The phototype edition of the Munich/Serbian Psalter was promoted in the Ivo Andrić Hall at the International Belgrade Book Fair. Serbian Patriarch Porfirije gave a welcome speech, while Bishop Grigorije of Düsseldorf and Germany, Zoran Rakić, Ph.D., art historian, Zoran Nedeljković, Ph.D., director of the Patriarchal Library, and Danijela Jelić, MA, philologist, spoke about the book.

‘The magnificent phototype edition of the Serbian Psalter, as the Germans call it, or the Munich Psalter, as we Serbs call it, is without a doubt one of the most important Serbian artistic monuments dating from the end of the 14th century. Like many valuable books, this Psalter has had a very turbulent history. At the end of the 17th century, due to a combination of various circumstances, this priceless artistic monument found its new home in Germany, where it is still kept in the Munich State Library. Unfortunately, the only phototype edition we had had in Serbia was burned in the National Library during the bombing of Belgrade in World War II. Today, thank God, owing to the efforts of Bishop Grigorije and a group of top experts that he had gathered, this valuable and important book sees the light of day again in its phototype edition. In the Middle Ages, in addition to the Gospel as the most sacred book, our ancestors most often illustrated and copied the Book of Psalms, i.e. the Psalter’, Patriarch Porfirije pointed out.

Speaking about Saint Sava and Saint Simeon as the first known Serbian writer and his father, the first literary character, at the same time the founders of our church, the patriarch spoke about the Holy Despot Stefan Lazarević, whose reign covered a revival in Serbian spirituality and Serbian literature.

‘The era of his reign is the last brilliant era in the history and culture of medieval Serbia. His literary works, among which Slovo ljubve (The Letter of Love) is certainly the most famous, make him one of the greatest Serbian writers in the Middle Ages. From such a spiritual library into our hands and our hearts arrives the Munich/Serbian Psalter, which truly belongs to the narrow circle of the most representative examples of Serbian manuscript heritage and the most important Serbian artistic monuments from the late 14th century. Created under certain Byzantine influence, the 148 richly crafted miniatures convey the stylistic features of the Moravian school of iconography, and the beauty of the Serbo-Slavic language matches the illuminations. This evening’s presentation at the Belgrade Book Fair is a symbolic return of the Serbian Psalter to the Serbian land, the land of its origin’, added Patriarch Porfirije.

Bishop Grigorije of Düsseldorf and Germany said that ‘nonetheless, the miracle of love multiplying has happened. Beauty saved this book, and that beauty will save this world. I would dare to say that such things will also save our people. We should present these things to the world, the most beautiful, the fruits of our centuries-long difficult history, but also of our glorious culture. Now, having that beauty before our eyes, we are multiplying and sharing it and we will try to show it to other people. The first copy of the phototype edition of the Munich/Serbian Psalter will be ceremoniously presented to Serbian Patriarch Porfirije. This is how we return the Psalter to its cradle, to its mother church – into the hands of our patriarch.’

Source: RASEJANJE.INFO

Photo: Diocese of Düsseldorf and Germany