....
, by the Muscovy printer Ivan Fyodorov
Ivan Fyodorov (printer)

Ivan Fyodorov , was one of the fathers of Russian printing. He was also a master cannon maker and the inventor of a Barrel Mortar .In 1532 he graduated from Jagiellonian University with bachelor degree....
 in 1581 with the assistance of the Ukrainian Prince Konstantin Ostrogski
Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski

Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski was a Grand Duchy of Lithuania prince, starost of Volodymyr-Volynskyi, marshal of Volhynia and voivode of the Kiev Voivodeship, Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth....
.

The Ostrog Bible is unique among Church Slavonic Bibles in that the Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 was translated not from the (Hebrew) Masoretic text
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
, but from the (Greek) Septuagint
Septuagint

The Septuagint , or simply "LXX", is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd century BC and 1st century BC in Alexandria....
. This translation, comprising seventy-six books of the Old and New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
s, was based on the Gennadius Bible and a manuscript of the Codex Alexandrinus
Codex Alexandrinus

The Codex Alexandrinus is a 5th century manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early history of Christianity....
. Some parts were based on Francysk Skaryna
Francysk Skaryna

Francysk Skaryna was a Belarusians famous as one of the first printing in Eastern Europe, laying groundwork for the development of Belarusian language....
's translations.

The Ostrog Bibles were printed on two dates: 12 July 1580, and 12 August 1581. The second version differs from the 1580 original in composition, ornamentation, and correction of misprints. In the printing of the Bible delays occurred, as it was necessary to remove mistakes, to search for correct textual resolutions of questions, and to produce a correct translation. The editing of the Bible detained printing. In the meantime, Fyodorov and his company printed other biblical books. The first were those which did not require correcting: the Psalter
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
 and the New Testament.

The Ostrog Bible is a monumental publication of 1,256 pages, lavishly decorated with headpieces and initials, which were prepared especially for it. From the typographical point of view, the Ostrog Bible is irreproachable. This is the first Bible printed in Cyrillic type. It served as the original and model for further Russian publications of the Bible.

The importance of the first printed Cyrillic Bible can hardly be overestimated. Prince Ostrogski sent copies to Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585....
 and tsar
Tsar

Tsar or czar , occasionally spelled csar or tzar in English language, is a slavs term designating certain monarchs.Originally, the title Czar meant Emperor in the European medieval sense of the term, that is, a ruler who has the same rank as a Ancient Rome or Byzantine emperor due to recognition by another emperor or...
 Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV of Russia

Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English language as Ivan the Terrible was Grand Duchy of Moscow from 1533. The epithet "Grozny" is associated with might, power and strictness, rather than poor performance, horror or cruelty....
, while the latter presented a copy to an English ambassador. When leaving Ostrog, Fyodorov took 400 books with him. Only 300 copies of the Ostrog Bible are extant today.

The Ostrog Bible was widely known in Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
, and Belarus
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
, and also abroad. It is registered in the library of Oxford
Oxford

Oxford is a City status in the United Kingdom, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. It has a population of 151,000. The rivers River Cherwell and River Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre....
; its copies were owned by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden

Gustav II Adolf, In the era, which was characterized by nearly endless warfare, he led his armies as Monarch of Sweden—from 1611, as a seventeen year old, until his death in battle while leading a charge during 1632 in the bloody Thirty Years' war—as Sweden rose from the status as a mere regional power and run-of-the-mill king...
, the cardinal Barberini
Barberini

The Barberini are a family of the Italian people nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII....
, many scientists and the public figures of that time. The Ostrog Bible was reprinted in Moscow
Moscow

Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
 in 1663.

The significance of the Ostrog Bible was enormous for Orthodox education, which had to resist strong Catholic
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
 pressure in Ukraine and Belarus.

External links

  • from Ways of Russian Theology, by Fr. George Florovsky