This year marks the 350th anniversary of the first printed Armenian Bible

February 26, 2016 1769 0


This year marks the 350th anniversary of the first printed Armenian Bible 

The first Armenian Bible was printed in 1666 in Amsterdam with the efforts of Archbishop Voskan Yerevantsi. Printing began on March 11, 1666 and was completed on October 13, 1668, according to armchurch.info website.

The Bible by Voskan Yerevantsi consists of 1462 pages presented in two columns (2924 columns) and 159 images. It was published in 5000 copies.

The basis for the Bible by Voskan Yerevantsi was the one copied in 1295 by the order of Hethum II, King of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Yerevantsi edited this copy according to Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible. During printing he translated and added several books of the Old Testament missing from the Armenian Canon.

Voskan Yerevantsi asked famous artist-bookbinder Albert Magnus for a splendid example of the Bible, which he then gave to Louis XVI of France.

The Bible by Voskan Yerevantsi is considered one of the finest examples of old Armenian printing.


Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.