"St. John's BIBLE"

My post below told you about the exhibit at the Science Museum that I saw on Tuesday of The Dead Sea Scrolls, AND the pages of the "Illuminated St. John's Bible". In case you have not heard of this (I hadn't) here is some information. It is one of the first completely handwritten Bibles since the invention of the printing press. St. John's University here in Southeastern Minnesota (Collegeville), commissioned this work (see the info below that I took from the Wikipedia) and you can go on the official web site and see and read more. The exhibit showed the orginial pages that are finished so far, in calligraphy and beautiful artwork, all done with quills, like in ancient days! The project is to be finished in 2011. The pages are truly works of art and very beautiful!

"At the dawn of the twenty-first 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 Saint 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 hand-written Bible with Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB, former executive director of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. 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 it is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

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 is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

From Wikipedia

The official website: http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/