The ancient Greek books of the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bucovina preserved in the “Dumitru Stăniloae” library of Iaşi. Cover Image

Les livres grecs anciens de la Métropole de Moldavie et de Bucovine conservés dans la bibliothèque «Dumitru Stăniloae» de Iaşi.
The ancient Greek books of the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bucovina preserved in the “Dumitru Stăniloae” library of Iaşi.

Author(s): Lidia Cotovanu
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, History, Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Cultural history, Foreign languages learning, History of Church(es), Essay|Book Review |Scientific Life, Review, Bibliography, General Reference Works, Geography, Regional studies, Regional Geography, Historical Geography, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Studies of Literature, Comparative history, Diplomatic history, Economic history, Ethnohistory, History of ideas, Local History / Microhistory, Middle Ages, Recent History (1900 till today), Theology and Religion, Comparative Studies of Religion, Language acquisition, Comparative Linguistics, Comparative Study of Literature, Greek Literature, Western Slavic Languages, South Slavic Languages, 6th to 12th Centuries, 15th Century, Biblical studies, Systematic Theology, Pastoral Theology, Eastern Orthodoxy, Other Christian Denominations, Cultural Essay, Editorial, Canon Law / Church Law, Translation Studies, Source Material, History of Religion, History of Art
Published by: Muzeul National al Unirii Alba Iulia
Keywords: manuscripts; old prints; libraries; Modern History; Greek language;

Summary/Abstract: The Library of the Orthodox Metropolitan See of Moldavia and Bucovina in Iaşi preserves over a thousand copies of old Greek books. There are only ten manuscripts in this collection, one of which was com-missioned by Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia. The collection consists mainly of Greek prints of various origins, some of which can be traced back to the library of the Princely Academy of Iași, succeeded by the Mihăileană Academy. Other volumes originate in the library of the Theological Seminary of Socola, founded by Veniamin Costachi Metropolitan of Moldavia, who donated his personal library to the Iași foundation. Sev-eral references come from the private collections of high hierarchs, while some books were collected from various Moldavian monasteries, especially from those who used to be metochia of the Greek Patriarchates and the great monasteries under their jurisdiction. This article evaluates the importance of the prints according to their dating, place of publication, owners, and contents (generally didactic books, but also polemical books of a religious nature). It also seeks to reconstruct the historical context of their circulation in Moldavia and the circumstances in which they came into the possession of the Metropolitan See of Moldavia and Bucovina. The analysis provided takes into account prosopographical investigations, the history of the Moldavian educational institutions, and the examination of the notes (mostly in Greek) on the prints.

  • Issue Year: 6/2022
  • Issue No: 6
  • Page Range: 227-262
  • Page Count: 37
  • Language: French