The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition is being presented to Canterbury Cathedral in honour of Archbishop Justin Welby.

The Bible will be presented to the Cathedral during a special Evensong service, and there will also be a public lecture about The Saint John’s Bible project.

In this illustrated lecture to mark the presentation to the Cathedral of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition, Fr. Michael Patella, OSB, and Tim Ternes will discuss the project which produced this extraordinary piece of art, revitalising traditional craftsmanship. They will explore the melding of imagination and scholarship in the project, and the role that art – and the lack of it – has had on biblical interpretation.

When the Bible Task Force first convened to set the direction and scope of The Saint John’s Bible, an objective it sought to promote was the melding of imagination and scholarship within the Church and Academy.  The importance of the imagination at first might appear to some as a trifle, but such a seeming afterthought obscures a tectonic force in play.  Fr Michael Patella, OSB, the Chair of the Committee on Illumination and Texts for The Saint John’s Bible, will discuss the role that art—and the lack of it—has had on biblical interpretation and how The Saint John’s Bible is revitalizing an ancient tradition for today. 

This is a free event, and there is no need to book

For more information please email Archives at [email protected]

The Very Reverend Dr. David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, will receive the Heritage Edition set of The Saint John’s Bible on behalf of Canterbury Cathedral.

The Right Reverend Fr. John Klassen, OSB, Abbot of Saint John’s Abbey, Minnesota, will make the presentation accompanied by other members of The Saint John’s Bible program at Saint John’s Abbey and University.

The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program is an international initiative for individuals and institutions to explore the artistic and spiritual beauty of The Saint John’s Bible with fine art limited editions created under the direction of Donald Jackson, calligrapher.

Find out more about The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program here.

Background

Jackson was commissioned 25 years ago by Saint John’s Abbey and University, Minnesota, to serve as the Artistic Director and Principal Illustrator of The Saint John’s Bible project.

Find out more about The Saint John's Bible here.

Fr. Michael Patella, Chair of the Committee on Illumination and Text and a monk of Saint John’s Abbey, Minnesota, holds a License in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and a Doctorate in Sacred Scripture from the École biblique et archéologique française in Jerusalem.

Fr. Michael is a professor of New Testament at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and teaches in its School of Theology and Seminary, where he also serves as the seminary rector. He chaired the Committee on Illumination and Text for The Saint John’s Bible, for which his work, Word and Image: The Hermeneutics of The Saint John’s Bible (Liturgical Press, 2013), addresses the theology, art, and interpretation.

In addition, he has written in the area of Luke-Acts, Paul, Mark, and angels and demons.  He recently completed a study of the Gospel of Luke for the Jerome Biblical Commentary, Fully Revised Edition.  Fr. Michael is a member of the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature.

Tim is the Director of The Saint John’s Bible and at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

In his role, he worked closely with the artistic team during the creation of the Bible serving as facilitator between artist and commissioner, which has given him extensive behind-the-scenes knowledge and great stories about all aspects of The Saint John’s Bible project.

He now serves as curator for the Bible Project and manages exhibitions, programming, and caring for the original pages of the Bible.

Tim travels thousands of miles a year offering presentations and educational programs for The Saint John’s Bible and has given thousands of presentations on the Bible during his close to 20 years at Saint John’s University. In short, Tim is the keeper of the pages and the keeper of the story.