HURI publishes photoreproduction of Slavonic psalter (12/31/78)

HURI publishes photoreproduction of Slavonic psalter

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A literary evening to announce the appearance of "An Early Slavonic Psalter from Rus'" was held at the Harvard Faculty Club on December 1.

Forty-five people, including representatives of the local Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox clergy and the dean of the Harvard Graduate School, Prof. Edward Keenan, were in attendance to see Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Anna Iwaniw of Rosyln, N.Y., honored for their generous contribution of $9,000 to subsidize the publication.

The program was conducted by Dr. Paul R. Magocsi, managing editor of the Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies, who introduced the first speaker, Dr. Adrian Slywotzky, member of the executive board of the Ukrainian Studies Fund.

Dr. Slywotzky briefly described the self-sacrificing role of the Iwaniws who in the past 10 years donated over $40,000, as well as countless hours of services, to Harvard's Ukrainian program.

The featured presentation was given by Dr. Horace G. Lunt, Harvard professor of Slavic languages and literatures. He described how his co-author, Prof. Moshe Altbauer of Jerusalem, found the Psalter manuscript at St. Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai soon after that territory came under Israeli control in the summer of 1967.

Prof. Lunt emphasized the great importance of this text for understanding Ukrainian linguistic and cultural development and expressed particular appreciation to the donors who allowed HURI to publish this technically complex photo-reproduction in the professional manner it deserves. Prof. Lunt presented an autographed copy of the volume to the Iwaniws.

Prof. Omeljan Pritsak, director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, raised a toast and pointed out how the Iwaniws fit into a line of Ukrainian patriots stemming from the days of the 16th century burgher brotherhoods, who had donated funds to the preservation and propagation of Ukrainian culture. The Iwaniws serve as an ideal example of the positive results that can come from cooperation between the Ukrainian American community and the scholarly world said Prof. Pritsak.

The publication is available by sending a check or money order for $15 (U.S. currency) to the Ukrainian Studies Fund - Publications, 1583 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Mass. 02138.

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