БІБЛІЙНИЙ БОТАНІЧНИЙ САД ТЕРНОПІЛЬСЬКОГО НАЦІОНАЛЬНОГО ПЕДАГОГІЧНОГО УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ ІМЕНІ ВОЛОДИМИРА ГНАТЮКА : ЗАПОЧАТКУВАННЯ ТА РОЗВИТОК

The article summarizes the results of a study on the history of the establishment of the Biblical Botanical Garden at Volodymyr Hnatiuk Ternopil National Pedagogical University (TNPU) and the expansion of its species composition. It is noted that the Garden of Gethsemane in Israel is the first biblical garden, founded in ancient times, and today it is one of the nine most renowned biblical botanical gardens in the world. The first biblical botanical garden in Ukraine, and one of the largest in Europe, was inaugurated on April 4, 2011, in the town of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mariampol, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Scholars from Chernivtsi National University, including Yuriy Fedkovych, Svitlana Rudenko, Oksana Ivasyuk, Stepan Kostyshyn, and Archpriest Mykola Shcherban, were the first in Ukraine to propose the idea of creating biblical botanical gardens in higher education institutions. They elaborated on this concept in their monograph Plants of the Holy Scriptures and Prospects for Creating a Biblical Garden. Professor Mykola Barna of the Department of Botany and Zoology at TNPU further developed this idea and outlined the prospects for establishing a Biblical Botanical Garden at TNPU in his monograph. The design plan for the garden was developed by Mykhailo Netribiak, an Honored Architect of Ukraine and lecturer at the Department of Fine Arts, Design, and Methods of Teaching at TNPU, together with designer Mykhailo Tverdyi. The foundation of the Biblical Botanical Garden at TNPU was laid on April 15, 2019, as part of the University Day celebrations, commemorating the 79th anniversary of the university's founding. The official launch of the garden was marked by the unveiling of a marble sculpture of an open book titled The Ascension of the Lord and an art installation depicting the Crucifixion, Golgotha. Currently, 44 plant species grow in the TNPU Biblical Botanical Garden, 17 of which are mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. Four species belong to the Pinophyta division, and 13 to the Magnoliophyta division. Future plans include expanding the garden’s plant collection by incorporating additional biblical species, Red Book-listed species, and ornamental flowering and deciduous trees, shrubs, and vines.