BOK.RUS.AD1600

Russian Psalter Bible

This Bible contains the book of Psalms and additional administrational texts written in Church Slavic, a language commonly used in the Eastern Orthodox church. Along with the Psalms, which begins with an illustration of David, the Bible’s administrational texts contain instructions varying from how to run a congregational meeting to prayers and songs for Eastern Orthodox holidays. The structure of Church Slavic is basically a condensed version of modern-day Russian. Ligatures above various words show where vowels have been removed in an attempt to save space. Church Slavic, or Cyrilic, was developed by followers of the Saints Cyril and Methodius, who assisted in founding the Eastern Orthodox Church. The language is based on Greek characters and named after Saint Cyril.

This Bible seems to have been put to great use, as there is significant wear on the bottom outside corner of each page. This would be where a person of the clergy would turn the page as they read to the congregation or studied privately. The use of red ink serves to highlight section titles, the beginning of chapters, verses, or sentences, and important points throughout the text.

- Section 1: Instructions on running a church service; commentary on various Psalms; instructions for the congregation on what to do during the service
- Section 2: The Psalms; commentary on the Psalms; schedule explaining when to read certain Psalms
- Section 3: Songs and prayers about various Biblical characters
- Section 4: Prayers and songs for holidays
- Section 5: (20) Songs to praise God for all Orthodox Christians to sing
- Section 6: Instructions on what to do for the service for one who has died
- Section 7: [In Progress]
* * *
Translations done by Prof. Brian Felt, faculty in the department of Languages & Intl Studies at Brigham Young University-Idaho.

1600s AD

Russia

17th Century

Print

History of Writing Collection See all items with this value

Church Slavic

Cyrilic

Bible See all items with this value

Psalter collects See all items with this value

Psalter

Russian Psalter Bible. Russia: 1600s.