Safeguarding Ancient Treasures: The Enigmatic Journey of Clement's Letter to Theodore
Smith's Discovery and Initial Trust
In the summer of 1958, Morton Smith, armed with a camera and guided by the permission of His Beatitude Benedict of Jerusalem, ventured into the depths of Mar Saba monastery. His meticulous search led him to Isaac Vossius’s 1646 edition of Ignatius’s letters, where he uncovered Clement's Letter on the margins. Smith, confident in the monastery's custodianship, left the manuscript intact, documenting it with photographs—a decision that would later come under scrutiny.
Controversies and Challenges
Critics of Smith pointed out valid concerns about the security of manuscripts at Mar Saba. The monastery, while historically significant, had a checkered past: records of books loaned out without proper documentation, a devastating fire in the past century, and the use of loose manuscript pages as binding material. Despite these shortcomings, Smith initially trusted that the monastery could preserve Clement's Letter adequately.
Subsequent Events: A Chronicle of Uncertainty
Over the years, the fate of Clement's Letter to Theodore became increasingly uncertain. Eighteen years after Smith's discovery, scholars revisited Mar Saba, including Guy G. Stroumsa and colleagues from Hebrew University. They located Vossius’s book, but efforts to analyze the ink used in the manuscript were thwarted. This visit hinted at growing concerns about the manuscript's preservation practices.
Challenges in Access and Preservation
Thomas Talley's attempt to study the letter in 1980 was frustrated when he discovered that the manuscript had been removed and sent for repairs. Further attempts by Per Beskow and others to access the manuscript were similarly obstructed by reasons ranging from insecticide treatment to outright denial of access by the library's custodians. Despite sporadic sightings and brief studies, the manuscript seemed elusive, with its whereabouts becoming a subject of speculation within academic circles.
Conclusion: Reflections on Preservation
The journey of Clement's Letter to Theodore underscores the complexities of manuscript preservation in Eastern monastic settings. Smith's initial trust in Mar Saba's custodians was not entirely misplaced, as the manuscript was found intact on subsequent visits. However, challenges in access and preservation practices have raised valid concerns about the long-term security of such priceless artifacts.
For those interested in delving deeper into the saga of Clement's Letter to Theodore and its preservation challenges, Paananen and Viklund's insightful article provides a comprehensive analysis. You can access their full paper here: An Eighteenth-Century Manuscript: Control of the Scribal Hand in Clement’s Letter to Theodore
This blog post reflects on the challenges and uncertainties surrounding the preservation of Clement's Letter to Theodore at Mar Saba monastery, offering insights into the broader implications for manuscript studies and the safeguarding of ancient texts.
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