14 DAY TRIAL // Christians of all faiths now have the opportunity to view an entire half of the 1,600-year-old Codex Sinaiticus manuscript online. Through painstaking work, researchers were able to piece together the required text, and decided to display it online, for everyone to see. The display can be found at codexsinaiticus. The original manuscript was hand-written in Greek on parchment leaves in the 4th century AD, and it represents the earliest discovered manuscript of the Bible available.
Experts from Germany, Egypt, the United Kingdom and Russia worked on preparing the document for online publication, spending countless hours setting the text in order. They say that the importance of the paper goes beyond the fact that it's old, and refers mostly to the fact that it offers a “window into the development of early Christianity.” Some scientists in the group also say that the manuscript may prove to be invaluable for scholars around the world, who could research it thoroughly.
“The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world's greatest written treasures. This 1,600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation. The availability of the virtual manuscript for study by scholars around the world creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago,” said British Library head of Western manuscripts Dr. Scot McKendrick, quoted by the BBC News.
The original parchment leaves remained undisturbed in a monastery on Sinai Mountain for about 1,500 years, until it was found in 1844, and split between the four countries that now cooperated to share it with the world. The reason why the work did not deteriorate in its long stay at the monastery is largely due to the fact that dry and warm climate prevented it from being wrecked by moisture. The monastery was never conquered, despite the fact it remained surrounded by Muslims for centuries.