Last year, press releases from the religious and scholastic communities had been ripe with news of digitizing and making Codex Sinaiticus an online bible. To the uninitiated, this is considered the oldest known Bible, dating back 17 centuries ago. Published during the rift between the East and West Roman Empire, the Bible was said to have been commissioned by Emperor Constantine when he adopted Christianity. It also included the oldest version of the New Testament. The year 2005 had been the start of an ambitious project, but no new publicity had been announced regarding the manuscript's online bible version.
The online bible version was conceptualized with four phases: conservation, digitization, transcription, and academic commentary. The online Codex project aimed to reach a wider, and even worldwide audience through the internet. Tools developed for the manuscript's internet launch include a CD Rom, free website, and digital facsimile. The project is intended to be the standard of collaborative manuscript projects. However, the team behind the Codex project was reportedly having troubles with the first phase of the project and is not quite done yet. Conservation is essential to protect the Codex from damage during the project. Since the manuscript is old and very fragile, the conservation team faced the difficulty of restoring the manuscript to readable and presentable texts. Scot McKendrick, British Library's Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts Department chair, commented that the manuscript is very distinct from other old manuscripts. Given the size of each parchment (37 cm) and the text layering (four columns of Greek texts), it is a considerable feat to finish the conservation of all 400 pages in a short time.
Probably eyeing a 2010 or 2011 launch date, the Codex still have to undergo a digitization process. This involves taking digital images of the texts and the whole manuscript. Transcription is an essential part of the process since not everyone can understand Greek symbols. Scholars contribute commentaries and discussion as an added feature of the online bible. The process necessitates long hours of study from language and the principles from the Codex, to its similarities and differences from the present Bible. The religious and academic block had expressed their interest and excitement about the manuscript's online release. Due to its sensitive nature, only four scholars -- apart from those involve in the online bible project -- have seen the document up close. McKendrick estimated the whole Codex project to be over in about four years. Incidentally named after Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments, Codex Sinaiticus studies are now considered as the peak of religious learning.
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