The Codex Athous Laurae , designated by Ψ or 044 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), or δ 6 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament Manuscripts), is a manuscript of the New Testament written in Greek uncial letters on parchment . The manuscript has many gaps in the text, as well as containing handwritten notes (known as marginalia ). Using the study of comparative writing styles ( palaeographically ), the codex is dated to the 8th or 9th century.
29-646: The codex is currently kept in the Great Lavra monastery (B' 52) on the Athos peninsula. The manuscript is a codex (precursor to the modern book), containing 261 parchment leaves, which measure 21 by 15.3 centimetres (8.3 by 6.0 in), with the text-block being 15 by 8.7 centimetres (5.9 by 3.4 in). The text is written in small uncial letters, in one column of 31 lines per page. These letters have breathings (utilised to designate vowel emphasis) and accents (used to indicate voiced pitch changes). The codex contains
58-443: A gospel with a golden cover which is a gift from Nikephoros II Phokas and the list (Kouvaras) of the monks since Athanasius. There are also 2,500 icons which cover the whole history of hagiography of the second millennium . Great Lavra enjoys a sunny and warm Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ). January highs are around 11 °C (52 °F) while July and August highs are around 31 °C (88 °F). According to
87-576: A peculiar way of monasticism, the Idiorrhythmic Way , despite the objections of the official Church and the emperors. In 1574, the Patriarch of Alexandria , Sylvester , helped and the monastery operated again under cenobitic monasticism , but soon the peculiar monasticism was again introduced. In 1655, the Patriarch Dionysios III , who also became a monk , donated his personal fortune for
116-767: A scribe named John at the request of another monk, named Jakob. The codex was discovered by Constantin von Tischendorf in Egypt in 1853, who took 57 leaves of the codex (Acts of the Apostles) with himself. He sold it to the Trustees of the British Museum in 1854. Now it is located in the British Library (Add MS 20003) in London . 225 leaves are still in Alexandria , where they are held in
145-471: A shorter ending to the Gospel of Mark before the longer version. This is similar to the ending found in other Greek New Testament manuscripts, such as Codex Regius and all other Greek codices in which the general epistles appear. The manuscript was seen by biblical scholar C. R. Gregory on August 26, 1886. He described it as the first of its kind. In 1892, the biblical scholar J. Rendel Harris did not examine
174-892: A special quality, i.e., manuscripts with a considerable proportion of the early text, but which are marked by alien influences. These influences are usually of smoother, improved readings, and in later periods by infiltration by the Byzantine text." Mark 11:26 and Mark 15:28 , along with John 7:53–8:11 (the Pericope Adulterae ), are omitted. Mark 9:49 Mark 10:7 Mark 10:19 Luke 9:35 John 20:31 Acts 12:25 Acts 15:23 Acts 18:26 Acts 20:15 Acts 20:28 Acts 27:16 Acts 28:29 Romans 8:1 Romans 16:25–27 1 Corinthians 2:1 1 Corinthians 7:5 1 Corinthians 12:9 Philippians 1:14 1 Timothy 3:16 1 Peter 4:14 Great Lavra The Monastery of Great Lavra ( Greek : Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας )
203-479: A table of contents (" κεφαλαια " / kephalaia ) before each book, the Ammonian Sections and Eusebian Canons (an early system of dividing the four Gospels into different sections), lectionary notes in the margin (for liturgical use), musical notes ( neumes ), and subscriptions. It is considered one of the oldest manuscripts with musical notes. The codex originally contained the entire New Testament except for
232-646: Is described as representative of the Byzantine text-type , but with a large portion of Alexandrian readings, as well as some Western readings. The text-types are groups of different manuscripts which share specific or generally related readings, which then differ from each other group, and thus the conflicting readings can separate out the groups, which are then used to determine the original text as published; there are three main groups with names: Alexandrian , Western , and Byzantine . Despite being an unusually mixed text, Von Soden lists it as generally Alexandrian due to
261-593: Is the first monastery built on Mount Athos , on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece . It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of 160 metres (170 yd). The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasius the Athonite marks the beginning of the organized monastic life at Mount Athos. At the location of the monastery, there was one of the ancient cities of
290-463: Is the grave of Athanasius. South of the liti , there is the chapel of Saint Nicholas , painted by Franco Cantellano, in 1560. The trapeza opposite the central entrance has the shape of a cross and is the largest on Mount Athos. Its interior is full of frescoes, painted by Theophanis or his school. The library of the monastery is located behind the main church. It contains 2,116 Greek manuscripts and 165 codices. Among them uncial manuscripts of
319-496: The Book of Revelation , with several gaps at both the beginning and end. The Gospel of Matthew , the Gospel of Mark 1:1-9:4, and one leaf from the Hebrews with text 8:11-9:19 have subsequently been lost. The order of the codex's books are as follows: The General epistles are in an unusual order (1-2 Peter, James, 1-3 John, and Jude; James usually comes before 1 Peter). There is also
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#1732855488396348-783: The Gospel of Mark and the General Epistles being mostly in-line with the Alexandrian text-type . In the Gospel of Luke and John, the Byzantine element is predominate, but with a larger proportion of Alexandrian readings than in Codex Sangallensis 48 . The text of the General Epistles appeared to be the same type as found in Codex Alexandrinus , Minuscule 33 , Minuscule 81 , and Minuscule 436 . Biblical scholar Kurt Aland placed
377-693: The National Observatory of Athens station data, Great Lavra falls in hardiness zone 10a. A plant species, Campanula lavrensis , is named after the Great Lavra. Minuscule 81 Minuscule 81 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), or α162 (in the Soden numbering) is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament , on a parchment. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1044. Formerly it
406-411: The New Testament : Codex Coislinianus , Codex Athous Lavrensis , Uncial 049 , Uncial 0167 , and minuscules 1073, 1505, 2524, 1519. There are also over 20,000 printed books, and about 100 manuscripts in other languages. The collection is one of the richest collections of Greek manuscripts in the world. The vestry is behind the main church . Some of the most important artifacts are a manuscript of
435-558: The κεφαλαια ( list of contents ) only for Epistle of James . Lectionary markings were added on the margin by a later hand (for liturgical use). The Greek text of the codex, is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type , with some the Byzantine readings. It is one of the most important of all minuscule manuscripts. It was only one minuscule manuscript examined by Constantin von Tischendorf . Aland placed it in "at least Category II ". It has been called "the best minuscule witness to Acts" or "the most important minuscule copy of
464-457: The 11th century there were 700 monks, while smaller monasteries had been ceded to Great Lavra. In the 14th century the monastery suffered, like all the other monasteries of Mount Athos, from Spaniards from the crown of Aragon and other pirates. Additionally, the Russian pilgrim Isaiah confirms that, by the end of the 15th century, the monastery was Greek. The result of the crisis was the formation of
493-778: The Acts". F. H. A. Scrivener stated "its value is shown not so much by the readings in which it stands alone, as by agreement with the oldest uncial copies, where their testimonies coincide". In Acts 16:10 it reads θεος along with P , Sinaiticus , Alexandrinus , Vaticanus , Ephraemi , E , 044 , 33 , 181 , 326 , 630 , 945 , 1739 , ar, e, l, vg, cop , geo; other reading κυριος, is supported by D, P , 049 , 056 , 0142 , 88 , 104 , 330 , 436 , 451 , 614 , 629 , 1241, 1505, 1877, 2127, 2412, 2492, 2495, Byz, c, d, gig, syr , cop . It does not contain text of Acts 28:29. In Romans 8:1 it reads Ιησου κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν, for Ιησου (as א, B, D, G, 1739, 1881, it , cop , eth). The reading of
522-517: The Athos peninsula, perhaps Akrothooi, from which the sarcophagi of the monastery that are in the oil storage house come. The history of the monastery is the most complete compared to the history of the other monasteries, because its historical archives were preserved almost intact. It is possible that the study of these archives may contribute to the completion of the knowledge of the history of other monasteries, whose archives were partially or completely lost. The founder of Great Lavra, Athanasius, began
551-556: The Gospel of Mark and collated the text of the gospels of Luke and John. He did not examine the text of Acts and the epistles because, according to Soden, their text was ordinary. In 1903, Lake published the text of the Gospel of Mark 9:5-16:20, and a collation of the gospels of Luke, John, and the Epistle to the Colossians in Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica . The Greek text of this codex
580-594: The Great Lavra many other lands of property including the island of Saint Eustratius and the Monastery of Saint Andreas in Thessaloniki . This led to the growth of the monks from 80 to 120. The building project, according to the biography of Athanasius the Athonite (11th century), began with the protective wall and continued to the church and cells . After Athanasius' death, the monastery continued its operation normally. The emperors favored its development and during
609-537: The codex even though he was on a visit to Mount Athos, as he was only inspecting the Septuagint (an early Greek translation of the Old Testament ) manuscripts there. Von Goltz and Protestant theologian Georg Wobbermin had collated the text of Acts, the general epistles, and Pauline epistles for biblical scholar Hermann von Soden . The codex was examined by biblical scholar Kirsopp Lake in 1899, who thoroughly examined
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#1732855488396638-433: The construction of the buildings in 963, according to the will of his friend and Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas who funded the project. Nikephoros had promised Athanasius that he would soon become a monk of Great Lavra but the circumstances and his death canceled those plans. However, a permanent imperial grant, which was doubled by John I Tzimiskes , allowed the integration of the buildings. The emperors gave also
667-463: The construction. The architectural style of the temple is characterized by the two large areas of the chorus and the prayer. This style was then consecrated and was copied by the other monasteries. The frescoes were made in 1535 by the great painter Theophanis. However, the narthex was painted in 1854. North of the narthex ( liti ), there is the chapel of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in which there
696-1315: The manuscript is supported by A , D , Ψ, 629, 2127, vg. The Byzantine manuscripts read Ιησου μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα. In Romans 13:9 it has additional phrase ου ψευδομαρτυρησεις, the reading is supported by the manuscripts: א (P) 048 104 365 1506 a b vg (syr ) cop . Romans 16:24 is omitted as in Codex Sinaiticus A B C 5 263 623 1739 1838 1962 2127 it vg cop eth Origen ). In 1 Corinthians 2:1 it reads μαρτυριον along with B D G P Ψ 33 104 181 326 330 451 614 629 630 1241 1739 1877 1881 1962 1984 2127 2492 2495 Byz Lect it vg syr cop arm eth. Other manuscripts read μυστηριον or σωτηριον. In 1 Corinthians 7:5 it reads τη προσευχη ( prayer ) along with 𝔓 , 𝔓 , א*, A, B , C, D, F, G, P, Ψ, 6 , 33, 104, 181, 629, 630, 1739, 1877, 1881, 1962, it vg, cop, arm, eth. Other manuscripts read τη νηστεια και τη προσευχη ( fasting and prayer ) or τη προσευχη και νηστεια ( prayer and fasting ). In 1 Timothy 3:16 it has textual variant θεός ἐφανερώθη ( God manifested ) (Sinaiticus , A , C , D , K , L , P , 044, 81, 104 , 181 , 326 , 330 , 436 , 451 , 614 , 629 , 630 , 1241, 1739 , 1877, 1881, 1962, 1984, 1985, 2492, 2495, Byz, Lect), against ὃς ἐφανερώθη ( he
725-423: The reading is supported by Codex Porphyrianus , 104, 436 , 629 , 630 , and 1985. In 1 John 5:6 it has textual variant δι' ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος καὶ αἵματος ( through water and spirit and blood ) together with the manuscripts: Codex Porphyrianus , 88 , 442 , 630 , 915, 2492, arm, eth Bart D. Ehrman identified it as Orthodox corrupt reading. According to the colophon, it was written on April 20, 1044, by
754-419: The return to the cenobitic life but again these attempts were insufficient and the peculiar monasticism remained until the 20th century (1914), when there were new attempts for the return to the cenobitic life but without results. Since 1980, the monastery has been cenobitic. The main church (Katholikon) was founded by Athanasius who lost his life together with 6 other workers when one of the domes fell during
783-626: The text of the codex in Category III in the Gospels, Acts, Pauline Epistles, and its text of the General Epistles in Category II of his New Testament manuscript text classification system. Category III manuscripts are described as having "a small but not a negligible proportion of early readings, with a considerable encroachment of [Byzantine] readings, and significant readings from other sources as yet unidentified", and Category II manuscripts as those "of
812-561: Was labelled by 61 and 61 (Gregory). The manuscript is lacunose. It was adapted for liturgical use. The codex contains almost complete text of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles on 282 parchment leaves (18 cm by 12.6 cm), with some lacunae (Acts 4:8-7:17; 17:28-23:9 - 297 verses). The text is written in one column per page, in 23 lines per page, in small letters. It contains list of
841-415: Was manifested ) supported by Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus , Ephraemi , Boernerianus , 33 , 365 , 442 , 2127, ℓ 599 . In 2 Timothy 4:10 it reads Γαλλιαν, along with Sinaiticus C 104 326 436; other manuscript read Γαλατιαν (A D F G K L P Ψ 33 88 181 330 451 614 629 630 1241 1739 1877 1881 1962 1984 1985 2127 2492 2495 Byz Lect) or Γαλιλαιαν (cop ). In Hebrews 8:11 it reads πλησιον for πολιτην,
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