Fr. Jean-Jacques Pérennès, o.p. directeur de l’École biblique
– Mise(s) en œuvre(s) des Écritures –
On December 4–5, the splendid auditorium of the École Nationale des Chartes in Paris hosted the second international conference of the Bible en ses traditions, an event co-organized by the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III), the Institut d’Études Augustiniennes, the École National des Chartes, the Centre d’études supérieures d’études médiévales at Poitiers, and Domuni Universitas.
The program was very rich (24 papers) and included a impressive international range of speakers (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Russia, Great Britain, Israel).
Trois collaborateurs de la BEST
All the presentations underlined the relevance of the BEST research project, highlighting the polysemy of the biblical text through the various levels of its reception across different disciplines: theology, patristics, history of art, philosophy, literature, law and even… astronomy (with a brilliant contribution from our colleague and collaborator Fr. Augustin Tavardon).
Throughout two very busy days, visiting scholars explained to what a great extent the biblical text is constantly being used and transformed in different contexts. Who knew, for example, that the Bible was so important for the School of Salamanca in the birth of international law?
We had particular pleasure in seeing and hearing several former assistants of the BEST team in Jerusalem: i.e. Mathieu Beau, Luce Carteron, and David Vincent.
The proceedings of the two symposia should be published in 2020, before a third symposium, which was announced for 2021.
A private tour of the Department of Manuscripts of the National Library of France allowed visitors to admire some beautiful ancient Bibles, such as the “Bible of St. Louis”, Bibles that already show the interplay between the text and the gloss that the BEST intends to pursue and develop with modern instruments and methods.