Psalter

An edition of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Printed in 1926 in Kyiv at the State Publishing House's 3rd printing-lithography works, by resolution of the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Council.

Printed in a single color, the text in Ukrainian, set within a double thin-lined frame with vignettes in the corners. Numeric pagination appears at the top center. The cover is of stiff cardboard, with a dark-toned fabric spine. At the center of the front cover is a cross, on and around which are given the title, place, and year of publication. The cross is bordered by a floral ornament, set within an octagonal cartouche surrounded by a garland of flowers and leaves. In the corners are four-armed crosses with widened arms, inscribed within double circles entwined with floral shoots. At the center of the back cover is a rectangular frame containing a lyre and an open book; around the frame is a garland of acanthus leaves, with four-armed crosses with widened arms inscribed within a double circle in the corners.

The Psalter was donated to the museum by Volodymyr Stepanovych Cherviakov of Kharkiv in 1979.

Note: the Psalter is one of the most important Old Testament books of the Bible, containing 150 prayerful chants and psalms. Most of the psalms are traditionally attributed to King David. It is a collection of prayers combining repentance, the glorification of God, thanksgiving, and appeals to Him in life's most difficult circumstances. The text of the Psalter is divided into 20 sections — kathismata.