Ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili donates John Zosimos’ unique manuscript to Georgian National Museum

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and the Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday purchased a unique handwritten manuscript of the 10th-century by the famed Georgian calligrapher, author, translator and bookbinder-monk John Zosimos at Christie's auction in London. 

The GD’s press office announced that the Codex Sinaiticus Rescriptus, the unique manuscript of the 5th-7th century, would be donated to the Georgian National Museum.  

The palimpsest is overwritten with Georgian text written by John Zosimos, and survives here in his 10th-century binding from St Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, the earliest known signed, dated and localisable binding. The manuscript will be the only masterpiece of Ioane Zosimos, which will be preserved in Georgia.

The Christie’s auction said the manuscript contained the earliest textual witnesses of the Gospels in the nearest dialect of Aramaic to that spoken by Jesus, composed within a living tradition based in the Holy Land. 

Monk John Zosimos was known for his liturgical compilations and for composing several hymns dedicated to the Georgian language. His best known hymn was Praise and Exaltation of the Georgian Language,  a mystic poem making heavy use of numerological symbolism and biblical allusions.