In a broad sense, the Gospel is the good news about the salvation of the human race and the coming of the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is written down in four books describing the earthly life, as well as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The books are named after the apostles who authored them: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
One of the most solemn moments of the Orthodox liturgy is the carrying out and reading of the Gospel. The liturgical book differs from ordinary publications in a number of ways: the text is divided into so-called pericopes, that is, fragments, so that it would be more convenient for the priest to find the necessary passages. It also contains some explanations and instructions — on the correspondence between the episodes of the Gospel and the services at which they are read.
A large altar edition of the Gospel in an expensive silver frame is part of the permanent exhibition of the Radishchev Art Museum. Its gilded surface is adorned with relief ornaments and colored with fifty-two onlays of painted enamel.
Apart from the traditional images of the four evangelists and the composition of the Resurrection, the top cover also features the images of the Old Testament Trinity, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Sergius of Radonezh and Saint Nikon. The bottom cover includes “The Nativity of Christ” surrounded by forty-two ovals with “portraits” of Christ’s ancestors: “The Genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.”
The Gospel itself was printed in Moscow, and the engravings with images of the apostles who wrote the book date back to 1766. The images were created by the artisans Semyon Vtorov, Alexey Andreev, Ivan Fyodorov, Semyon Nazarov, Peter Popov, and Vasily Ikonnikov.
There are maker’s marks on the revetment, which allow to determine the place and time of its creation and the artisan’s name. According to the engraved text on the bottom cover, the craftsman “built it” in Saratov, in the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the front side of the Gospel included the image of St. Sergius of Radonezh — the famous hegumen of the Russian Land and All Russia and the miracle worker.
Legend has it that the wooden church dedicated to St. Sergius of Radonezh in Saratov was founded in 1768 by the Saratov merchant Ivan Ivanovich Suzdaltsev. In 1825, the church was rebuilt in stone, but has not survived to this day.
One of the most solemn moments of the Orthodox liturgy is the carrying out and reading of the Gospel. The liturgical book differs from ordinary publications in a number of ways: the text is divided into so-called pericopes, that is, fragments, so that it would be more convenient for the priest to find the necessary passages. It also contains some explanations and instructions — on the correspondence between the episodes of the Gospel and the services at which they are read.
A large altar edition of the Gospel in an expensive silver frame is part of the permanent exhibition of the Radishchev Art Museum. Its gilded surface is adorned with relief ornaments and colored with fifty-two onlays of painted enamel.
Apart from the traditional images of the four evangelists and the composition of the Resurrection, the top cover also features the images of the Old Testament Trinity, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Sergius of Radonezh and Saint Nikon. The bottom cover includes “The Nativity of Christ” surrounded by forty-two ovals with “portraits” of Christ’s ancestors: “The Genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.”
The Gospel itself was printed in Moscow, and the engravings with images of the apostles who wrote the book date back to 1766. The images were created by the artisans Semyon Vtorov, Alexey Andreev, Ivan Fyodorov, Semyon Nazarov, Peter Popov, and Vasily Ikonnikov.
There are maker’s marks on the revetment, which allow to determine the place and time of its creation and the artisan’s name. According to the engraved text on the bottom cover, the craftsman “built it” in Saratov, in the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the front side of the Gospel included the image of St. Sergius of Radonezh — the famous hegumen of the Russian Land and All Russia and the miracle worker.
Legend has it that the wooden church dedicated to St. Sergius of Radonezh in Saratov was founded in 1768 by the Saratov merchant Ivan Ivanovich Suzdaltsev. In 1825, the church was rebuilt in stone, but has not survived to this day.
