Наукові праці Національної бібліотеки України імені В.І. Вернадського (Jan 2022)
Library of Metropolitan Varlaam Yasynskyi: Characteristics of Composition and Content
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to consider and analyze the library of Varlaam Yasynskyiin the context of his biography, to investigate the origin of books and thematic preferences, which can become an additional source of knowledge about the motives of the metropolitan’s activities. The methodology of the work is based on the application of general historical methods: problem and chronological, comparative and historical, and general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis. The scientific novelty is that, for the first time, a thorough analysis of a private library was carried out as an auxiliary source of knowledge about the historical figure of Metropolitan Varlaam Yasynskyi. In the course of the research, it turned out that Metropolitan Varlaam’s book collectionis diverse, filled with Protestant works, Catholic treatises, first editions of well-known European publishing houses, several books were donated by the exiled Metropolitan of Suchav, Dosiphey (Barile). Chernihiv Archbishop Lazar Baranovych was a kind of patron of Varlaam Yasynskyi, it could be proved with the very fact of the presence of author’s copies of the archbishop’s works in the metropolitan’s library. To the description and analysis of the library, we should add the fact that Varlaam Yasynsky established a library in St. Sophia Cathedral and organized an archive to collect copies of ancient acts, thus laying the foundation for the preservation of the book cultural heritage of Ukraine. The conclusion is that, judging by the library preserved to the present day, the metropolitan was familiar with the works of representatives of various trends of the Reformation, Catholics, and had the first Catholic translation of the Holy Scriptures. His library was also replenished thanks to friendly relations with Orthodox hierarchs, Western European scholars of that time, which testifies to the erudition, authority and tolerance of Varlaam Yasynskyi.
