Рукописные Евангелия XV–XVI веков и их функции
The handwritten Gospel books of the 15th–16th centuries and their functions

Summary/Abstract: In the 15th and 16th centuries in Muscovy and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the purpose of the Gospel went beyond the presentation of the text of the Holy Scripture. Depending on the region, the extent of Orthodoxy, and the development of various genres of books, altar Gospels took on additional functions, besides the liturgical ones. In the Moscow state, the altar Gospels were often richly illustrated: they had miniatures and colorful screensavers painted in gold. This made the Gospel one of the most valuable contributions to the monastery sacristy that a believer could make to commemorate his soul. The gospels from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were rarely decorated with expensive miniatures, although they often had the painted bindings, so they could replace an icon. The Gospel was a liturgical book, so it certainly included a menologium. However, the Ruthenian Gospels often preserved a short text of the menologium with references to selected saints revered in the Byzantine tradition. On the contrary, new memories of Russian and locally venerated saints were included in the Gospels in the Moscow state, which made the Gospel a «book about saints» that preserved the veneration of a host of ascetics and provided prayerful appeal to them throughout the year. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, the Gospel was entrusted with the function of a book of remembrance of land contributions, which required careful recording of ownership rights and eternal storage. The altar Gospel, which was supposed to be in the church all the time, was the best place to record donations, given that there was no tradition in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to use contribution books.

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