MITCHELL — The public is invited to a blessing and presentation service as Dakota Wesleyan University celebrates the once-in-a-generation gift of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition.

In 1998, the Saint John’s Abbey and University commissioned a handwritten, hand-illuminated Bible. According to their website:

            “The Saint John’s Bible is a work of art and a work of theology. A team of artists coordinated by

Donald Jackson in Wales and a team of scholars in Central Minnesota have brought together the

ancient techniques of calligraphy and illumination with an ecumenical Christian approach to the

Bible rooted in Benedictine spirituality. The result is a living document and a monumental

achievement.”

DWU is the proud recipient of the seven-volume Heritage Edition, a limited collection of this work and the only public collection to be located in the Dakotas.  Other installations in the U.S. this year include Duke University and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

The service, which is open to the public, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. in the Sherman Center on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan, 1200 W. University Ave., Mitchell, S.D.  Light refreshments will follow.

The Bible will be housed within the McGovern Library.  It will be available for viewing and for use in studying and perusing the text and illuminations.   

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About The Saint John’s Bible

The Saint John’s Bible is the first handwritten illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in over 500 years. Created to mark the Millennium, this wildly ambitious project was conceived of by Donald Jackson, former Senior Scribe and Illuminator at the Crown Office in the House of Lords, who was commissioned by the Benedictine Monks of Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. Under Jackson’s fastidious creative direction, The Saint John’s Bible was brought slowly and diligently into existence by a team of gifted scribes, artists and assistants – letter by letter, line by line, year by year, across an astonishing 1,100 gorgeous handwritten pages. All told, it took Jackson’s talented team 15 years to complete this colossal work. A moment in its presence, however, is all it takes to be deeply moved by its spiritual elegance, pristine craft, fine attention to detail, stunning artwork, gilded illuminations, and, of course, by the sacred words of the scriptures themselves. Without question, The Saint John’s Bible is an incomparable masterpiece of sacred art that will be cherished for centuries to come.

About DWU DWU is a private, liberal arts university associated with the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church, that is rooted in four values: lifelong learning, leadership development, faith exploration and genuine service to others.  For more information about Dakota Wesleyan University, go to www.dwu.edu

Media Contact:

Julie Brookbank

Associate Director of Communications

Dakota Wesleyan University

[email protected]

605-995-2613