Adysh Gospels
Encyclopedia
The Adysh
Gospels (Adishi Four Gospels) is an important early medieval
Gospel Book
from Georgia
.
The oldest dated extant manuscript
of the Georgian version of the Gospels, it was created at Shatberdi Monastery in the southwestern Georgian princedom of Klarjeti
(located now in northeastern Turkey
) in AD 897, and later removed thence to be preserved in the remote village of Adysh
(Adishi) in highland Svaneti
. The first five folios (30 x 25 cm) of the manuscript are illuminated.
The manuscript was first published, in 1916, by the prominent Georgian scholar Ekvtime Takaishvili
. It has been extensively studied by both Georgian and international scholars (e.g., Robert Pierpont Blake
of Harvard University
). The manuscript is now preserved in the Mestia
Ethnographic Museum, Georgia.
(Luke 22:43–44), and pericope of the adulteress (John 7:53-8:11), and Longer Ending of Mark
(Mark 16:9–20); Thus providing the only (but earliest) Georgian witness for the omission of these passages.
Adysh
Adishi is a highland village, 2,040 metres above sea level, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Georgia, 27 kilometres from the town of Mestia. The landscape of the village is dominated by a number of medieval monuments, and the Greater Caucasus mountains...
Gospels (Adishi Four Gospels) is an important early medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Gospel Book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
from Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
The oldest dated extant manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
of the Georgian version of the Gospels, it was created at Shatberdi Monastery in the southwestern Georgian princedom of Klarjeti
Klarjeti
Klarjeti was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is currently part of the Artvin Province in northeastern Turkey. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts constituted a larger region with shared history and culture conventionally known as...
(located now in northeastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) in AD 897, and later removed thence to be preserved in the remote village of Adysh
Adysh
Adishi is a highland village, 2,040 metres above sea level, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Georgia, 27 kilometres from the town of Mestia. The landscape of the village is dominated by a number of medieval monuments, and the Greater Caucasus mountains...
(Adishi) in highland Svaneti
Svaneti
Svaneti is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans, a geographic subgroup of the Georgians.- Geography :...
. The first five folios (30 x 25 cm) of the manuscript are illuminated.
The manuscript was first published, in 1916, by the prominent Georgian scholar Ekvtime Takaishvili
Ekvtime Takaishvili
Ekvtime Takaishvili was a Georgian historian, archaeologist and public benefactor....
. It has been extensively studied by both Georgian and international scholars (e.g., Robert Pierpont Blake
Robert Pierpont Blake
Robert Pierpont Blake was an American Byzantinist and scholar of the Armenian and Georgian cultures.Robert P. Blake was born in San Francisco on November 1, 1886. As a John Harvard Traveling Fellow, he chiefly studied and worked, between 1911 and 1918, in Russia where he mastered Russian and began...
of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
). The manuscript is now preserved in the Mestia
Mestia
Mestia is a highland townlet in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1,500 meters in the Caucasus Mountains.-General information:According to the current administrative subdivision of Georgia, Mestia is located in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region , some 128 km northeast of the regional...
Ethnographic Museum, Georgia.
Text
It lacks text of Christ's agony at GethsemaneChrist's agony at Gethsemane
Christ's agony at Gethsemane is a passage in the Gospel of Luke , describing a prayer of Jesus, after which he receives strength from an angel, on the Mount of Olives prior to his betrayal and arrest...
(Luke 22:43–44), and pericope of the adulteress (John 7:53-8:11), and Longer Ending of Mark
Mark 16
Mark 16 is the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It begins with the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome — there they encounter a man dressed in white who announces the Resurrection of Jesus.Verse 8 ends...
(Mark 16:9–20); Thus providing the only (but earliest) Georgian witness for the omission of these passages.