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Introduction to Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus

The Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus, also known as the “Purple Codex of Saint Petersburg” and designated by N or 022 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts and ε19 in the von Soden numbering, is a significant Greek New Testament codex. This manuscript contains the text of the four Gospels written on purple-dyed parchment, a distinctive feature that signifies its inclusion among the Purple Uncials—a group that also includes Codex Beratinus (Φ), the Sinope Gospels (O), and the Rossano Gospels (Σ). Through palaeographical analysis, which involves the study of ancient handwriting, Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus has been dated to the 6th century CE. Despite its historical importance and luxurious presentation, the manuscript is incomplete, with numerous gaps throughout its text.

Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus Matt. 10:10-17

Description of Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus

Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus is a codex, an early form of a book, containing the text of the four Gospels on 231 parchment leaves, each measuring 32 x 27 centimeters. The text is elegantly written in two columns per page, with 16 lines per column and 12 letters per line, using large uncial letters. The distinctive feature of this manuscript is the use of silver ink for the text on vellum dyed a rich purple, while gold ink is used for the nomina sacra—sacred words and names in Christian writings, such as ΙΣ (Jesus), ΘΣ (God), ΚΣ (Lord or Master), ΥΣ (Son), and ΣΩΤΗΡ (Savior). The manuscript contains several errors of iotacisms, which are common misspellings due to the similar sounds of certain letters and combinations, such as interchanging ι with ει, and αι with ε. It has been estimated that the original codex contained 462 leaves.

Each Gospel is preceded by tables of contents, known as κεφάλαια (kephalaia). The text is divided into chapters (also called κεφάλαια), with chapter numbers indicated in the margins and the chapter titles (τίτλοι, titloi) written at the top of the pages. Additionally, the manuscript features the Ammonian sections and the Eusebian Canons in the margins, which are early systems of cross-referencing the Gospels.

The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

Missing Portions of Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus

Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus, despite its remarkable preservation and luxurious presentation, has several missing portions across all four Gospels. These lacunae affect the continuity and completeness of the text, which is crucial for scholarly study and textual criticism.

Gospel of Matthew

The manuscript is missing significant sections from the Gospel of Matthew, including:

1:1-24
2:7-20
3:4-6:24
7:15-8:1
8:24-31
10:28-11:3
12:40-13:4
13:33-41
14:6-22
15:14-31
16:7-18:5
18:26-19:6
19:13-20:6
21:19-26:57
26:65-27:26
27:34 to the end

Gospel of Mark

In the Gospel of Mark, the following sections are missing:

1:1-5:20
7:4-20
8:32-9:1
10:43-11:7
12:19-14:25
15:23-33
15:42-16:20

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke also has numerous gaps:

1:1-2:23
4:3-19
4:26-35
4:42-5:12
5:33-9:7
9:21-28
9:36-58
10:4-12
10:35-11:14
11:23-12:12
12:21-29
18:32-19:17
20:30-21:22
22:49-57
23:41-24:13
24:21-39
24:49 to the end

Gospel of John

Finally, the Gospel of John is missing the following passages:

1:1-21
1:39-2:6
3:30-4:5
5:3-10
5:19-26
6:49-57
9:33-14:2
14:11-15:14
15:22-16:15
20:23-25
20:28-30
21:20 to the end

These missing sections reflect the wear and damage the codex has endured over the centuries, affecting the completeness of the text and posing challenges for those who study this important manuscript.

The Text of Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus

The text of Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus is considered representative of the Byzantine text-type, yet it contains numerous pre-Byzantine readings. In the 19th century, biblical scholar Frederick H. A. Scrivener noted that the codex exhibits strong Alexandrian forms, indicating its textual character includes significant Alexandrian influences. Additionally, biblical scholar Burnett Hillman Streeter observed that parts of the manuscript have Caesarean readings, suggesting a complex textual tradition. Kurt Aland, a leading figure in New Testament textual criticism, placed Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus in Category V of his New Testament manuscripts classification system, affirming that while it has some mixed textual features, it is predominantly Byzantine.

Notably, the texts of Luke 22:43-44 and John 7:53–8:11 are omitted from the codex. These passages are known for their textual variability and are absent in several other significant manuscripts as well.

In John 1:27, Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus contains the addition: εκεινος υμας Βαπτιζει εν πνευματι αγιω και πυρι (“He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”). This variant is a notable deviation from the standard text and reflects the manuscript’s unique textual tradition.

Overall, Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus is a valuable witness to the Byzantine text-type, with significant contributions from other textual traditions, making it an important resource for textual critics and scholars studying the New Testament text.

The History of Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus

Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus is believed to have originated in the imperial scriptorium of Constantinople. During the 12th century, it was dismembered by crusaders, leading to its fragments being scattered across various locations. In 1896, Nicholas II of Russia commissioned the Russian Archaeological Institute of Constantinople, led by Fyodor Uspensky, to acquire the majority of the codex for the Imperial Public Library in St. Petersburg.

Throughout its history, the codex has been examined by numerous scholars, including Peter Lambeck, Bernard de Montfaucon, Hermann Treschow, Francis Alter, Hartel, Wickholf, Giuseppe Bianchini, Harry S. Cronin, and Louis Duchesne. Textual critic Johann Jakob Wettstein examined four leaves housed in London (Cotton Titus C. XV) in 1715 and marked them with the siglum I. Wettstein cited only five of its readings, while Frederick H. A. Scrivener later noted 57 variant readings.

Portions of the codex housed at the Vatican Library were described by Giuseppe Bianchini and later examined and collated by Gaetano Luigi Marini for textual critic Johann M. Augustin Scholz. The Vienna fragments, known as Codex Vindobonensis, were also examined by Wettstein, who marked them with the siglum N. These fragments were imperfectly collated by Treschow in 1773 and Alter in 1787. Lambeck mistakenly suggested that the Vienna fragments and the Vienna Genesis manuscript originally belonged to the same codex.

Constantin von Tischendorf published fragments of Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus in 1846 in his Monumenta sacra et profana. Tischendorf considered these fragments part of the same codex as six leaves from the Vatican and two leaves from Vienna. Louis Duchesne described the Patmos portions in 1876, while the Athens and New York portions were edited by Stanley Rypins in 1956.

The codex’s scattered fragments have been pieced together through the efforts of numerous scholars over the centuries, contributing to our understanding of this remarkable manuscript and its historical journey.

Present Location of Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus

The 231 extant leaves (known as folios) of Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus are dispersed across several libraries and institutions around the world:

National Library of Russia, Saint Petersburg: The majority of the manuscript, comprising 182 leaves, is housed here.
Library of the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, Patmos, Greece: This collection holds 33 leaves, containing passages from Mark 6:53-7:4; 7:20-8:32; 9:1-10:43; 11:7-12:19; and 14:25-15:23.
Vatican Library, Vatican City: The Vatican Library holds 6 leaves with passages from Matthew 19:6-13; 20:6-22; and 20:29-21:19.
British Library, London: Known as the Codex Cottonianus, 4 leaves are kept here, with texts from Matthew 26:57-65; 27:26-34; and John 14:2-10; 15:15-22.
National Library of Austria, Vienna: This library holds 2 leaves of the manuscript.
Morgan Library, New York: One leaf of the codex is preserved in this library.
Byzantine Museum, Athens: One leaf is kept here.
Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki: One leaf is housed in this museum.
Private Collection of Marquis A. Spinola, Lerma, Italy: One leaf is part of this private collection.

The dispersion of these folios across multiple locations highlights the codex’s historical journey and the efforts to preserve its fragments in various esteemed institutions worldwide.

Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus – The page in the Byzantine Museum in Athens

Bibliography

Aland, Kurt, and Barbara Aland. 1995. The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Aland, Kurt, Matthew Black, Carlo Maria Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, eds. 1981. Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece. 26th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelstiftung.
Alter, F. K. 999-1001. Novum Testamentum Graecum, ad Codicem Vindobonensem Graece expressum: Varietam Lectionis addidit Franciscus Carolus Alter. Vol. 1. Vienna.
Cronin, Harry Stovell. 1899. Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus: The Text of Codex N of the Gospels Edited with an Introduction and an Appendix. Cambridge: C. J. Clay and Sons.
Duchesne, Louis. 1876. “Fragments de L’Evangile selon Saint Marc.” Archives des missions scientifiques et littéraires 3 (1): 386–419. Paris: National Printing Office.
Gregory, Caspar René. 1900. Textkritik des Neuen Testaments. Vol. 1. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs.
Hixson, Elijah. “The Gospel of Matthew in a Sixth-century Manuscript Family.” Tyndale Bulletin. Accessed [date of access].
Institute for New Testament Textual Research. “Liste Handschriften.” Münster. Accessed [date of access].
Kenyon, Frederic G. 1910. Handbook to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament. London: Macmillan & Co.
Kraus, Thomas. “Review of Elijah Hixson, Scribal Habits in Sixth-Century Greek Purple Codices.” TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism. Accessed [date of access]. https://jbtc.org/v25/TC-2020-Hixson-Kraus.pdf.
Lambeck, P. 1776. Commentarii De Augustissima Bibliotheca Caesarea Vindobonensi ed. alt. opera et studio Adami Franc. Kollarii. Vol. 3. Wien: [Publisher].
Metzger, Bruce Manning, and Bart D. Ehrman. 2005. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rypins, S. 1956. “Two Inedited Leaves of Codex N.” Journal of Biblical Literature 75 (1): 27–39.
Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose. 1852. A Full and Exact Collation of About 20 Greek Manuscripts of the Holy Gospels. Cambridge; London: Cambridge University Press.
Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose, and Edward Miller. 1894. A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. 4th ed. Vol. 1. London: George Bell & Sons.
Tischendorf, Constantin von. 1846. Monumenta sacra inedita. Leipzig: [Publisher].
Tregelles, S. P. 1856. “An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures.” London: [Publisher].
Weitzmann, Kurt, ed. 1979. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century. No. 444. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Wettstein, Johann Jakob. 1751. Novum Testamentum Graecum editionis receptae cum lectionibus variantibus codicum manuscripts. Vol. 1. Amsterdam: Ex Officina Dommeriana.

About the Author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220 books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).