The Saint John’s Bible follows in the tradition of the painstakingly crafted manuscripts of the Middle Ages. The seven volumes took a decade to create, and feature the work of artist and calligrapher Donald Jackson, who works in the Scriptorium in Wales.
In the 1970s, Jackson expressed his lifelong dream to create an illuminated Bible. The Saint John’s Bible was officially commissioned by Saint John’s University and Saint John’s (Benedictine) Abby in Collegeville, Minnesota in1998, and its first lines—the opening sentences of John’s gospel—were penned on Ash Wednesday in the year 2000.
A team of artists, historians and theologians provided Jackson with background information and critical interpretations of passages, but the artistic process more closely resembled that of lectio divina or ‘sacred reading.’ The ancient monastic practice, which is finding renewed vigor in many modern churches, involves meditative reading of biblical texts and extended periods of reflection.
Like its medieval predecessors, the text was written with quills on calfskin vellum by a team of scribes and artists, who worked with Jackson.
Inks were created by hand using traditional methods, and colours play an important role throughout the work. For instance, in Creation (see Call to Worship page), gold is used to symbolize the intervention of God and the order he imposed on the ‘formless void,’ which is represented by the Hebrew phrase tohu wa-bohu. The gold geometry extends upwards from the nebulous first day to the serene Sabbath. Wide-reaching influences, such as cave paintings found in Nigeria, work their way into the art—in this case as representations of early humanity.
The influence of history and Jewish tradition is also present. For instance, in a representation of the genealogy of Christ, a stylized menorah or seven-branched candelabrum takes the place of a family tree (see Benediction page). The image begins with Abraham at its base—the father of Judaism, Islam and Christianity—and extends through the line of King David to culminate with Jesus as a central flame.
The New Revised Standard Version was chosen for the project, as it is a modern translation respected by the Canadian and American Catholic conferences of bishops.
The completed books contain approximately 160 illuminations scattered throughout 1,150 pages. They cost several million dollars to create and were financed through private donations.
A series of limited edition, full-size reproductions, are currently circulating among museums, universities, and art galleries. A special eighth volume, containing commentary, will accompany each set. Only 360 Heritage editions will be created, each for $145,000. Proceeds from the Heritage Program will fund scholarships, manuscript preservation efforts, and scholarly work related to the Saint John’s Bible.
