Saint John's Bible

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"At the dawn of the 21st century, Saint John's Abbey and University seek to ignite the spiritual imagination of believers throughout the world by commissioning a work of art that illuminates the Word of God for a new millennium."- Mission Statement of the St. John's Bible Commission.

Beginning in 1970, master calligrapher Donald Jackson expressed in media interviews his lifetime dream of creating an illuminated Bible. Following a Saint John's-sponsored calligraphy presentation at the Newberry Library in Chicago in 1995, Jackson discussed a handwritten Bible with Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB, former executive director of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library at St. John's University. Between 1996 and 1997, Saint John's explored the feasibility of the Bible project, Jackson created first samples, and theologians developed the illumination schema. The Saint John’s Bible was officially commissioned in 1998 and funding opportunities were launched. The public was introduced to the project in 1999 and is scheduled to be completed in 2008.

The Saint John’s Bible is seven volumes and two feet tall by three feet wide when open. The Bible is made of vellum, with 160 illuminations, and has cost $4 million to produce. The version of the Bible used is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

1 Techniques Used
2 Volumes
3 The Heritage Edition
4 Saint John's Bible Staff
5 External links

[edit] Techniques Used

Donald Jackson, official scribe of Queen Elizabeth II, created a new script specifically for this project.

The creators of the Saint John's Bible use a mixture of techniques used in the creation of older illuminated manuscripts (hand-written with quills on calf-skin vellum, gold and silver leaf and hand-ground pigments and inks) and modern technology (platinum leaf, and computers used to plan the layout of the bible, and line-breaks for the text).

[edit] Volumes

The Saint John's Bible consists of seven volumes:

Gospels and Acts (completed in May 2002.)
Pentateuch (completed in August 2003.)
Psalms (completed in April 2004.)
Prophets (completed in April 2005.)
Wisdom Literature (completed in July 2006.)
Historical Books (scheduled for completion in August 2006.)
Letters and Revelation (scheduled for completion in December 2008.)

[edit] The Heritage Edition

The Heritage Edition of The Saint John's Bible is the full-size reproduction of the original. Measuring two feet tall by three feet wide when open, it is the exact size of the original manuscript. Making this reproduction unique as a manuscript facsimile is the fact that it will be signed by the chief scribe and illuminator, Donald Jackson. The edition is limited to 360 signed and numbered sets and contains the same seven volumes as the original. In addition, an eighth volume of commentary that places The Saint John's Bible in its historical context and describes several of the illuminations will accompany the volumes. It is pre-publication through June 30, 2007, and availabe for subscription.

[edit] Saint John's Bible Staff

Artistic Director: Donald Jackson
Calligraphers: Hazel Dolby, Sue Hufton, Sally Mae Joseph, Brian Simpson, Angela Swan
Director of Public Programming and Educational Outreach: Tim Ternes
Executive Director: Carol Marrin
Director of the Heritage Edition: Craig Bruner
Graphic Designer: Vin Godier
Illuminators: Thomas Ingmire, Aidan Hart, Suzanne Moore, Diane von Arx,
Natural history illustrator: Chris Tomlin
Project Coordinator: Rebecca Cherry
Studio Assistant: Sarah Harris
The Saint John's Bible Committee on Illumination and Text: Johanna Becker, Irene Nowell, Michael Patella, Ellen Joyce, Nathanael Hauser, Susan Wood, Alan Reed, Columba Stewart