In 1998, Saint John’s Abbey and University commissioned renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to produce a hand-written, hand-illuminated Bible. This work of art unites an ancient Benedictine tradition with the technology and vision of today, illuminating the Word of God for a new millennium.
In 2013, Carson-Newman University acquired a seven-volume collection of the unique Bible and established The Lynn and Lyndsey Denton Gallery on the main floor of Stephens-Burnett Memorial Library. The seven volumes that make up The Heritage Edition are approximately 2 feet tall by 3 feet wide when open and weigh about 20 pounds each. Limited in number, each is signed and numbered.
Now, we are just one of only four organizations in the Southeast to acquire the Heritage Edition of the Saint John’s Bible, and the only location in Tennessee where the public can view the volumes. Carson-Newman joins a select group of universities, organizations and museums to house the Heritage Edition volumes including Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif.; Yale University, New Haven, Conn.; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; Naples Museum of Art, Naples, Fla.; and the Vatican Museum of Art, Rome, Italy.
A fine art reproduction of the original housed at Saint John’s University in Minnesota, the Heritage Edition is the result of a process that engaged the finest printing experts and binders to ensure faithful representation of the manuscript. The entire project was overseen by Donald Jackson, the senior scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Crown Office at the House of Lords in London, England.
Each volume brilliantly maintains the awe-inspiring artistic intent of the original, which has been featured on NBC’s Today Show.