THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 38, NO. 29 | MARCH 10, 2017
Rare Bible on display at Atchison college, abbey By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org
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TCHISON — A Bible is a Bible is a Bible, right? Wrong — especially if that Bible is The Saint John’s Bible, the first handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in more than 500 years. This month and next, students and the public will have an opportunity to view an exhibition of 25 archival prints and a full-scale replica of the seven-volume masterpiece at Benedictine College and St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Additionally, the Benedictine department of music will present a concert of musical works that explore the illuminated passages, and noted biblical scholar Sister Irene Nowell, OSB, will The Benedictine offer a special lecture. College department Sister Irene was part of of music will presthe team that produced ent a concert of The St. John’s Bible. musical works that This exhibition is explore the same co-sponsored by St. passages as the illuBenedict’s Abbey and minations on exhibthe Benedictine Colit. The concert is at lege art department. 3 p.m. on March 26 The convocation and in the abbey church. arts committee, a faculty group, is responsible for the exhibition. The prints and replica volume come from the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Some instructors and professors are taking advantage of the exhibition to undertake interdisciplinary instruction, said Bryan Park, assistant professor in the art department, and coordinator of the effort to bring The St. John’s Bible exhibition to Atchison. “It’s hard to know all the different ways they might be used, but the college is offering an interdisciplinary seminar class this semester,” he said. Park will join one faculty member from each of departments of music, theology and history in teaching the class. “The four of us will lead a group of 19 students to look at the history of the Bible and of illumination, the writing of the Bible, and how the writing, illumination and pictures go together to create spiritual meaning. We’re looking at the creation of the [manuscripts] and how the arts in general can be a part of religious and devotional practice.”
Concert
Glorious artwork surprised even contributor
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ven though she was part of producleading into the room with the New Tesing The St. John’s Bible, tament images. As I turned and seeing its power and glory looked up, right in front of me was on display for the first time the illumination from the beginning was a very moving experiof the Gospel of John.” ence for Sister Irene Nowell, OSB. “Because it’s gold — gold moves “The first exhibit was in Minwhen you move, because of the reneapolis,” said Sister Irene. “I was flection,” she added, “it looked just viewing all the illuminations. The like Christ was walking toward me. Pentateuch was in one room, and I “I burst into tears. It was so was really moved because I worked moving — after we’d done all that Sister Irene on it.” work — to see how powerful it Nowell, OSB “Then I turned the corner,” she was.” continued, and “there was a little hallway The St. John’s Bible came about when
master calligrapher Donald Jackson, from the United Kingdom, told Father Eric Hollas, OSB, from St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, about his desire to create a handwritten, illuminated Bible the way monks and nuns did during medieval times. The abbey agreed to fund and sponsor the project, so Jackson and a team of artists, calligraphers, scholars and theologians worked from 2000 to 2011 to produce a seven-volume illuminated Bible.
>> See “BIBLE” on page 5
“Baptism of Jesus,” by Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, Copyright 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.