Сусветная спадчына Францыска Скарыны

ENFrancysk Skaryna is a prominent cultural figure of Belarusian Renaissance. In 1517, he became the first in Eastern Europe was able to release a printed book. He was the first one to make books, and through them - knowledge, available to a wider population. Francysk Skaryna was the pioneer of Belarusian science who was honoured with the highest academic titles - Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Liberal Arts (philosophy). He was the first among his compatriots to enter the international arena in his professional field. Still, as he was a patriot, all his ideas and deeds were meant to serve the cause of education of people back in his homeland. The great enlightener made a significant contribution to the approximation of Old Church Slavonic and spoken Belarusian languages, which objectively led to the appearance and development of modern Belarusian literary language. Moreover, Francysk Skaryna is known as a philosopher, theologian, entrepreneur, teacher, doctor and founder of one of Europe’s first botanical gardens. He made a valuable contribution to the development of humanities and artistry - from the transformation of linguistic and cultural traditions of book printing and presentation to the reshaping of Belarusian philosophic, theological, aesthetic and legal studies. However, his greatest heritage and the most important message is reflected in the books he printed. The great enlightener s legacy is seen as a priceless treasure by modern generations. Translations of the books of the Bible, produced by Francysk Skaryna, make up a unique phenomenon not only for Belarusian, but also for the entire Eastem-Slavic culture. Currently the experts identified more than 520 printed and 45 manuscript copies of Skarynas books that are kept in state and private collections in Belarus, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, the USA, Ukraine and Czech Republic. [...].