Ancient Manuscript Techniques on Display in 21st Century Bible

Viewing St. John's Bible is Emelda Alexander, 2014

On June 14 and 15, a dozen or so Catholic Biblical School graduates and current students
astonished themselves with the beauty and power of the written Word of God as illuminated by British royal calligrapher Donald Jackson and his talented associates.

"In 1998, Saint John's Abbey and University [in Minnesota] commissioned renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to produce a hand-written, hand-illluminated Bible. We invite you to explore this work of art that unites an ancient Benedictine tradition with the technology and vision of today, illuminating the Word of God for a new millennium." This effort represents the first such commission by a Benedictine Abbey in 500 years! (As described on their home page at http://www.saintjohnsbible.org.)

CBS Grads* Admire Ecclesiastes' frontispiece

When the invention of moveable type by means of Johann Gutenberg's printing press revolutionized the transmission of the written word, what once took decades of arduous labor to produce a Bible could be accomplished quickly and far less expensively. For the first time in history, the ability to read and own books was no longer reserved to the wealthy and privileged.

Modern Bible study (as in our own Catholic Biblical School) owes a great debt to the mass production of text. But, in my opinion, the new Bibles lost something in the process. Where is the beauty and artistry of hand-illumination, as exemplified in ancient texts like the wonderful Book of Kells?

So we thank Donald Jackson, his gifted colleagues and the visionaries of St. John's Abbey for this precious new artwork-of-a-Bible. And we are grateful to the Knights of Columbus for exhibiting The St. John's Bible now through November 2, 2014 at

One State Street, New Haven

10-5 Daily

Free parking and admission!

Astonish yourself by taking in 68 original pages of the St. John's Bible, beautifully illuminated on vellum for the first time in centuries.

Make the Journey Yourself! Easy access from I-91 and I-94

For more information on the Exhibit and on the St. John's Bible, go to http://www.kofcmuseum.org/km/en/exhibits/2014/illuminating-word/index.html or www.saintjohnsbible.org.

Fun Fact: Did you know that parchment (vellum is parchment made specifically from calf skin) "has traditionally been used instead of paper for important documents such as religious texts, public laws, indentures, and land records as it has always been considered a strong and stable material. The five pages of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation are written on parchment." (National Archives website, http://www.archives.gov/preservation/formats/paper-vellum.html.)

*Foreground: Linda Markiewicz and Anne Mackiewicz, both of the Class of 2012. Behind them, Director of the St. John's Bible, Tim Ternes, enlightens another SJB enthusiast.