I hope you're not tired of hearing about the St. John's Bible yet because it won't be finished until 2007! The first volume to be reproduced and published, Gospels and Acts, is a work of art. I can't imagine what it's like to see the real thing, full size, with shining gold leaf (but I intend to find out). Here is a nice article from the Duluth News Tribune celebrating the completion of three of the seven volumes:
Usually the black-robed monks chant their evening prayers alone, their voices echoing off the concrete walls of the Abbey Church. But they were recently joined by guests not seen in monasteries since the Middle Ages -- a group of scribes and artists who are creating a hand-lettered and illuminated Bible.
At a cue from the abbot, the visitors came forward for a blessing on their work. A few of them wept, struck with the magnitude of their project.
St. John's University in Collegeville commissioned a calligrapher in Wales to head up this unlikely effort seven years ago. Now at the halfway point, the first three volumes of the St. John's Bible are on display through July 3 at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. For the first time, most of the dozen scribes and illuminators working on the project recently gathered in Minnesota.
via Rare Book News
