A special event within this year's Festival will be a showing of the Saint John's Bible Exhibition. This exhibit will hang in the church narthex during the months of August and September and inspires several spinoff activities offered for the public. Activities in the planning stage include calligraphy workshops for children and adults, presentations on old manuscripts, a talk on the Benedictine Order, a collection and display of old Bibles and a grand opening reception. The public will also be invited to view the exhibit during special hours to be announced.

The Saint John's Bible is the first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible to be commissioned by a Benedictine abbey since the advent of the printing press more than five hundred years ago. It was created entirely by hand in Wales using ancient methods, materials, and tools, including turkey, goose, and swan quills and pigments made from hand-ground minerals and precious stones. Comprising about 1,150 pages and more than 160 works of art, the Bible is seven volumes bound between boards of quarter-sawn Welsh oak.

The creation of the Bible was a twelve-year process from its planning to its completion in 2011. Renowned calligrapher and illuminator Donald Jackson served as artistic director, collaborating with scribes, artists, and theologians to hand-create the lettering and illustrations to fill the volumes. Seventeen illustrations will comprise the Presbyterian exhibit.

More information on all areas of the Festival and Saint John's Exhibition will be coming to this site, along with complete registration information. Please be check back here soon.

A preview of The Saint John's Bible.


To preview more of The Saint John's Bible, visit their website at http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/see/