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The St. John's Bible Comes to Pepperdine University
The first bible to be written and illuminated by hand finds a home at Pepperdine University Libraries. By Amy Sommer | December 21, 2011
Pepperdine Unversity has purchased one of the only 200 hand-embossed Heritage Editions that will be produced this century, of the first bible to be hand written and illuminated in 500 years. The seven volume edition was created by a team of scribes and artists gathered and directed by Donald Jackson, scribe to the Queen of England.
"The artistry of the calligraphy itself can take on a spiritual dimension," explains Ken LaZebnik, Pepperdine's director of Advancement and Public Affairs for University Libraries. "By reading the text in this way, it forces the reader to slow down, to be more deeply meditative about the words of the Bible."
In celebration of the aquisition, Pepperdine hosted Father Eric Hollas, one of the champions of the project and Jim Triggs, executive director of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program who each lectured students and librarians.
“Pepperdine’s mission as a Christian school, and its embrace of faith, scholarship, and humanity, made the Saint John’s Bible the perfect way to commemorate our 75th anniversary," says dean of Libraries Mark Roosa. "This extraordinary work is a living gift, one that will inspire students and our community into the our next 75 years and beyond.”
As Father Hollas noted at a private dinner hosted by Roosa, LaZebnik and Lani Netter, "the bible will last for 500 years, but only if we interact with it."
To hear about the St. John Bible Project at Pepperdine, tune in to this video which was filmed when the tome visited Pepperdine's Weisman Museum last spring:
