Lectio Orthodoxorum: Libraries of the Orthodox Monasteries of the Lviv Eparchy in the Late 16th–17th Centuries

Abstract

The problem of the «readers’ canon» representation in the Ukrainian Orthodox monasteries in the Early Modern period is studied by examining the libraries of the Krekhiv, St. Onuphrius in Lviv, Pidhirci and Terebovlya monasteries in the Lviv Eparchy. The book culture of the monasteries of the “Kyivan tradition” is considered in comparison with the book culture of the Catholic monasteries in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In general, the mentioned libraries were small in comparison with the Catholic monastery libraries; for example, the largest one in Krekhiv consisted of approximately 100 volumes. Lectio Orthodoxorum is represented, besides liturgical books, by the thematic “triad” of patristic, hagiography, and preaching literature. And it does not look peculiarly, because similar literature was in Russian or Bulgarian Orthodox monastery libraries. For instance, Bulgarian monastery libraries mostly consisted of manuscript liturgical books, collections of sermons, etc. However, the same monasteries under consideration, such as Basilian in the 18th Century, were completely different according to the thematic review. Additionally, Lectio Orthodoxorum was almost entirely composed of literature in Cyrillic. Only a few books were in Latin or in Polish. It means that the monasteries under study were not examples of so called «Polonica Orthodoxe», and the monks were not the part of contemporary Latin respublica litterarum. «Secular», and especially ancient literature, which was considered fundamental for a Westernoriented humanistic educational system, was lacking in the mentioned monasteries, and so were the books in Latin. This presents an indirect evidence about the degree and kind of education of those monks. It also suggests that, in general, the monks in these monasteries did not need a larger or more differentiated kind of literature. The liturgical cycle in the monasteries determined all their monastic life, and they were basically focused on prayer: intellectual activity, including reading of books, was probably beyond their scope and needs.