"THE BIBLE YESTERDAY, NOWADAYS AND FOREVER: JOY FOR THE SOUL BEAUTY FOR THE EYES"

 The exhibition "THE BIBLE YESTERDAY, NOWADAYS AND FOREVER: Joy for the Soul, Beauty for the Eyes".

In this exhibition, visitors will be able to get acquainted with a brief history of the origins of the Bible and its translations, ancient publications from the archives of the Bible Society and the Trakai History Museum, they will have a unique opportunity to read a facsimile of the first manuscript translation by J. Bretkūnas (1590), and the ecumenical translation of the New Testament, currently being translated, with commentaries.

Here you will be able to admire a collection of beautiful original bindings, combining the historical knowledge and practical skills of book restorers with the creative flair of artists and art historians. Among more interesting exhibits there is a publication edited in 1824 by Prof. Liudvikas Rėza of the University of Königsberg. Also a wedding gift – a luxurious leather binding, which was created using a new material – plastic. (Collections of the Trakai History Museum).

The exhibition was complemented and its sacred content was made more extensive and highlighted by unique folk art sculptures and graphic works from the collections of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art.

The Vilnius Guild of Bookbinders, reconstructed in 2003, continues its old traditions that date back to the 16th century, the earliest known document being the privilege granted to the Vilnius Bookbinders’ Guild in 1664 by the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of the GDL, John Casimir. The link between the Guild and the Bernardine Church was re-established in 2004. 

In 2011, the Guild’s banner was consecrated here, and bookbinders bound some of the books of the monastery’s library. In cooperation with the Bible Society of Lithuania, the Vilnius Bookbinders’ Guild and the Franciscan friars, the exhibition “And the Word was made Flesh” was held in the Seimas Palace (2006).  On 20 January, bookbinders gather every year at the Bernardine Church to celebrate a mass for the bookbinders who lived, worked and still work in Vilnius. Thus, this exhibition illustrates quite eloquently the continuity of traditions and a social, cultural and spiritual connection between religious and secular communities.

Organizers: M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art,  The Biblical Society of Lithuania, Vilnius  Bookbinders‘ Guild, Trakai History Museum 

Curators: Rimas Supranavičius, Vilhelmina Kalinauskienė

Designer: Jonas Vaikšnoras

Coordinators: Violeta Karmalavičienė, Silvija Burokaitė