Parchment & Pen Blog

Since the inception of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) in 2002, we have had no problem getting volunteers to join us on expeditions to photograph manuscripts. In fact, hundreds of people have volunteered! I suspect that some of think that we are just on vacation in Greece, and they want to go along for a free ride. Others, of course, have more noble motives, desiring to see the work of preserving the word of God for future generations. But it is tedious, back-breaking work, that only the most resolute and focused individuals can handle.

We will be starting again on this photography by the time you read this blog. This year, because of the gracious permission extended to us by the Right Reverend Abbot Antipas of the Monastery of St. John the Theologian on the island of Patmos, we will be privileged to photograph thirteen ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts. One of the ironies about the manuscripts on Patmos is that almost none of them contain the book of Revelation! But one of the little-known facts about the monastery is that the library is exquisite, with meticulous care taken for these precious documents. The assistant librarian, Ioannis, does not touch the manuscripts—even the outside—without wearing cotton gloves. I have never seen that in any other library. The library is subterranean and climate controlled. Please do pray for our work here, as we want to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in all we do, and produce excellent digital photographs that serve the Church for years to come.

But allow me to speak for a moment about our accommodations. CSNTM brings expensive camera and computer equipment on these expeditions, requiring us to get secure accommodations. Our objective is to get the least expensive hotel that we can get that is still safe for the equipment and personnel. We stayed in a three-star hotel in Athens that is close to the National Library (where we are examining manuscripts when in Athens). Although it looked really nice on the Internet, and is certainly safer than one of the ones we stayed in last year, it’s not in the best neighborhood. The hotel has a small pool on the roof (with a fabulous view of the Acropolis), is 12 stories tall, and offers a great breakfast rolled into the costs. Once you get inside, it’s safe. But getting there is the trick. One or two blocks away is an ethnic section (which will go nameless), and the smell, grime, filth, and pressed humanity could cause anyone to doubt that humanity is made in God’s image. Not a pleasant place, and one’s red flags are at high mast while walking through this section (which we almost learned how to avoid on our last day in Athens). But even right next to the hotel—in an alley—there are drug dealings taking place all day and all night long. I was sitting in the second story window yesterday, observing the transactions below. One night, while we were on the roof, filming the view of the Acropolis, we heard what sounded like gunshots down in the street. We looked down and three men were running down the street, toward the hotel. A police car was in chase. We saw the men turn right onto a street, and the police car just went straight. The crowds were too thick for the police to see where the men went.

The difference between Athens and Patmos is as stark as the difference between the slums of any major US city today and rural America of 75 years ago. There are jewelry stores in Patmos where the owners forget to lock the doors at night. They shrug their shoulders and return the next morning with everything intact. When you leave the hotel, you leave your key at the reception desk. Of course, someone on staff is supposed to pick it up and put it in a safe place until you return. Most the time, he just leaves the key, along with all the other keys, on the desk. We’ve been gone all day in the past, and our keys are still on the desk when we return. The only reason to lock the doors around here is because of the tourists.

When we arrived, we felt like we had come home. And yet, just as home is no vacation, now it’s time to work. But we are among friends as we do so, and we are looking forward to the manuscripts we will be privileged to photograph over the next two weeks. Then, we return to Athens to stay in an expensive hotel in a terrible neighborhood. We could spend more money on a hotel or we could be in the outskirts, without good access to the National Library. But we are mindful of the fact that many people have made great sacrifices to pay for these expeditions. We feel constrained before the Lord to be good stewards of these important gifts. We are here to do the work of digitally preserving the word of God for future generations.

Thank you for your prayers for us over these next two weeks!

Sincerely in Christ,

Dan Wallace

Similar Posts:

• Our Last Working Day on Patmos
• Eight Uncatalogued NT Manuscripts at the Benaki Museum
• New Testament Manuscripts: The Beat Goes On
• If it’s Wednesday, This Must Be a Demonstration!
• CSNTM, Text Criticism, and Patmos