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BIBLIA SACRA
After many years of research, discernment, trials, errors, and tedious labor, we are pleased to announce that we are in the final stages of preparing what we believe is the most beautiful, noble edition of the Holy Bible ever published. For more details and information, please continue below- or you may proceed directly to the pre-order page by using this link: PRE-ORDER
The influence of the Latin Vulgate Bible over the centuries is widely known. The Clementine text in particular is held in a special place for Roman Catholics, since it was born out of an effort by the Church to create a standard text with minimal errors. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the Clementine Vulgate Bible have been printed by a large number of publishers over the span of several centuries. The 1881 edition of the famed liturgical publisher, Desclee of Belgium was chosen because of it's beauty, simplicity, layout, and textual integrity.
In order to produce the finest quality facsimile, I sought help from the faithful at Normandy Labs. Scanning was done "in-house" at Church Latin Publishing Co. in order to remain in complete control of the process. Automated image processing was accomplished with the use of customized software developed for this purpose. Each individual page image was then audited manually. This final step of the process took us over 3 years to complete. The result is a completely restored text, better than the original in many aspects.
To the left is a page spread from the beginning of Genesis. We were stunned when first opened and original copy of this bible. A friend of mine referred to it a "modern adaptation of a medieval manuscript". We agree! Upon diving deeper into the other books this publisher offered, we found altar missals, breviaries, rituals, and other liturgical books printed in the same beautiful manner with similar artwork.
The typography and layout is well ordered and easy to follow. The red border lines divide the two columns of text and also separate the cross references in the margins. The introductions to each chapter or 'capitula' are presented in red text, which reminds us of the rubrics in missals and breviaries.
This bible is proudly printed and bound in the United States of America. It will feature a fully sewn binding with gold gilded page edges and two satin page marking ribbons. The covers are genuine leather with gold foil debossing. Traditional hubs on the spine give it classic look as well. The overall dimensions are 10 1/2" tall X 7 1/2" wide X 2" thick and it weighs 4 lbs.
We chose 45 lb. 'Natural' paper. This is not your typical thin 'Bible Paper'. It was more fitting have a slightly thicker paper for this large volume. The end sheets are a material called Silk Morie which has a soft, textured feel. We wanted it to be a durable as it was beautiful so we chose only the best materials and a manufacturer who could provide the consistent quality we are striving for.
When tracing the origins of the Latin Vulgate Bible, it will take you back to the the year 382 AD, when a hermit named Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (known as St. Jerome) from Stridon (in the ancient Roman province of Dalmatia), translated the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek in a cave in Damascus. Can you imagine working in a cave with only candle light, translating from manuscripts collected from across the region? The text of the Latin Vulgate Bible was then faithfully copied from Jerome's original for centuries.
Title page from the 1593 edition of the Vulgate Bible, printed in Rome.
Then the inevitable happened. As scribes attempted to faithfully copy (remember, this was all done by hand) the manuscripts that were handed on to them, errors and accretions crept in. In the year 1590 AD, Pope Sixtus V gathered a commission of cardinals to carefully compile a standard text free from errors and accretions. A dispute broke out shortly after it was published. Many complained that there were still too many errors and in the text. The copies that made it out were recalled and destroyed. Pope Sixtus V passed and Pope Clement XIII took on this huge but necessary undertaking. In 1592 AD, the first of three editions were published. The next was in 1593 AD and the last in 1598 AD. Although Pope Sixtus' edition did not hit the mark, you'll see that out of respect for the former pontiff, the official title Clement's editions still bears his name: "Biblia Sacra, Vulgatae Editionis, SIXTI QUNTI, Pont. Max, iussu recognita atque edita." (The Holy Bible, Vulgate Edition, revised and published by order of supreme pontiff Sixtus V)
The text of this bible was arranged from the final, 1598 edition of Pope Clement. As stated in the "Note to the Reader" of this bible, a copy of the 1598 edition 'lays before them'. They also consulted the 1879 edition of Italian Biblical Scholar, Carolus Vercellone.
What you will find in the volume is a text which is faithful to the 1598 edition with several corrections that were labeled by the editors as 'clear errors'. There errors were in regards to spelling, but not in content.
There are four notable dates to remember in the history of the Latin Vulgate Bible.
1) The birth of the Vulgate, St. Jerome completed his translation in the year 405 AD
2) The Vulgate was the first book printed on a printing press with movable type. Known as the "Gutenberg Bible" or "42 Line Bible" as it was printed by Johannes Gutenberg in the year 1455 AD in Strasbourg (now in France)
3) The Council of Trent in 1546 AD declared the Vulgate to be- "...held as authentic; and that no one is to dare, or presume to reject it under any pretext whatsoever."
4) The creation of the "Clementine Vulgate" in 1592 AD which standardized the text of the Vulgate.
There are two more recent versions of the Vulgate that I have not yet mentioned. The "Stutgartt Vulgate" and the Nova Vulgata or "New Vulgate"
The first page of Genesis from the Gutenberg Bible, 1455 AD