YOU ARE WARMLY INVITED TO ATTEND A PRESENTATION

On the

St John’s Bible, Heritage Edition

with Jim Triggs (St John’s University, Minnesota)

 Tuesday 17th May 2016

17:00 – 18:00

NEWMAN UNIVERSITY

Room: DW101

The Saint John’s Bible, the first handwritten illuminated Bible of its scale in over 500 years, is a Bible for the 21st century. Strands of DNA and magnified images of viruses under the microscope are woven into illuminations. Satellite photos of the Ganges Delta and photos from the Hubble telescope are used to depict creation. Images of contemporary ecological destruction find their place alongside period images from celestial charts and sculpted creatures that stood at the doors of ancient buildings in Babylon. The imagery, like the text, is alive and constantly rewards the modern day seeker.

The mission of The Saint John’s Bible is to ignite the spiritual imagination of people around the world. To that end, Saint John’s University created the Heritage Edition. Under the direction of Donald Jackson, the artistic director of The Saint John’s Bible, the seven volumes of the Heritage Edition are true to the scale, beauty and artistic intent of original manuscript.

As well as being a stunningly beautiful piece of work, the project highlights a number of key aspects that we currently explore in our undergraduate Biblical Studies programmes at Newman: The continued process of textual transmission and the interpretive role of those involved; the place of the scribe (and issues of Textual Criticism); the use of art as hermeneutic guides; and the importance of the Bible as a physical artefact within the liturgical (and wider) Christian environment.

Jim Triggs, executive director of the Heritage Program, at Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, will visit Newman University, on Tuesday, May 17, at 5 PM, to discuss the Bible project and the work Saint John’s is doing in Higher Education.

A beautifully produced, full colour, 16 page, pdf brochure of the Heritage Edition can be downloaded here.

Jim will also bring with him one volume of the Heritage Edition, Gospels & Acts, which will be on display before and after his presentation.