Gorički zbornik

Gorički zbornik
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts as legacy of Svetozar Tomić
A page from Gorički zbornik
Also known as	Gorica's Almanac Manuscript of Gorica Gorica Miscellany
Date	1441 — 1442
Place of origin	Gorica island on Skadar Lake, Serbian Despotate
Language(s)	Serbo-slavic language
Author(s)	Jelena Balšić, Nikon of Jerusalem
Material	Paper
Size	273 pages of 21 cm x 14 cm
Condition	Wooden covers coated with leather, some pages are cropped and inexpertly "restored", badly damaged and even missing
Discovered	In 1902 by Svetozar Tomić who bought it in Skopje (modern-day Macedonia, then Ottoman Empire)

The Gorički zbornik (Serbian Cyrillic: Горички зборник) or the Gorica's Almanac or Gorica Miscellany or the Manuscript of Gorica is a Serbian medieval manuscript collection written by Jelena Balšić and monk Nikon of Jerusalem in period between 1441 and 1442 in the church Jelena built on the island Gorica on Skadar Lake. Its name is derived from the name of the church.

The first part of Gorički zbornik contains a correspondence between Jelena and her spiritual adviser Nikon of Jeruzalem. Jelena wrote three epistles to Nikon who replied to her presenting a position of the church regarding different theological issues. Only one of three epistles, known as Otpisanije bogoljubno (Serbian: Отписаније богољубно), is preserved today. The correspondence between Jelena and her spiritual adviser has its origin in a common practice in Byzantium. Scholars praised this epistle although its part was the same as hagiography of John of Rila written by Evtimiy of Tarnovo. Similarity of the medieval texts written on the Balkans corresponds with Byzantine practice and genre principle which was based on the universal and common forms, not on the individual ones.

In the second part of Gorički zbornik Nikon writes to Jelena about her ancestors using Serbian genealogies and annals as well as hagiography of Saint Simeon written by Stefan the First-Crowned and the hagiography of Saint Sava written by Teodosije.