Scholars Recover 42 Lost Pages of St. Paul's Epistles

Photo: Damianos Kasotakis

GLASGOW — An international team led by Professor Garrick Allen at the University of Glasgow has recovered 42 lost pages from Codex H, a 6th-century manuscript of the Epistles of St. Paul that was disassembled in the 13th century at the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos. The manuscript was later reused in bindings and flyleaves, leaving fragments scattered across libraries in Italy, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, and France.

Researchers used multispectral imaging in collaboration with the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library to recover “ghost” text created by ink offset from re-inking, enabling reconstruction of material invisible to the naked eye. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the manuscript’s 6th-century origin and helped verify its historical authenticity.

The codex is considered a major witness for biblical textual scholarship and includes a complex system of notes and textual structures designed to guide reading and interpretation of the sacred text. Scholars also noted that the discovery sheds light on how the Pauline writings were read and interpreted in the early centuries of Christianity. Researchers identified some of the oldest known forms of chapter divisions, differing from modern systems of organizing the biblical text.

The findings provide new insight into early Christian engagement with Scripture, including scribal practices and the development of textual organization.

Previously, the UOJ reported that a Canadian MP called for a ban on hateful Bible verses.

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