A manuscript from the third century that includes pieces of the Bible and other Christian writings will be up for auction soon.
Religious experts believe that the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, which was discovered in Egypt in 1952, sheds light on how early Christians studied canonized, noncanonized and even pagan texts alongside one another, per The Conversation.
The codex will go up for auction at Christie’s in London starting June 11. The lot value is estimated to fall between 2 million pounds and 3 million pounds.
What is the Crosby-Schøyen Codex?
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex comes from the Dishna papers, a group of Christian texts brought together by monks in Dishna, Egypt, between the third and fourth centuries.
The library was discovered in 1952 and includes canonical and noncanonical writings, including the gospels of Luke and John, Paul’s “Third Letter to the Corinthians,” “The Shepherd of Hermas,” the “Acts of Paul” and the “Infancy Gospel of James,” as well as literary texts, including comedic plays by Greek author Menander and a selection from the “History of the Peloponnesian War” by Thucydides, per The Conversation.
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex itself contains biblical and other early Christian writings.
“(This is) one of the oldest books in existence. ... That makes this a unique object in the history of Christianity,” said Eugenio Donadoni, a senior specialist in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts for Christie’s. “It is the first example we have of a compilation of texts that has been specifically put together for a religious celebration.”
Historians and theologians consider the codex critical in understanding how early Christians perceived and used religious texts. At the time it was compiled, the Bible as we know it did not yet exist.
“What we are seeing here,” said Donadoni, “is a community that is steeped in Jewish tradition, trying to figure out how to be Christians in the world.”
While some of the books from the library at Dishna were canonized, others were not. Some are now barely read by Christians, even though early Christians apparently valued them.
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex is one of several archaeological discoveries that shows how early Christians approached the study of faith-related texts. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library are two similar, ancient collections of canonized and uncanonized texts, per The Conversation.