KYIV — On March 9, the 196^th birthday anniversary of Taras Shevchenko, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate donated a facsimile edition of the Peresopnytsia Gospels and nine rare editions from his Shevchenko collection to the Taras Shevchenko National Museum, reports Ukrinform.

During the opening ceremony of the exhibition, the hierarch greeted everyone on the birthday of the great Ukrainian poet and emphasized the significance of his personality for the state and its people. 

"Taras Shevchenko is respected not only in Ukraine, but in Europe and all over the world. It testifies to the fact that the love of our nation for the Great Kobzar is alive.  Good luck to our country, good luck to this museum, and may the memory of gifted people such as Taras Shevchenko be always remembered,” said the hierarch.

The director of the museum Natalia Klymenko thanked the primate for the "precious treasure of our people" and assured that this gift would occupy a well-deserved place in the exhibition of the museum. As a souvenir from his visit, the hierarch was given the seven-volume edition of Taras Shevchenko's works.   

Klymenko also mentioned that in 1845, staying in Pereiaslav, Taras Shevchenko had a chance to see the Peresopnytsia Gospels.

 
The museum collection consists of unique valuables: originals of Shevchenko's paintings, documents of his life and creative work, handwritten copies of his poetry, rare photographs of the poet and his friends, first prints of Shevchenko's works with his signature, almost all editions of the poet's works and literature about him, ranging from lifetime editions to modern domestic and foreign editions.

A significant part of the exhibition materials is available for visitors only once a year – on the very birthday of Taras Shevchenko.