Handwritten Bible on Display in New Haven

Written by Feroze Dhanoa (Patch Staff)

The first handcrafted Bible to be commissioned by a Benedictine Monastery in 500 years is on display at the Knights of Columbus Museum.

The exhibition, “Illuminating the World: The Saint John’s Bible” will be on display through October.

The exhibit presents 68 pages from all seven volumes of The Saint John’s Bible along with tools, sketches, materials and rare books.

“There’s something that’s really unique about the bible presented in this way — the human hand to paper to one’s eye to one’s mind and one’s spirit,” said Peter Sonski, education, outreach and visitor services manager at the museum.

The community of Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn. began working on the Bible in 1996. A committee of theologians, artists and scholars known as the Committee on Illumination and Text directed the creation of the Bible.

A team of 23 professional scribes, artists and assistants crafted the Bible, which includes 1,127 handwritten pages and more than 160 major artworks, under the supervision of renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson.

The project combined a centuries old-tradition of craftsmanship with technology. The words are handwritten on vellum (calfskin) using hand-cut quills fashioned from turkey, swan or goose feathers, and ancient inks hand-ground from natural minerals and stones such as lapis lazuli, malachite and vermillion.The pages are illuminated with 24-karat gold leaf, silver and platinum.

Pope Benedict XVI praised the Bible calling it, “a work for eternity.”

More information on the exhibit can be found online.

Photo Credit: The Knights of Columbus Museum