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Codex Purpureus Beratinus ( Albanian : Kodiku i Beratit, Kodiku i Purpurt i Beratit ) designated by Φ or 043 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 17 ( von Soden ), is an uncial illuminated manuscript Gospel book written in Greek . Dated palaeographically to the 6th-century, the manuscript is written in an uncial hand on purple vellum with silver ink. The codex is preserved at the Albanian National Archives (Nr. 1) in Tirana , Albania . It was formerly possessed by the St. George Church in the town of Berat , Albania, hence the 'Beratinus' appellation.

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53-550: Codex Beratinus contains only the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark , with several considerable lacunae (Matthew 1:1-6:3, 7:26-8:7, 18:23-19:3, and Mark 14:62-end). The codex contains 190 extant parchment leaves measuring 31.4 × 26.8 cm, or approximately the same size as those of Codex Alexandrinus , and have two columns per page, but the letters are much larger. It is written with 17 lines per page, 8-12 letters per line, in very regular letters, in silver ink. The title and

106-772: A base, emphasizing Jesus 's place in the Jewish tradition and including details not found in Mark. Writing in a polished Semitic "synagogue Greek", he drew on the Gospel of Mark as a source, plus a hypothetical collection of sayings known as the Q source (material shared with Luke but not with Mark) and hypothetical material unique to his own community, called the M source or "Special Matthew." Matthew could have depended on Mark through oral tradition or used memorization rather than simply copying. Alan Kirk praises Matthew for his "scribal memory competence" and "his high esteem for and careful handling of both Mark and Q", which makes claims

159-666: A discourse on mission and suffering. Jesus commissions the Twelve Disciples and sends them to preach to the Jews, perform miracles, and prophesy the imminent coming of the Kingdom, commanding them to travel lightly, without staff or sandals. Opposition to Jesus comes to a head with an accusation put forward by the Pharisees that his deeds are done through the power of Satan. Jesus in turn accuses his opponents of blaspheming

212-626: A man more honorable than you come in afterwards, and he who invited you come and say to you, "Go down lower"; and you shall be ashamed. But if you sit down in the inferior place, and one inferior to you come in, then he that invited you will say to you, "Go up higher"; and this will be advantageous for you." In Matthew 21:9 , the following interpolation occurs, sharing affinity only with syr : και εξελθον εις υπαντησιν αυτω πολλοι χαιροντες και δοξαζοντες τον θεον περι παντων ων ειδον And many went out to meet him; all who were seeing [him] round about were rejoicing and glorifying God. In Matthew 27:9, in

265-460: A sign that—due to their rejection of the Christ—the " Kingdom of Heaven " has been taken away from them and given instead to the church. The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the community of Matthew, the crucial element marking them from their Jewish neighbors. Early understandings of this nature grew as the gospels were being written. Before the gospels, that understanding was focused on

318-657: A trip to Jerusalem where there is an incident in the Temple , climaxing with the crucifixion on the day of the Passover holiday. John , by contrast, puts the Temple incident very early in Jesus's ministry, has several trips to Jerusalem, and puts the crucifixion immediately before the Passover holiday, on the day when the lambs for the Passover meal were being sacrificed in Temple. The early patristic scholars regarded Matthew as

371-616: Is a tertiary witness of the Caesarean text . It is grouped with N , O , Σ , and Uncial 080 to constitute the Purple Uncials . Aland categorized the first four into Category V , and it is certain that they are more Byzantine than anything else. Aland did not categorize Uncial 080. Formerly it was believed to have been at Patmos. According to Xhevat Lloshi it came from Ballsh . It was held in Berat, Albania from 1356. The text of

424-510: Is betrayed. He is tried by the Jewish leaders (the Sanhedrin ) and before Pontius Pilate , and Pilate washes his hands to indicate that he does not assume responsibility. Jesus is crucified as king of the Jews, mocked by all. On his death there is an earthquake, the veil of the Temple is rent, and saints rise from their tombs. Mary Magdalene and another Mary discover the empty tomb, guarded by an angel , and Jesus himself tells them to tell

477-572: Is evident from the gospel that there was conflict between Matthew's group and other Jewish groups, and it is generally agreed that the root of the conflict was the Matthew community's belief in Jesus as the Messiah and authoritative interpreter of the law, as one risen from the dead and uniquely endowed with divine authority. The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the Matthaean community,

530-657: Is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels . It tells how Israel's messiah ( Christ ), Jesus , comes to his people (the Jews) but is rejected by them and how, after his resurrection , he sends the disciples to the gentiles instead. Matthew wishes to emphasize that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile. The gospel reflects

583-746: The Party of Labour of Albania , the directorate houses the papers of the former People's Socialist Republic of Albania , and papers that were held by citizens prior to the regime. Completely modernized to archival standards as of 2004, with help from the Swiss Federal Archives , the archives also houses the Codex Beratinus and the Codex Beratinus II . During the country's time as the People's Socialist Republic of Albania ,

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636-562: The Psalms etc.) and in the form of "testimony collections" (collections of excerpts), and the oral stories of his community. Most scholars view the gospel of Matthew as a work of the second generation of Christians, though it draws on the memory of the first generation of Jesus's disciples, for whom the defining event was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD in

689-803: The UNESCO ’s Memory of the World Register in 2005 in recognition of its historical significance. The two Beratinus codices preserved in Albania are very important for the global community and the development of ancient biblical, liturgical and hagiographical literature and are part of the " seven purple codices ", which were written over a period of 13 centuries, i.e. from the sixth to the eighteenth centuries. The other five "purple codices" are in Italy (two), France (one), England (one), and Greece (one). Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew

742-673: The τιτλοι (titles) of the κεφαλαια . The numerals of the Ammonian sections are given on the left margin, and a references to the Eusebian Canons were added by a later hand in the 8th century. A note in the manuscript states that the loss of the other two Gospels is due to "the Franks of Champagne ", i.e. some of the Crusaders , who may have seen it while at Patmos , where it was believed formerly to have been. The Greek text of

795-566: The German language), or the Q source . This view, known as the two-source hypothesis (Mark and Q), allows for a further body of tradition known as "Special Matthew", or the M source, meaning material unique to Matthew. This may represent a separate source, or it may come from the author's church, or he may have composed these verses himself. The author also had the Greek scriptures at his disposal, both as book-scrolls (Greek translations of Isaiah ,

848-558: The Holy Spirit. The discourse is a set of parables emphasizing the sovereignty of God, and concluding with a challenge to the disciples to understand the teachings as scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven . (Matthew avoids using the holy word God in the expression "Kingdom of God"; instead he prefers the term "Kingdom of Heaven", reflecting the Jewish tradition of not speaking the name of God). The fourth narrative section reveals that

901-676: The Jews. Of his three presumed sources only "M", the material from his own community, refers to a "church" ( ecclesia ), an organized group with rules for keeping order; and the content of "M" suggests that this community was strict in keeping the Jewish law , holding that they must exceed the scribes and the Pharisees in "righteousness" (adherence to Jewish law). Writing from within a Jewish-Christian community growing increasingly distant from other Jews and becoming increasingly gentile in its membership and outlook, Matthew put down in his gospel his vision "of an assembly or church in which both Jew and Gentile would flourish together". Matthew, alone among

954-421: The Temple's traders and religious leaders. He teaches in the Temple, debating with the chief priests and religious leaders and speaking in parables about the Kingdom of God and the failings of the chief priests and the Pharisees. The Herodian caucus also become involved in a scheme to entangle Jesus, but Jesus's careful response to their enquiry, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God

1007-462: The archives. The archives also started to significantly expand their collections. The Swiss funds went to digitizing almost two million records from card catalogues and to create an online search system for the records. The search system was released online in 2017. In 2003, the archives hosted the second Islamic Civilization in the Balkans conference. There are two primary archives locations,

1060-533: The codex is generally of the Byzantine text-type , but it contains the long Western addition after Matthew 20:28, occurring also in Codex Bezae : Aland gave for it the following textual profile: 131, 83, 11, 18. "But seek to increase from that which is small, and to become less from which is greater. When you enter into a house and are summoned to dine, do not sit down at the prominent places, lest perchance

1113-533: The codex was published by Pierre Batiffol in 1887. "During World War II , Hitler learned of it and sought it out. Several monks and priests risked their lives to hide the manuscript." Since 1971, it has been preserved at the National Archives of Albania in Tirana. Oscar von Gebhardt designated it by siglum Φ, which is often used in critical editions. The Codex Purpureus Beratinus was inscribed on

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1166-490: The collections and facilities fell into disrepair. Collections catalogues were written by hand, and the archives had no formal collection management system. Upon the fall of the regime, the archives were looted. In 1994, the archives was contacted by the Swiss Federal Archives , who offered aid in conserving collections and updating the facilities. For ten years, ending in 2004, the Swiss contributed 1.9 million Swiss francs to

1219-603: The country, national exhibitions and aid agencies . The Tirana location houses the archives of the Party of Labour of Albania . The archives also holds deeds and contracts, which were placed in the archives when property was taken from landowners by the Party of Labour. Specific collections include correspondence between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the Swiss Communist Party . Notable pieces in

1272-591: The course of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD). From this point on, what had begun with Jesus of Nazareth as a Jewish messianic movement became an increasingly gentile phenomenon evolving in time into a separate religion. They hold that the author wrote for a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians located probably in Syria. Antioch , the largest city in Roman Syria and the third largest city in

1325-606: The crucial element separating the early Christians from their Jewish neighbors; while Mark begins with Jesus's baptism and temptations , Matthew goes back to Jesus's origins, showing him as the Son of God from his birth, the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament . The title Son of David , used exclusively in relation to miracles, identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel sent to Israel alone. As Son of Man he will return to judge

1378-727: The disciples to meet him in Galilee. After the resurrection the remaining disciples return to Galilee, "to the mountain that Jesus had appointed", where he comes to them and tells them that he has been given "all authority in heaven and on Earth." He gives the Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you". Jesus will be with them "to

1431-537: The divinity of Jesus, but rather confirm his status as an emissary of God (which was Mark's understanding of the Messiah). There is a broad disagreement over chronology between Matthew, Mark and Luke on one hand and John on the other: all four agree that Jesus's public ministry began with an encounter with John the Baptist, but Matthew, Mark and Luke follow this with an account of teaching and healing in Galilee, then

1484-511: The earliest of the gospels and placed it first in the canon, and the early Church mostly quoted from Matthew, secondarily from John, and only distantly from Mark. National Archives of Albania The General Directorate of Archives ( Albanian : Drejtoria e Përgjithshme e Arkivave ) is the national archive of the Republic of Albania , located in Tirana . Under the former control of

1537-561: The empire, is often proposed. Other scholars hold that the historical Jesus had already predicted that the Jerusalem Temple would be destroyed. The community to which Matthew belonged, like many 1st-century Christians, was still part of the larger Jewish community. The relationship of Matthew to this wider world of Judaism remains a subject of study and contention, the principal question being to what extent, if any, Matthew's community had cut itself off from its Jewish roots. It

1590-491: The ethics of the kingdom of God , introduced by the Beatitudes ("Blessed are..."). It concludes with a reminder that the response to the kingdom will have eternal consequences, and the crowd's amazed response leads into the next narrative block. From the authoritative words of Jesus, the gospel turns to three sets of three miracles interwoven with two sets of two discipleship stories (the second narrative), followed by

1643-520: The first century by a male Jew who stood on the margin between traditional and nontraditional Jewish values and who was familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture being debated in his time. However, scholars such as N. T. Wright and John Wenham hold there are problems with dating Matthew late in the first century, and argue that it was written in the 40s–50s AD. Whether the Gospels were composed before or after 70 AD, according to Bas van Os,

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1696-479: The first line in Mark are written in gold. The writing is continuous in full lines without stichometry . Quotations from the Old Testament are marked with an inverted comma (<). The text is divided according to the κεφαλαια (chapters) and according to the Ammonian Sections (smaller than κεφαλαια ). On the left margin are inserted the numerals of the κεφαλαια and above the pages are inserted

1749-504: The genealogy, birth and infancy of Jesus, the first narrative section begins. John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him. Jesus prays and meditates in the wilderness for forty days, and is tempted by Satan . His early ministry by word and deed in Galilee meets with much success, and leads to the Sermon on the Mount , the first of the discourses. The sermon presents

1802-462: The gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase "When Jesus had finished" (see Five Discourses of Matthew ). Some scholars see in this a deliberate plan to create a parallel to the first five books of the Old Testament; others see a three-part structure based around the idea of Jesus as Messiah , a set of weekly readings spread out over

1855-457: The healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel (it is used exclusively in relation to miracles), and the Jewish messiah is sent to Israel alone. As Son of Man he will return to judge the world, a fact his disciples recognize but of which his enemies are unaware. As Son of God he is named Immanuel ('God with us'), God revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example. Matthew's prime concern

1908-564: The increasing opposition to Jesus will result in his crucifixion in Jerusalem, and that his disciples must therefore prepare for his absence. The instructions for the post-crucifixion church emphasize responsibility and humility. This section contains the two feedings of the multitude (Matthew 14:13–21 and 15:32–39) along with the narrative in which Simon, newly renamed Peter ( Πέτρος , Petros , 'stone'), calls Jesus "the Christ,

1961-399: The latter two works are significantly different in terms of theology or historical reliability dubious. Matthew has 600 verses in common with Mark, which is a book of only 661 verses. There is approximately an additional 220 verses shared by Matthew and Luke but not found in Mark, from a second source, a hypothetical collection of sayings to which scholars give the name Quelle ('source' in

2014-590: The law no longer having power over the New Testament Christian into antinomianism , and addressed Christ's fulfilling of what the Israelites expected from the "Law and the Prophets" in an eschatological sense, in that he was all that the Old Testament had predicted in the Messiah. The gospel has been interpreted as reflecting the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and

2067-517: The lifetime of various eyewitnesses that includes Jesus's own family through the end of the First Century is very likely statistically. Markus Bockmuehl finds this structure of lifetime memory in various early Christian traditions. The majority of scholars believe that Mark was the first gospel to be composed and that Matthew and Luke both drew upon it as a major source for their works. The author did not simply copy Mark but used it as

2120-461: The nations. At the end of the discourse, Matthew notes that Jesus has finished all his words, and attention turns to the crucifixion. The events of Jesus's last week occupy a third of the content of all four gospels. Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph and drives the money changers from the Temple, holds a Last Supper , prays to be spared the coming agony (but concludes "if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done"), and

2173-465: The other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. It tells how Israel's Messiah , rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgment on Israel and its leaders and becomes the salvation of the gentiles . Prior to the crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews are referred to as Israelites —the honorific title of God's chosen people. After it, they are called Ioudaios (Jews),

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2226-693: The phrase επληρωθη το ρηθεν δια Ιερεμιου του προφητου ( fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet ) the word Ιερεμιου ( Jeremiah ) is omitted, as in Minuscule 33 , a , b , syr , syr , and cop . In Matthew 27:16 it has additional reading ος δια φονον και στασιν ην βεβλημενοις εις φυλακην ( who for murder and insurrection had been thrown in prison ). In Matthew 27:35, it includes ἵνα πληρώθη τὸ ῤηθὲν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, Διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτια μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον along with 0250, 037, 038, 1424, 1582, 124, 348, 788, 1279, 1579, and 517. According to B. H. Streeter , Codex Beratinus

2279-550: The primary being in Tirana, and the second being district archives throughout the country. The archives receives almost 25,000 requests from the public and approximately 100 academics and students visit the facility yearly for materials and research. In 2011, the archives became a partner with the World Digital Library . The Albanian National Archives collects private archives, including content from political organizations, Albanian organizations located outside of

2332-433: The revelation of Jesus as God in his resurrection, but the gospels reflect a broadened focus extended backwards in time. Matthew is a creative reinterpretation of Mark, stressing Jesus's teachings as much as his acts, and making subtle changes in order to stress his divine nature: for example, Mark's "young man" who appears at Jesus's tomb becomes "a radiant angel" in Matthew. The miracle stories in Mark do not demonstrate

2385-408: The son of the living God", and Jesus states that on this "bedrock" ( πέτρα , petra ) he will build his church (Matthew 16:13–19). Matthew 16:13–19 forms the foundation for the papacy's claim of authority . Jesus travels toward Jerusalem, and the opposition intensifies: he is tested by the Pharisees as soon as he begins to move toward the city, and when he arrives he is soon in conflict with

2438-475: The struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees with the position that through their rejection of Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven has been taken away from them and given instead to the church. The gospel is traditionally attributed to the Apostle Matthew . According to predominant scholarly views, it

2491-489: The things that are God's", leaves them marveling at his words. The disciples ask about the future, and in his final discourse (the Olivet Discourse ) Jesus speaks of the coming end. There will be false Messiahs, earthquakes, and persecutions, the sun, moon, and stars will fail, but "this generation" will not pass away before all the prophecies are fulfilled. The disciples must steel themselves for ministry to all

2544-559: The very end of the age". Christology is the theological doctrine of Christ, "the affirmations and definitions of Christ's humanity and deity". There are a variety of Christologies in the New Testament, albeit with a single centre—Jesus is the figure in whom God has acted for mankind's salvation. Matthew has taken key Christological texts from Mark, but has sometimes changed the stories found in Mark, giving evidence of his own concerns. The title Son of David identifies Jesus as

2597-470: The words "The Book of Genealogy [in Greek, 'Genesis'] of Jesus Christ", deliberately echoing the words of Genesis 2:4 in the Septuagint . The genealogy tells of Jesus's descent from Abraham and King David and the miraculous events surrounding his virgin birth , and the infancy narrative tells of the massacre of the innocents , the flight into Egypt , and eventual journey to Nazareth . Following

2650-450: The world, an expectation which his disciples recognize but of which his enemies are unaware. As Son of God , God is revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example. Unlike Mark, Matthew never bothers to explain Jewish customs, since his intended audience was a Jewish one; unlike Luke, who traces Jesus's ancestry back to Adam, father of the human race, he traces it only to Abraham, father of

2703-408: The year, or no plan at all. Davies and Allison, in their widely used commentary, draw attention to the use of "triads" (the gospel groups things in threes), and R. T. France , in another influential commentary, notes the geographic movement from Galilee to Jerusalem and back, with the post-resurrection appearances in Galilee as the culmination of the whole story. The Gospel of Matthew begins with

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2756-453: Was that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile. This concern lies behind the frequent citations of Jewish scripture, the evocation of Jesus as the new Moses along with other events from Jewish history, and the concern to present Jesus as fulfilling, not destroying, the Law. Matthew must have been aware of the tendency to distort Paul's teaching of

2809-412: Was written in the last quarter of the first century by an anonymous Jew familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture. According to early church tradition, originating with Papias of Hierapolis ( c.  60–130 AD ), the gospel was written by Matthew the companion of Jesus, but this presents numerous problems. Most modern scholars hold that it was written anonymously in the last quarter of

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