On the occasion of the Day of Slavic Literacy today, May 22, 2024, in the amphitheater of the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade, the book by Dr. Milena N. Martinović, "Manuscripts of the Monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cetinje" published by the Metropolis of Montenegro and the Littoral was presented.

The promotion was held in the presence of His Holiness the Patriarch of Serbia, Mr. Porphyry, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Mr. Ioanniki and His Eminence Bishop of Buenos Aires and South-Central America and Administrator of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb-Ljubljana Mr. Cyril.

Speaking about the book, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Joanikije said that the Cetinje Monastery was founded as an important cultural center by its very foundation, and although it is known for the first Serbian printing house in the south of Slovenia - the Printing House of Crnojević, it does not lag behind in its manuscript books:

"Handwritten books in our culture have an advantage, if we look at our distant past, over many other cultural achievements. Just to pick up one handwritten book is to pick up a work of art. Unfortunately, like our people, the manuscript books of the Serbian people suffered a lot and were displaced a lot. Every old manuscript book has its own biography, its own life that lasts for centuries. First of all, the prints of our ascetic monks, patriarchs, bishops, metropolitans, priests, students who used them throughout the ages were left on them, and this deserves special attention and respect. Although many of them are incomplete, as we can see in this monograph by Mrs. Martinović, it is all a great lesson, because we see how much our monks and priests, patriarchs, metropolitans, all bishops, took care to preserve our cultural heritage, primarily manuscripts. books."

Reminding that in the Cetinje Monastery, since its inception, we have had a lively literary activity, the Bishop particularly highlighted the wealth of the library, which covered all areas of our homeland, but also the wider cultural area of the Slavic peoples.

"What is particularly valuable, at least for me, in these books processed by Mrs. Martinović are the records, because they shed light on our past." In them we find a lot of valuable information for our history and culture. According to those records, we can see how much effort our ancestors put in, first of all, to become literate, to nurture our literacy and to pass it on to future generations," said His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije.

Pointing out one specific feature of our people, which is that they created even during slavery and reached high levels of culture, literacy, and spirituality, which maintained our identity and unity in culture, spirituality, and literacy, the Bishop said that such creators are born even today, and that among them is Mrs. Milena Martinović, who worked for years on the manuscript books of the Cetinje Monastery and on their protection as a good expert.

"She is the best doctor of our books, especially manuscript books." So, she put in a long-term effort, and thank God, perhaps the most beautiful part of her effort is here in front of us today, in this beautiful monograph. I congratulate her and all those who joined in to help her", concluded the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Mr. Joannikius.

In the following, prof. spoke about the book. Dr. Tatjana Subotin Golubović from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, prof. Dr. Dragiša Bojović from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Niš, Dr. Vladan Trijić, head of the Archeography Department of the National Library of Serbia and author Dr. Milena Martinović.

The monograph "Manuscript books of the monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cetinje" is a supplement to the doctoral dissertation of the same name by Dr. Milena N. Martinović, defended at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade in 2016, and the very idea of a deeper scientific and research work on this topic originates from an old proposal of the abbot of Cetinje, archimandrite Luke (Anić), who is now blessed.

Vesna Devic

Photo: Željko Drašković