When: Thursday, November 17th between 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Where: Heritage Centre – H100

St. Mary`s University is hosting a display of hand written religious scrolls. Attendees will have the opportunity to view Sefer Torah and Sefer Haftarah scrolls, which are central to the weekly Sabbath services in every synagogue. Also, they will be able to contemplate the calligraphy and illuminations of the Saint John`s Bible. Specialists will offer insight into the central role of calligraphy in the history of the religious traditions, which will be represented.

Explore the rich history and meaning of sacred texts through seeing and hearing the beauty of sacred texts that continue to shape history.

Join us in an interactive evening that offers a meeting ground where Jews, Muslims and Christians learn from one another and appreciate the unique contribution that each tradition makes to the Abrahamic tradition.

• cantors from the Shi’a tradition of Islam chant verses of the Qur’an and from Beth Tzedec synagogue chant texts from the Torah in Hebrew.
• handwritten sacred texts – the Torah, and Haftorah [Judaism], the verses of the Qur’an [Islam] and volumes of the St. John’s Bible [Christianity]
• expert calligraphers

Short talks on

• significance of the St. John’s Bible as the first handwritten text of the Bible in Christian tradition for 500 years and in light of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther initiating the Protestant Reformation, which focussed on translating the Scripture into the vernacular languages so that all Christians could read the sacred text.
• production of a Hebrew scroll from the curing of the animal skill (parchment) to the mixing of the ink and the actual writing of the text.

By encountering the texts we come to know one another and respond to the call of God to share in a communion of life today.