The Exhibition ‘In the Splendor of the Past’ was ceremonially opened in the building of the Serbian Ecclesiastical Museum on Thursday, 12 October 2023. On this occasion, 11 conserved old printed books written in the Serbian recension of the Church Slavonic language from the stocks of the Library of the Orthodox Eparchy of Buda were put on display, representing cultural value of special prominence.
The preservation of old Serbian books, their journey through numerous waves of settlement, as well as the importance of cherishing the cultural and spiritual heritage of Hungary’s Serbs were discussed by His Excellency Lukijan, Bishop of Buda. He had been the first to recognise the need to conserve the oldest and most valuable books, proposing cooperation with the Library of Matica Srpska, as well as with its Department for the Protection of Publications, where all the books were conserved professionally.
Dušica Grbić, Deputy Head of the Library of Matica Srpska, responsible for old and rare books and legacies, drew the attention of those present to the significance of the old Serbian printing presses and books in use from a very early time in the Danubian cities of Komárom and Győr as well. At the exhibition, books from the period 1493 to 1638, printed in Cetinje, Venice and Belgrade, were presented.
The exhibition was opened by Selimir Radulović, Head of the Library of Matica Srpska and signatory to the Agreement on cooperation with the Eparchy of Buda, who also announced the continuation of conservation work on the old and rare books of the Szentendre Library. The patron of this exhibition realised as part of the event ‘Serbian Days in Hungary’ was the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia. All interested may view the exhibition until 1 September 2024.
