CATENA: Commentary Manuscripts in the History and Transmission of the New Testament
The information on this page may also be found at www.birmingham.ac.uk/catena
The CATENA project was funded by a European Research Council Consolidator Grant awarded to Professor Hugh Houghton, and investigated the nature and development of this type of commentary on the Greek New Testament.
The project ran at the University of Birmingham's Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing (ITSEE) in the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion between 2018 and 2024 as part of the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme (Action No. 770816).
The goals of the project were:
to produce the first-ever complete catalogue of Greek New Testament catena manuscripts
to analyse the consistency and development of this type of commentary
to examine the significance of the biblical text present in catena manuscripts within the wider tradition of the New Testament
The published catalogue contains details of almost 700 manuscripts, and is complemented by a searchable online database at https://purl.org/itsee/catena-catalogue.
As part of the research, the project identified 35 Greek New Testament manuscripts which have now been entered into the official register: GA 2937, 2945, 2947, 2948, 2949, 2950, 2951, 2952, 2961, 2962, 2963, 2964, 2965, 2966, 2975, 2977, 2978, 2979, 2981, 2983, 2984, 2985, 2986, 2987, 2988, 2989, 2993, 2994, 2995, 2997, 2998, 2999; L2477, L2478, L2479. Dr Georgi Parpulov also found a new fragment of L1586 and identified five pairs of manuscripts which had duplicate entries: GA 640 and 1862; GA 2011 and 2968; GA 2205 and 2659; GA 2764 and 2936; GA L954 and L2361. Using methods including phylogenetic analysis, Prof. Hugh Houghton and Dr Amy Myshrall identified four manuscripts which were direct copies of surviving documents or printed editions: GA 296 (Colines 1534), 1930 (<1978), 1935 (<1987), 1959 (<467), as well as demonstrating that GA 2892 was a duplicate entry for GA 2853. Five entries were shown to be manuscripts of Chrysostom (GA 1817, 1818, 2006, 2574, 2596), while several others lacked a continuous biblical text. Dr Andrew Patton identified GA 377 as a direct copy of GA 807.
The project published 535 electronic transcriptions of New Testament manuscripts, which were released as initial collations for further textual analysis. In a keynote lecture in Dallas in May 2022, Prof. Houghton demonstrated how catena manuscripts had a distinctive profile in the published volumes of the Editio Critica Maior, with common errors and alterations reflecting the challenges of production and the exegetical context. As a result, catena manuscripts will be indicated by the addition of a superscript K (ᴷ) at the end of their siglum in the New Testament editions currently in preparation.
In addition to identifying new representatives of known catenae, the project discovered twenty-three previously unknown types of catenae on the New Testament. These have all been registered in the online version of the Clavis Patrum Graecorum, the open-access Brepols Clavis Clavium:
Gospel of Matthew: C116.4, C119.1, C119.2, C119.3
Gospel of Mark: C126.7, C126.8
Gospel of Luke: C137.7, C137.8, C137.8, C137.10, C139.1, C139.2
Gospel of John: C147.8, C147.9
Acts of the Apostles: C155.1, C155.2, C155.3, C155.4, C155.5, C155.6, C156
Pauline Epistles: C169.1
Catholic Epistles: C182.1
In addition, the CATENA project has revised the entries for all New Testament catenae in the Clavis Clavium and provided a new set of sigla for catenae on the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, based on the doctoral research of Andrew Patton and Emanuele Scieri, respectively. The third doctoral project, by Jacopo Marcon, produced the first full transcription of the Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Romans in eight witnesses, available as an online synopsis.
The project held a consultation on catenae at the University of Birmingham's Brussels office in February 2020. In addition to the project team, twenty experts from Belgium, France and Germany attended to discuss the current state of the question in the study of catena manuscripts. A smaller hybrid workshop on manuscript layout was held in Birmingham in March 2022, papers from which have been published as a special section of the Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism (2023).
The Thirteenth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament was hosted by the project in May 2023. The focus of this conference was on catenae and other biblical marginalia, with an international audience both in person and online. All of the presentations are available on a YouTube playlist, including Prof. Houghton's paper on the goals and achievements of the CATENA project. In addition, project members were responsible for the publication of selected papers from the Twelfth Colloquium, held online in January 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.
The findings of the project have been presented at a range of other scholarly gatherings, including the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meetings and International Meetings, the European Association of Biblical Studies and the International Byzantine Congress.
Project member Andrew Patton was awarded the Michael K. O'Rourke publication prize in 2022 for his article on ‘Greek Catenae and the “Western” Order of the Gospels’, while Georgi Parpulov's catalogue of Greek Catena manuscripts was nominated for the 18th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography.
The project was responsible for collations of Greek manuscripts of Galatians, Ephesians and Romans, all released on the website of the International Greek New Testament Project (www.epistulae.org).
Overall, the project produced five books, twenty articles or chapters in peer-reviewed publications, eight digital datasets, three doctoral theses and various other outputs, which are all available in Open Access.
Books
Panagiotis Manafis, (Re)writing History in Byzantium. A Critical Study of Collections of Historical Excerpts. Abingdon: Routledge, 2020. ISBN 978-0-3673-6730-5. 330pp. Also published as Open Access e-book.
H.A.G. Houghton, Panagiotis Manafis and Amy Myshrall (ed.), The Palimpsest Catena of Codex Zacynthius: Text and Translation (T&S 3.22). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2020. ISBN: 978-1-4632-4105-6. 440pp. Open Access
Georgi R. Parpulov, Catena Manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. A Catalogue. (T&S 3.25). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2021. ISBN: 978-1-4632-4260-2. 228pp. Open Access
Clark R. Bates, Jacopo Marcon, Andrew J. Patton, Emanuele Scieri (ed.), That Nothing May Be Lost: Fragments and the New Testament Text. Papers from the Twelfth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament (T&S 3.29). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2022. ISBN: 978-1-4632-4367-8. 294pp. Open Access
Panagiotis Manafis, Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke: Codices Singuli and Catena C139.1. (TU 194). Berlin & New York: De Gruyter, 2024. ISBN: 978-3-1113-2511-8. 318pp. Open Access.
Journal sections
Andrew J. Patton and Clark R. Bates (ed.), Special Feature: Decentralizing the Biblical Text in Greek New Testament Manuscripts. TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism 28 (2023) 127–206. Open Access.
Peer-reviewed articles and book chapters
G.R. Parpulov, “Κr in the Gospels” in H.A.G. Houghton, David C. Parker and Holger Strutwolf (ed.), The New Testament in Antiquity and Byzantium: Traditional and Digital Approaches to its Texts and Editing: A Festschrift for Klaus Wachtel (ANTF 52). Berlin & New York: De Gruyter, 2019 (pp. 203–13).
H.A.G. Houghton, “An Initial Selection of Manuscripts for the Editio Critica Maior of the Pauline Epistles,” in H.A.G. Houghton, David C. Parker and Holger Strutwolf (ed.), The New Testament in Antiquity and Byzantium: Traditional and Digital Approaches to its Texts and Editing: A Festschrift for Klaus Wachtel (ANTF 52). Berlin & New York: De Gruyter, 2019 (pp. 343–59).
H.A.G. Houghton, “New Identifications Among the Sixth-Century Fragments of Augustine in Cambridge University Library,” Sacris Erudiri 58 (2019) 171–81.
H.A.G. Houghton and Mina Monier, “Greek Manuscripts in Alexandria,” Journal of Theological Studies ns 71.1 (2020) 119–133.
H.A.G. Houghton, “The Layout and Structure of the Catena,” in H.A.G. Houghton and D.C. Parker (ed.), Codex Zacynthius: Catena, Lectionary, Palimpsest. (T&S 3.21). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2020 (pp. 57–88). Open Access
Panagiotis Manafis, “Catenae on Luke and the Catena of Codex Zacynthius,” in H.A.G. Houghton and D.C. Parker (ed.), Codex Zacynthius: Catena, Lectionary, Palimpsest. (T&S 3.21). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2020 (pp. 127–158). Open Access
Georgi Parpulov, “An Unknown Catena on the Pauline Epistles,” The Byzantine Review 2 (2020) 9–16.
Panagiotis Manafis and Georgi Parpulov, “A Chapter from the History of Catenae: CPG C111–C112, and Their Previously Unknown Ancestor,” Parekbolai 11 (2021) 159–170.
Georgi Parpulov, “Some New Patristic Scholia on the Gospel of Matthew,” Adamantius 27 (2021) 392–395.
Emanuele Scieri, “The Catena Manuscripts on Acts: A Revised Classification,” Vigiliae Christianae 76.1 (2022) 281–305.
Andrew J. Patton, “Greek Catenae and the 'Western' Order of the Gospels,” Novum Testamentum 64.1 (2022) 115–129.
Panagiotis Manafis, “A New Witness to the Catena of Codex Zacynthius,” Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum 26.3 (2022) 371–401.
Jacopo Marcon, “A Missing Link in the Chain: A Neglected Fragmentary Manuscript of the Ps. Oecumenian Catena on Romans (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Auct. T.1.7 [Misc. 185]) (GA 2962),” in Clark R. Bates, Jacopo Marcon, Andrew J. Patton, Emanuele Scieri (ed.), That Nothing May Be Lost: Fragments and the New Testament Text. Papers from the Twelfth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament (T&S 3.29). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2022, 187–214. Open Access
Emanuele Scieri, “Exegetical Fragments: Observations on the Catenae on Acts in Vatican, BAV, Reg. gr. 6 (GA 886),” in Clark R. Bates, Jacopo Marcon, Andrew J. Patton, Emanuele Scieri (ed.), That Nothing May Be Lost: Fragments and the New Testament Text. Papers from the Twelfth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament (T&S 3.29). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2022, 215–240. Open Access
H.A.G. Houghton, “Unfinished Business: The Ending of Mark in Two Catena Manuscripts,” New Testament Studies 69.1 (2023) 35–42.
H.A.G. Houghton and A.C. Myshrall, “Three Direct Copies and Other Closely Related Manuscripts of the Pauline Epistles,” Novum Testamentum 65.3 (2023) 381–399.
Andrew J. Patton, “Unchaining the Scriptures,” TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism 28 (2023) 131–148.
Andrew J. Patton, “Direct Copying in a Group of Gospel Manuscripts with Catenae,” New Testament Studies 69.4 (2023) 445–461.
H.A.G. Houghton, “Catena Manuscripts in the Editio Critica Maior of the Greek New Testament,” in Daniel B. Wallace, David Flood, Elijah Hixson and Denis Salgado (ed.), Pen, Print, and Pixels. Advances in Textual Criticism in the Digital Era. Peabody MA: Hendrickson, 2023, 3–31. Preprint.
Andrew J. Patton, “A Disordered Genealogy and a New Family of Greek New Testament Manuscripts,” Novum Testamentum 66.3 (2024) 402–422.
Online datasets
Database of Greek New Testament Catena Manuscripts (Open Access; released May 2021). Dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001105.
A Collation of the Greek Manuscripts Selected for the Editio Critica Maior of the Epistle to the Galatians, edited by H.A.G. Houghton with A.C. Myshrall and C.J. Smith (Open Access; released November 2021). Dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001108 (including phylogenetic data).
Jacopo Marcon, Transcriptions and Synopsis of Selected Witnesses for the Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Romans (Open Access; released September 2022). Dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001097.
A Collation of the Greek Manuscripts Selected for the Editio Critica Maior of the Epistle to the Ephesians, edited by H.A.G. Houghton with A.C. Myshrall and C.J. Smith (Open Access; released January 2024). Dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001110 (including phylogenetic data).
A Collation of the Greek Manuscripts Selected for the Editio Critica Maior of the Epistle to the Romans, edited by H.A.G. Houghton with A.C. Myshrall and C.J. Smith (Open Access; released January 2024). Dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001112 (including phylogenetic data).
Transcriptions of 226 Greek manuscripts of Galatians: dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001107 (including a synopsis).
Transcriptions of 163 Greek manuscripts of Ephesians: dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001109 (including a synopsis).
Transcriptions of 166 Greek manuscripts of Romans: dataset deposited at https://doi.org/10.25500/edata.bham.00001111 (including a synopsis).
Theses
Jacopo Marcon, “The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Romans,” PhD thesis. University of Birmingham, 2022. See also online dataset above.
Andrew J. Patton, “The Development of the Catenae on the Gospels,” PhD thesis. University of Birmingham, 2023.
Emanuele Scieri, “Multilayered and Multiple-Text Catena Manuscripts on the Acts of the Apostles,” PhD thesis. University of Birmingham, 2024.
Reports, working papers and online publications
Georgi Parpulov, “A Checklist of Greek New Testament Catena Manuscripts”. Working Paper, University of Birmingham ePapers Repository (2018).
Jacopo Marcon, “The CATENA PROJECT: The Pseudo Oecumenian Catena on Romans” Diogenes 8 (2019) 78–81
Georgi Parpulov, “A New Catena on the Gospel of Matthew.” Blogpost on What’s New In Patristics? (April 2021)
Jacopo Marcon, “Παῦλος ὁ μύστης τῶν ἀπορρήτων λόγων: On the Use of Book Epigrams in New Testament Catenae on Paul,” Blogpost on Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams project blog (October 2022)
Andrew Patton, “Greek New Testament Catena Manuscripts,” CSNTM Manuscripts 101 Blog (December 2022)
Andrew Patton, “The Layout of Greek New Testament Catena Manuscripts,” CSNTM Manuscripts 101 Blog (December 2022)
H.A.G. Houghton, “Introduction,” in Clark R. Bates, Jacopo Marcon, Andrew J. Patton, Emanuele Scieri (ed.), That Nothing May Be Lost: Fragments and the New Testament Text. Papers from the Twelfth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament (T&S 3.29). Piscataway NJ: Gorgias, 2022, xv–xxii. Open Access
Thirty people worked on the project:
Principal Investigator: Prof. Hugh Houghton
Research Fellows: Dr Panagiotis Manafis, Dr Amy Myshrall, Dr Georgi Parpulov, Dr Catherine Smith
Doctoral Students: Jacopo Marcon, Andrew Patton, Emanuele Scieri
Administration: Dr Megan Davies
Additional programming: Dr Andrew Edmondson, Liam Carrington
Transcribers: Clark Bates, Gavrill-Ioannis Boutziopoulos, Maria Chatzistefanou, Aikaterini Chelioti, Chiara Coppola, Vasiliki Kafourou, Panagiota Mantouvalou, Dimitra Maravelaki, Duane McCrory, Peter Montoro, Anna Persig, Maria Ester Portokali, Thomas Ruston, Anna Shirav, Zachary Skarka, Christine Thompson, Ioannis Tzianis, Flavia Vanni, Dr Alison Welsby.
