First Printed Armenian Bible

A volume of unique cultural and historical importance, the first Armenian-language Bible translated by Voskan Yerevantsi was presented to Matenadaran. It was printed in 1666 in Amsterdam, and its silver cover is decorated by an artisan from the Erzrum School, one of the famous centers of Armenian silversmith art. The cover of the Bible depicts a scene of the Annunciation and the back cover shows the Resurrection. The opening part of the book depicts the four evangelists and their symbols. This unique book for years has been part of a private collection and was brought to Yerevan thanks to a donation made by Ralph Yirikian, the general manager of one of Armenia’s leading telephone companies. Yirikian also donated to Matenadaran two more old Bibles from his personal library. One of the Bibles is dated 1854, and the age of the other Bible is still to be determined by specialists.