In 2022, CSNTM began a multi-year collaboration with the H. Milton Haggard Center for New Testament Textual Studies located on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Our collaboration will have CSNTM digitize a collection of 1,842 microfilm rolls containing New Testament manuscripts in multiple languages, and to digitize a collection of historic papers from the International Greek New Testament Project (IGNTP) dating back to the 1950s.
The IGNTP was a massive undertaking led in 1948 by Kurt Aland and the INTF in Münster, Germany. The project included capturing microfilm images of manuscripts, which teams of scholars used to reconstruct the most likely original wording of the New Testament. Their decades of work produced the critical texts we use today for translations and exposition.
At least 800 of the microfilm rolls are known to be New Testament manuscripts, the contents of the other 1,000 are unknown until digitized. Many are undoubtedly early Christian writings, including New Testament text in Greek and other early translations. (Click here to learn about the technology we use to digitize microfilm.)
The IGNTP papers include correspondence, New Testament collations of manuscripts, meeting minutes, and the notes of scholars, material of great interest to researchers today.
While seminary volunteers onsite accomplish part of the work, CSNTM staff must travel regularly to New Orleans for the bulk of the digitization. Fortunately, the seminary makes housing available, which saves the cost of lodging.
Objective One
Digitize all 1,842 microfilm rolls, record their contents, and curate the documents for publication on the CSNTM Digital Manuscript Collection.
Objective Two
Digitize the entire collection of International Greek New Testament Project (IGNTP) correspondence, manuscript collations, meeting minutes, and other miscellaneous documents for publication on csntm.org.
Objective Three
Publish all microfilm manuscript documents that are relevant to New Testament scholarship, and publish all IGNTP documents in an organized microsite on csntm.org.
CSNTM is seeking to raise $25,000 to complete all digitization.
Will you help make these resources available to the world?