The four books of the Gospel and Acts of the Apostles are ornately displayed through Dec. 31 in the lobby of CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs for anyone to observe.
A reproduction of one of the seven volumes of the Saint John's Bible has been traveling the state of Arkansas throughout 2018 to various Catholic hospitals and is making its final stop in Hot Springs, where the chaplains have been sharing the message since it arrived in early November.
"It was at the St. Vincent's Infirmary in Little Rock in September and October, and then came here at the beginning of November so I tell everybody that we saved the best for last," said Father Michael Millard, team leader of Chaplaincy Services.
"This is a reproduction of the original. What happened was in 1998, Saint John's Abbey and University commissioned a group of artists to reproduce holy scripture the way it was done before the invention of the printing press. So, in the Middle Ages, every book was copied by hand and they asked this group of artists to reproduce the Bible just that way. They proceeded to hand write, hand calligraphy, the entire Bible beginning with Genesis and going through Revelation. And then they illuminated the Bible the same way that it was done in the old days, in the Middle Ages."
Millard said the artists hand made everything used to create the original Bible to make it truly authentic to how illuminated texts were produced centuries ago.
"The inks that were used were all handmade according to the methods that were used back then," he said. "Nothing is off the shelf. Everything was made by the artists as they were doing it, including the quill pens that they were using. Each of them sharpened their own quill pen every day to do it."
The original Saint John's Bible is on display at Saint John's Abbey, but 200 museum-quality reproductions have been made for museums, libraries and universities across the globe, which he said is how the hospital was able to bring it here.
"We're very fortunate being able to put it here at the main entrance of the hospital so we get a lot of folks who come by and will stand and look at it," he said. "We try to open it to a different page every day so that the different illuminations can be seen. We've taken it around the hospital to the different units so that we can show folks here in the hospital and then we bring it out and have the page turnings, receptions and meetings with folks so that people can see this magnificent piece of art which has so beautifully illuminated the word of God."
The illuminations, he said, refer to the works of art throughout the Bible used to illustrate the gospel for easy understanding.
"Going back to the Middle Ages, when texts were reproduced -- particularly the Bible -- the artists in the monasteries would illuminate each page with these amazing works of art in the margins depicting what was happening in the text," Millard said. "That was largely done because so few people could read back then. The artwork helped bring out the story so that somebody who couldn't read would still be able to get a sense of what was going on.
"Particularly with the gospel message, this was really important and a really influential way of bringing Jesus' ministry to life for folks. And it still works. It's still amazing, you page through here and see some of the different depictions of Christ's ministry and then how it relates to all of God's message."
While Millard said the chaplaincy is not planning a special Christmas Eve service using the illuminated Bible, they are open to requests from area churches or groups who would like to see this piece of artistry. General viewing hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"Leading up to Christmas, we're going to be continuing to have it on display to put it in front of as many people as we possibly can," he said. "We are open to requests between now and the end of the year. If there is a church or if there is a community group or somebody who would like to see it, we'd be happy to either host them here or if we can if it's possible take the Bible to them.
"The more we can spread the word of God, obviously we are happy to do it."
Local on 12/09/2018