Latvijas Pasts releases a stamp in honour of the Gospel of Jersika, a parchment manuscript dating back to 1270
21.08.2020
Latvijas Pasts issues a new postage stamp and a cover dedicated to one of the oldest Latvian cultural and historical monuments – the parchment manuscript of the Gospel of Jersika dating back to 1270. The visual design of the philatelic releases features an image of the Lord’s Transfiguration Church in Jersika, as well as reproductions of illustrations and manuscripts from the 2014 facsimile edition of the Gospel of Jersika. The first day cancellation of the stamp is scheduled to take place at the Riga Latvian Society House, 13 Merķeļa Street, Riga, from 10 AM to 6 PM on the 21st of August 2020.
To mark the 750th anniversary of the Gospel of Jersika, Latvijas Pasts releases a new stamp with a print run of 50,000 copies, accompanied by a special cover with a print run of 1,000 copies. The face value of the stamp is € 1.00, which corresponds to the postage of letter-post items in the weight class up to 20 grams within Latvia.
The visual design of the philatelic releases created by the artist Lilija Dinere is based on the image of the Lord’s Transfiguration Church in Jersika, as well as reproductions of illustrations and manuscripts from the 2014 facsimile edition of the Gospel of Jersika.
The Gospel of Jersika, also called the Latvian Gospel, is one of the oldest Latvian cultural and historical monuments, which belongs to both Latvian and Russian cultures. This medieval manuscript, completed on the 23rd of March 1270, was created in ancient Russian by the book rewriter Jurģis (Georgy). The personality and talent of the book rewriter Jurģis were shaped in ancient Jersika, a legendary town on the banks of the River Daugava, which has been mentioned many times in historical sources and was not only an important centre of crafts and trade, but also a centre of spiritual culture.
Today the ancient manuscript is held among the rarities in the Rumyantsev Collection of the Russian State Library, which once belonged to the prominent patron Count Nikolay Rumyantsev. In 2014 the Latvian Orthodox Church published the world’s first facsimile edition of the Latvian Gospel.
The stamp and the cover
The Gospel of Jersika – 750 will first be available for purchase in Riga post office No. 10 at 14/43 Elizabetes Street, Riga post office No. 50 in the shopping centre
Origo at 2 Stacijas laukums, post centre
Sakta at 32 Brīvības bulvāris, Riga, as well as in the e-shop of
Latvijas Pasts https://veikals.pasts.lv/.
The new stamp and the cover
The Gospel of Jersika – 750 can be viewed
here.
The next philatelic release is scheduled for the 18th of September.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with over 3,400 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Vineta Danielsone | Senior Public Relations Project Manager
