Three lesser-known manuscript fragments housed at the St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library were put on display Friday on the eve of the Day of Bulgarian Archivists, October 10. Dr. Boyana Mincheva, head of the Preservation of Manuscript and Documentary Heritage department at the National Library, told BTA that visitors had the opportunity to view two pages from 10th-century Greek select gospels, as well as a fragment of a gospel written in Armenian, also from the 10th century. Dr. Mincheva clarified that the Armenian Gospel is incomplete, even though it looks like a whole book.

The exhibits were on display for only three hours, because the parchment reacts immediately to changes in temperature and humidity relative to the environment in which it is permanently stored. For this special occasion, the library displayed them to the general public, taking on this risk. Visitors learned about the history of how the fragments were acquired, how they were identified, and the role they played in church.

The documents are stored under specialized conditions – in a controlled environment maintained at 18 degrees Celsius and 55% humidity. Some of the manuscripts have travelled over the centuries, while others are part of a codex preserved in the United States, explained Dr. Mincheva.