The Saint John's Bible: Why Does it Matter?
Saturday, December 1, 2018
9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Held at College of St. Scholastica, Somers Hall
As the world took the decisive turn from print to digital communication, Saint John’s Abbey and University developed a plan to write the Bible by hand, with ink and quill, on vellum. This decision amounted to a great, counterintuitive move in which monks and scholars opted to jump backward over two technological revolutions. It was not a capricious move, but rather one that reflects much thought and reflection. Fr. Michael Patella, OSB, the chair of the Committee on Illumination and Texts, will explain the essential questions for this project by using images of the final product.
Fr. Michael Patella, OSB is a Benedictine monk of Saint John’s Abbey. He 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 and teaches in its School of Theology and Seminary, where he also serves as the seminary rector. He served as the chair of the Committee on Illumination and Text for The Saint John’s Bible, and he has written in the area of Luke-Acts, Paul, Mark, and angels and demons. His work, Word and Image: the Hermeneutics of The Saint John’s Bible (Liturgical Press, 2013), addresses the theology, art, and interpretation of The Saint John’s Bible. He is currently writing on 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.