Handmade Bible revives a sacred art
Exhibit about 7-year project to be in Buffalo
Marketta Gregory
Staff writer

(February 17, 2006) — For the first time in probably 500 years, a group of Benedictine monks and calligraphers is painstakingly writing out the Bible by hand.A reproduction of part of the book, known as the St. John's Bible, will be on display in Buffalo's St. Joseph Cathedral starting Feb. 26.

"We wanted to take an old art form and give new life to it," said the Rev. Michael Patella, a monk who grew up in Rochester and worked with other academics to figure out which portions of the Bible should be illustrated. The committee chose themes, such as the environment and social justice issues, to highlight with pictures.

"People like to quote the Bible.... Our idea is to see it as more of an organic whole," said Patella, who teaches New Testament scripture at St. John's University in Minnesota. "Matters of social justice and matters of the environment and economics — all of these are religious matters."

The Benedictines at St. John's Abbey and University were looking for a project to mark the year 2000 when calligrapher Donald Jackson mentioned that he wanted to copy the Bible in calligraphy before he died. The university, which is well-known for its manuscript collection, agreed to commission the work on the more than $4 million project, which was funded largely by donations. The rest