When Donald Jackson first approached Saint John's Abbey and University about his life-long dream, no one could have foreseen what would follow. The long-time scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Crown Office would spend the next seven years collaborating with artist-calligraphers, illuminators, scholars and the monks of Saint John's Abbey to create the first handwritten Bible since the invention of the printing press. Using eggs, feathers, calfskins, and hand-ground inks along with gold, silver and platinum, The Saint John's Bible employs ancient techniques to create a contemporary masterpiece intended to put us in communication with the Infinite.
Saint John's Abbey, a Benedictine monastic community in central Minnesota, and Saint John's University, a liberal arts college founded by the Abbey in 1857, envisioned a Bible that would ignite the spiritual imagination of people for centuries to come. It would be contemporary, interreligious, multicultural and prophetic. Created in Donald Jackson's scriptorium in Wales, The Saint John's Bible will reside at Saint John's University, which enjoys an international reputation for its work with medieval and early modern manuscripts.
Now, Donald Jackson and Saint John's Abbey and University introduce the first volumes. The Bible will be published in seven volumes, plus a special edition on the making of The Saint John's Bible. Whether you have a deep reverence for Scripture, are drawn to the precise work of the quill, are an avid art collector, or are fascinated by the making of The Saint John's Bible, you now have the opportunity to take home the experience of this project through full-color, page-by-page reproduction books.