The Lindisfarne Gospels
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Copies of the 4 Evangelists from the Lindisfarne Gospels on the Holy Door Icons at St. Aidan's Orthodox Church, Manchester.
A detail of the gospel book ornament may be found in the site header here.
The Lindisfarne Gospels, now housed in the British Library, are a masterpiece of English Orthodox liturgical art. They were made or rather completed in about 698 A.D. to commemorate the repose in 687 A.D. of St. Cuthbert, the monastery's most prominent saint after St. Aidan. These Gospels in one volume would originally have been in use on the altar table of the monastic church in :Lindisfarne before the Viking raids in 840 A.D. forced their eventual relocation to Durham where they remained until the Reformation.
There is much to learn about this magnificent book and fortunately there is much on line to help in this regard. These are most useful links:-
The Lindisfarne Gospels Tour (British Library)
Do visit the British Library in London personally to view the Gospels. It is an astonishing viewing experience and a wonderful exhibition (Sacred Texts).
