The earliest versions of the New Testament were written on sheets of papyrus. The arid climate in Egypt ensured that copies and fragments of the gospels and epistles survived the greater part of two thousand years. It is possible, for instance, to read portions of a papyrus text of John's gospel dated to around 120AD - a few decades after it was originally written!

In this course students with a background in New Testament Greek will be taught the rudimentary principles of Palaeography (the art of reading and dating ancient manuscripts). This will involve translating facsimiles of the very earliest New Testament papryi texts and critically comparing them with modern versions of the gospels and epistles. Students will also get the chance to read and translate non-Christian papryi documents from Egypt (c. 2nd cent. BC-7th cent. AD) which deal with issues as diverse as marriage, family life, farming, taxation, religion, bath houses, business deals, dreams, homesickness, the Roman emperor, and lost sheep!

As with the course on inscriptions, the objective of reading ancient papyri is to encourage Greek students to use their linguistic knowledge to better understand the world of the first Christians and the issues at stake in sifting and compiling manuscript evidence for the original text of the New Testament.

The Read Greek Papyri course takes place on a weekly basis or over two weekends during a calendar year.

For details about times and cost see the FAQ section.