Father Justin's Blog

The Apostle Paul’s First Epistle to Timothy begins on folio 143 recto.

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ κατ’ ἐπιταγὴν θεοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καὶ Κυριόυ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν, Τιμοθέῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ ἐν πίστει χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

The intertwined ribbons form crosses at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the border.

Sinai Greek New Finds M120 is an incomplete manuscript of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of Saint Paul. It is written on parchment, and contains 186 folia. The manuscript has been dated to the fourteenth century.

Folio 54 verso contains a decorative border and the beginning of Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

Παῦλος δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ κλητὸς ἀπόστολος ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ.

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.

It must have taken great skill and experience to create an opening initial with the decorative elements as if they were intertwined.

Kellia in the monastery that have been there for centuries.

The Chapel of Saint Theodore is still in full sun after the bell tower and minaret have fallen into shadow.

The west face of the Sinai basilica is decorated with a central cross and two flanking palm trees bearing clusters of dates. These were carved out of solid granite blocks in the middle of the sixth century.

Δίκαιος ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει.

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. (Psalm 91:13 LXX)