Once text's fragile pages digitally reunited, public can see, interpret changes
08:04 AM CST on Friday, March 11, 2005
LONDON – Is the Bible the infallible word of God or a text doctored by
calligraphers, priests and politicians to satisfy their own earthly
motivations? Evidence suggesting the latter is contained
on the pages of the world's oldest Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus.
The ancient Greek Bible, written between the first and fourth
centuries, has been divided since the mid-1800s after European
and Russian visitors removed sections of it from a desert
monastery in Egypt. But on Thursday, experts from
Britain, Germany, Russia, Egypt and the United States launched a
four-year project to digitally reunite the fragile texts and make
them available to anyone with the click of a mouse.
"The codex is so special as a foundation document and a unique icon to
Christianity," said John Tuck, head of British Collections at the
British Library in London. Unification of the manuscript, albeit
digitally, "is a blockbuster in scholarship." Only a
privileged few have ever been allowed to handle the original
manuscripts. Scholars need access to determine, among other things, how
far the modern Bible has veered in interpretation from the codex. Parts
of the project announced Thursday will include Christian texts written
as few as 45 years after the death of Jesus Christ. The
manuscripts are so delicate that only four scholars have been
granted access in the last 19 years to sections of the text housed in
London, said Scot McKendrick, head of medieval and earlier manuscripts
at the British Library in London. But researchers and
the general public will be able to examine the digitized texts in
minute detail. Historical and explanatory notations will
accompany the digitized text so that viewers can trace how changes
were made and, more important, why. "Obviously, the way
the editing works ... is exceedingly interesting. What is the
process leading to this or that correction? Whether it was merely
editorial, or if they were following a theological lead" in
altering the message, Mr. McKendrick said.
Ray Bruce, a film director who is producing a documentary on the
project, cited the Book of Mark as an example of how much the modern
Bible has been altered from the codex. In the codex, he said, the Book
of Mark ends at Chapter 16, Verse 8, with the discovery that Christ's
tomb was empty. But more modern versions contain an
additional 12 verses with testimony from Mary Magdalene and 11
apostles referring to the resurrection of Jesus.
"It shows how much this is a dynamic process of editing and adaptation,"
he said, but also raises questions about the influence man has had on
texts regarded by Christians as divinely inspired.
Researchers and plunderers have particularly coveted the codex because
the texts were written so soon after the life of Jesus, and they are
the largest and longest-surviving Biblical manuscript in
existence, including both the Old and New Testament. In addition,
the codex contains two Christian texts written around A.D. 65,
the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of Barnabas.
Until the mid-1800s, the complete codex was housed inside St.
Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. But the texts were broken up
when visitors bribed, cajoled or deceived monks into letting
certain sections be removed for further examination in Russia,
Britain and Germany. "They were never returned," said
Greek Orthodox Archbishop Damianos of Sinai. "The monastery felt
a great injustice was done." He said disappearance of
the texts led to upheaval in the monastery, and because of
lingering resentment, the monks at St. Catherine's had been "a
bit reluctant to respond positively" when asked to participate in the
current project. In particular, he singled out Britain
for criticism because of what he described as the underhanded
manner in which it obtained its texts and its longtime refusal to
return them. Nevertheless, he said, the monastery agreed to join
the digitization project. Other parts of the manuscript
that had been taken to Russia disappeared after the 1918
Bolshevik Revolution and were feared lost forever. They did not
reappear until the mid-1940s and are now kept at the National
Library of Russia in St. Petersburg.
Mr. McKendrick said the codex was originally produced on high-grade
papyrus with state-of-the-art ink and pens – the best available at the
time. Similarly, the new digitization project will use
some of today's most advanced technology, he added. "So in a
sense, we'll be matching fourth century cutting-edge technology
with cutting-edge 21st century technology." E-mail trobberson@dallasnews.com Digital unification:
Experts from Britain, Germany, Russia, Egypt and the United States
will digitally copy the pages of all four sections. How long will it take: Four years The original: High-quality papyrus. Why it's in pieces: Scholars "borrowed" sections to study and never returned them. Visit the British Library, the national library of the United Kingdom, at www.bl.uk.