Francysk Skaryna

Alternative spellings of Francysk Skaryna include Francisk Skaryna and Franciak Skaryna. His full name is Franciscus Scorina in Latin and рaнск (ранак) in Belarusian. The Belarusian humanist, physician, and translator карна (1470 - before 29 January 1552) was also known by his Polish and Czech names, Franciszek Skaryna and Frantiek Skorina. He established the foundation for the growth of the Belarusian izvod [ru] of the Church Slavonic language by becoming one of the first book printers in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and throughout all of Eastern Europe.

Skaryna committed his entire life to making the biblical scriptures available. He aimed to write the Bible in a language that was understandable to the common person. Skaryna also wrote the prefaces to his editions, emphasizing that the goal of his publishing endeavors was to "assist the common man in becoming familiar with wisdom and science." He made a positive impact on the literary language of Belarus. Following the release of a Czech edition, this Bible became the second printed Bible in the Slavic world. Although Schweipolt Fiol published the Oktoikh in 1491, Skaryna was among the forerunners of publishing in Cyrillic script. Although he spoke in some Eastern Slavic tongue, it is challenging to pinpoint exactly the language he used because there was no official Belarusian at the time. According to some academics, Skaryna wrote his writings in Church Slavonic with a strong Ruthenian influence. According to some academics, Skaryna established the literary language of Belarus.