On November 28th 2018, a solemn presentation of the facsimile edition of the first book entitled "Primer" was held in the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius. The publication enlarged the collections of a number of leading Lithuanian libraries.
The organization of this event in Vilnius is very symbolic.
The "Primer" was published in the printing house of the Holy Spirit Orthodox Brotherhood in the city of Vievis, situated not far from Vilnius, in 1618. The book was prepared and published by the monks of the Holy Spirit Monastery in Vilna, which was the main center of Orthodox education in the Belarusian-Lithuanian lands at that time.
The event was opened with an animation clip dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the first "Primer". The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Lithuania Alexander Korol and Director General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius Renaldas Gudauskas addressed the guests.
Alexander Susha, Deputy Director for Research and Publishing of the National Library of Belarus, reported on the implementation of an international scientific publishing project on facsimile reproduction of the first "Primer". He also noted that the facsimile of a book artifact is intended to make this significant memorial of educational thought accessible to a wide audience.
In the framework of the presentation, an exhibition of publications of Belarusian primers from the collections of the National Library of Belarus was held. At the end of the event a donation ceremony of facsimile editions of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the Vilnius University Library, the Vilnius Gymnasium named after Francysk Skaryna, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Lithuania, the Holy Spirit Monastery and the Trakai History Museum.The facsimile reproduction of the first in the world “Primer” was made by the Honorable Society of the Middle Temple Library in London, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, the International Association of Belarusians, Belarusian State University, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the European Bank reconstruction and development, as well as the Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction "Belinvestbank".
The article is created by the Public Relations Department.
The photos are from the site of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Lithuania.
Read also: В Литве представили первый в мире славянский «Букварь» (ru.delfi)
