thicket of microphones and said, “We welcome you all in the name of the Lord, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. It is my great honor to introduce to you His All Holiness Bartholomew II, Archbishop Patriarch of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.”
Bartholomew stood to enthusiastic applause that he tried to terminate by holding up his arms. At last he succeeded. His clear baritone resonated across the cathedral as he gave the Trinitarian invocation in Greek: “ Eis to onoma tou Patros, kai tou Huios, kai tou Hagiou Pneumatos. Amen! But since some of you may not know Greek, I shall continue in English.”
Ripples of laughter erupted. The audience was now his.
“For centuries, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople-many of you may know the city as Istanbul- possessed a literary treasure of immense significance for Christians everywhere. It is a magnificent New Testament manuscript codex, written in Greek uncial lettering that dates from the early fourth century-that is, the AD 300s-and is thus a document even earlier than the great Codex Sinaiticus in the British Library, which, up to now, has been the most important of the earliest versions of the Bible. But more. This newly discovered codex is also one of the fifty copies of the Holy Scriptures that the Emperor Constantine commissioned Eusebius, the church historian, to prepare for distribution across Constantinople and elsewhere. Scholars have long searched for one of these codices, but without success. Now, I am privileged to announce, the lost has been found.”
Vast waves of applause splashed across the sanctuary and even some unliturgical whistling and cheering.
Bartholomew continued. “This precious document we have officially named the Codex Constantinianus, but you may simply call it the Constantine Codex. It lies before you on the pedestal to my left, and it is open to the Resurrection account in the last chapter of the Gospel according to St. Mark, chapter 16. After this conference, you may view it briefly in an inspection line, but kindly do not try to touch it in any way. Guards will assist you in this request.
“The codex was discovered by Professor Jonathan and Mrs. Shannon Weber of Harvard University and the Institute of Christian Origins. I am deeply embarrassed to report that the codex was not recovered from our library or archives, but from a room at our patriarchate devoted to manuscript repair and storage. The entire Christian world is in your debt, Professor and Mrs. Weber. Dr. Weber will now provide some extraordinary additional information regarding the codex.”
As Jon walked to the microphone, nothing less than a standing ovation greeted him, and a raucous one at that, complete with cheers and whistling-in a cathedral, no less. He’d wanted Shannon to have this honor-after all, she had really discovered the codex-but she had demurred. “You’re much better at public speaking than I,” she’d said, needlessly buttering him up.
When silence finally fell, Jon looked to the patriarch and began. “Thank you, Your All Holiness. Without your magnificent cooperation, none of this would be possible. I must now tell you, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, of two additional discoveries in the text of the Constantine Codex that some will greet with shock, others with disbelief, and still others with exuberant joy. I would remind the press that all this material will be available in press releases in the narthex after our conference. These have been translated into the ten most widely used languages in the world, identified by an appropriate sign over each stack.
“The first discovery lies before you. If you file by the codex, you will notice that there is more text regarding the resurrection of Jesus at the close of Mark 16 than the traditional last verse you find in all your Bibles. And here, please, understand that the text we do find after chapter 16, verse 8, in your Bibles was added later. The Constantine Codex, however, preserves the original ending that Mark actually wrote. It not only accords perfectly with the other Resurrection accounts in the Gospels, but also helps explain their variations.”
Stunned shock seemed to vacuum all life out of the cathedral, until a veritable explosion of response replaced that void. Shouting, laughing, and cascades of applause reechoed across the cavernous expanse of the cathedral from the sector where the churchmen were sitting. They knew well enough that the broken ending of Mark’s Gospel was one of the greatest problems in New Testament scholarship. Non-Christians, in fact, used it as one of their prime arguments against the Resurrection. But at last, Jon was happy to announce, the problem was solved.
When quiet returned, Jon reported the other “surprise” in the discovery of Second Acts. The vast assembly sat in stunned silence as he sketched its contents: Paul’s trial before Nero, his trip to Spain and subsequent journeys, and finally his martyrdom at Rome. This time the mood of the audience was one of profound awe rather than the raucous elation over Mark’s Gospel. Clearly they were equally thrilled, but totally unprepared for the profound implications of a missing book of the Bible being found. But then a din of discussion seemed to well up from each pew, as church leaders and scholars started putting the pieces together and understanding, for the first time, why Luke ended the book of Acts as abruptly as he did in chapter
28.
It was time for Jon to finish his prepared statement. “Translations of the new material in Mark 16 and Second Acts will also be available in the narthex after our conference. These may be freely copied and used anywhere-with only one exception: they may not be appended to any new editions of the New Testament or the Holy Bible by any publisher. The Institute of Christian Origins holds the international copyrights for all the new material and will prosecute any publisher anywhere trying to add Mark 16 and Second Acts to any projected new version of the Bible or the New Testament.
“I’m now open for your questions. In each case, please wait until a page brings you a microphone and first identify yourselves as you start speaking.”
Representatives of the press and the media were seated in the front of the sanctuary on the opposite side of the aisle from the religious leaders. Jon recognized a man in the fifth row.
“David van Biema, Time. I’m intrigued by your last statement, Professor Weber. Why that restriction? Why couldn’t the new material be published in future Bibles? Is there some question about its authenticity?”
“No, David, not at all. In fact, there’s a separate handout in the narthex showing all our test results to date, and they’re all positive. The reason we can’t permit the inclusion of this material in future Bibles at this time is because that would require opening the canon of Holy Scripture, and we simply cannot arrogate to ourselves so solemn a responsibility. Only an ecumenical council of the entire church could make such a decision.”
“Do you think that could happen? Will happen?”
Yes, Jon wanted to say, but he held his tongue and simply replied, “Again, the church will have to decide.” He looked toward another reporter. “Yes?”
“Mark Galli, Christianity Today. But wouldn’t that be very difficult, Professor Weber? Most Christians assume that the canon of Scripture is closed. I can almost hear fundamentalists using Deuteronomy 4:2: ‘You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God.’”
“Indeed, but that passage, as you know, refers to Mosaic law rather than the whole canon of Scripture itself. But you’re right, Mark: opening the Canon could prove terribly difficult and provoke the darkest suspicions, however unjustified, among some of the faithful… Yes?”
“Hang Wha Sing, Taipei Telegraph. What means Canon, and how books get into ‘Canon’?”
“Yes, sorry. I should have defined that earlier. Canon comes from the Greek word kanown, which means ‘rule’ or ‘standard.’ It’s the authoritative list of books that belong either in the Old or New Testament. The early church included in the Canon only those books that were written by eyewitnesses or those who had immediate contact with eyewitnesses, and that were widely used in worship, and that were consistent with the other teachings of Christianity. The new material in the Constantine Codex more than satisfies all three criteria… Yes?”
“But the Canon is still closed!” the tall figure nearly shouted. “Oh-Jimmy Lee Curtis, Southern Baptist Messenger.”
“ Is it really closed, Mr. Curtis? One of our great Greek textual scholars, the now-sainted Professor Bruce Metzger of Princeton, has an interesting passage in his book The Canon of the New Testament that speaks to this very point.” Jon had the book at his lectern and read aloud: “One may also speculate what the Church should do if
