A handwritten, illuminated Bible and the methods used to create it will be discussed during a lecture at the University of Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium. Tim Ternes, director of The Saint John’s Bible Project, will speak as part of “A Year with The Saint John’s Bible,” a series of lectures and interactive events coinciding with an exhibition of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition in the Hesburgh Library. The exhibit begins Jan. 24.
The Saint John’s Bible features more than 160 inspired images that illuminate the deepest mysteries of God’s Word. Calligrapher Donald Jackson, who spoke at Notre Dame in October, collaborated with Benedictine monks at St. John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota and numerous scribes and artists to produce the seven-volume manuscript.
During his lecture “From Inspiration to Illumination,” Ternes will discuss the Bible that has been likened to the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript containing the four Gospels that is displayed at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Students, faculty, staff and the public are welcome to attend.
"The Scriptures are not just any text. Rather, through the Bible, we come to encounter the Incarnate Word dwelling even now in the Church,” said John Cavadini, McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. “The Saint John's Bible nourishes the imagination of the modern world to see the Scriptures once again as an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ."
“A Year with The Saint John’s Bible” is sponsored by the McGrath Institute for Church Life. The Heritage Edition, a high-quality reproduction of the original manuscript, can be viewed until December in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections on the main floor of the Hesburgh Library. The department is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All exhibits are free and open to the public.
For more information on The Saint John’s Bible, visit www.saintjohnsbible.org.
Contact: Brett Robinson, director of communications, McGrath Institute for Church Life, 574-631-6109, brobins6@nd.edu
The McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame partners with Catholic dioceses, parishes and schools to address pastoral challenges with theological depth and rigor. By connecting the Catholic intellectual life at Notre Dame to the life of the Church, the McGrath Institute for Church Life forms faithful Catholic leaders for service to the Church and the world. Visit icl.nd.edu.