Researcher Serhiy Shumylo from the Institute of History of Ukraine at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine discovered 144 ancient Kyiv prints during an expedition to Mount Athos in Greece. He announced this discovery on his Facebook page.
The prints, dating back to the 18th century, were found in the library of one of the Athonite monasteries. Most of these prints were produced at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra printing house.
"I am truly amazed by the number of Ukrainian ancient prints found here. These are only editions from the 18th century, yet there are also over 20 rare editions from the Kyivan Metropolis of the 16th-17th centuries, including three copies of the Ostroh Bible from 1581," Shumylo reported.
According to him, the majority of Ukrainian prints were transferred to Mount Athos between the 1730s and 1770s. After this period, the inflow of publications sharply decreased. Shumylo explained that this decline was associated with the abolition of the autonomy of the Hetmanate by Catherine II in 1764, the destruction of the Zaporizhian Sich in 1775, and the final elimination of the Cossack regimental system in Ukraine in 1781 under Russian imperial control.
He believes that the development of Ukrainian culture and book printing can be traced through the influx of ancient prints to Mount Athos, as well as the deliberate suppression of this process by the Russian Empire.
"I don't know if there is anywhere else where such a large number of Ukrainian ancient prints is concentrated in one place? And this is only in one monastery. It's simply incredible. All these are invaluable treasures of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural heritage preserved in the closed libraries of Athonite monasteries," Shumylo shared.
In summary, the significant presence of these ancient prints on Mount Athos indicates close ties between the clergy of Kyiv and Athos during that time.
