[1] The Gospel was written, according to a much later note added to it, before 1221, according to the scholars Wolf and Stresa[who?].

It is decorated with colorful ornamentation and images of the Evangelists Luke and John.

The latter appears with a small kneeling figure, accompanied by the caption "pray to St. John"; the figure is believed to represent the priest Dobreysho (or Dobreisho), who probably paid for the parchment and either commissioned or made a copy of the book.

The remaining 48 leaves were kept in Belgrade during the Second World War and did not survive the fire after the museum was hit by a bomb in 1941.

The language of the monument is close to Old Church Slavonic but shows some important new features.