Începutul traducerii și publicării Bibliei în limba română: privire de ansamblu asupra secolului al XVII-lea

The Beginning of the Translation and Publication of the Bible in Romanian: An Overview of the 17th Century

Abstract

The 17th century records the first complete translation and publication of the Holy Scriptures in Romanian. The Bible from Bucharest was published in 1688 under the auspices of the Wallachian prince Şerban Cantacuzino. The monumental work was based on two previous translations. For the NT, the editors used the New Testament from Bălgrad, the first full-scale rendering of the New Testament in Romanian. It was published in Alba Iulia, in 1648, by the Orthodox Metropolitan Simion Ștefan at the request of Hungarian Calvinist authorities. Regarding the OT, the editors of the Bible from Bucharest used a revised edition of the unpublished translation made by Nicolae Milescu (1661 – 1664). The 17th century also records the publication, in 1673, of the work Psaltirea în versuri, realized by the Metropolitan Dosoftei, being the first rhymed piece of literature in Romanian. At the end of the century began his activity Antim Ivireanul, which will later become the Metropolitan of Wallachia and will develop a prodigious cultural and publishing activity.