Christ Our Light, detail, from The Saint John's Bible
Another project you should check out along with The Four Holy Gospels is The Saint John's Bible. This handmade Bible, commissioned by Saint John's Benedictine Monastery in Minnesota, follows the medieval manuscript tradition even more closely. Calligrapher Donald Jackson is the artistic director. He designed the calligraphic hand for the text, and he and several other calligraphers have been using that style to write out the whole Bible on calfskin vellum for some ten years. Jackson and many other artists have produced the page decoration and full-page artworks throughout the book.
For centuries throughout the Christian world, manuscripts similar to The Saint John's Bible and The Four Holy Gospels were rare and precious possessions of a local church community. They were often very large books, visible to many at one time. They were read during mass, displayed publicly on holy days and used with prayer to bless the community and petition God for healing. Many years and the skills of many artists went into their making.
For centuries throughout the Christian world, manuscripts similar to The Saint John's Bible and The Four Holy Gospels were rare and precious possessions of a local church community. They were often very large books, visible to many at one time. They were read during mass, displayed publicly on holy days and used with prayer to bless the community and petition God for healing. Many years and the skills of many artists went into their making.
Acts 2:1-14 from The Saint John's Bible
Relatively inexpensive printing now allows almost any person, certainly any community, to own a high-quality reproduction of all or part of The Saint John's Bible manuscript. No calfskin pages or real gold leaf, but still splendid. The Four Holy Gospels is also affordable, also splendid in its design and binding and repro-ductions of the original art. So what should we do with these two illuminated books? What is their place in the life of believers?
Are they coffeetable books? Sure, display them for your callers. Their beauty will draw people in.
Are they private devotionals? Both Fujimura and Saint John's Monastery want people to use them in this way. The books (almost the same size, interestingly) are larger than your Bible but not too large to handle, and the texts are accepted modern translations.
What else? Could they be the center of a small group study? Could pages be projected during worship or a sermon instead of a Powerpoint image? Could they be used to focus corporate prayer? Could they be inspiration for art that grows out of your community?
How might your church community respond to these books that
join our beloved ancient words with images forged in the souls of
modern artists?
Are they coffeetable books? Sure, display them for your callers. Their beauty will draw people in.
Are they private devotionals? Both Fujimura and Saint John's Monastery want people to use them in this way. The books (almost the same size, interestingly) are larger than your Bible but not too large to handle, and the texts are accepted modern translations.
What else? Could they be the center of a small group study? Could pages be projected during worship or a sermon instead of a Powerpoint image? Could they be used to focus corporate prayer? Could they be inspiration for art that grows out of your community?
How might your church community respond to these books that
join our beloved ancient words with images forged in the souls of
modern artists?