From Monday 20 to Wednesday 22 March, Birmingham hosted 47 scholars from 10 countries at the Tenth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament.

With the title 'Lives of the Text', the Colloquium focussed on the significance of liturgy in the transmission of the New Testament and also celebrated twenty years since the publication of David Parker's book, The Living Text of the Gospels. The programme followed the time-honoured format of previous colloquia, with an excursion to the city of Coventry and a closing dinner in the University's banqueting suite in addition to the thematic sessions of presentations.

A total of nineteen papers were given by scholars ranging from senior international academics to doctoral students, with contributors coming from as far afield as Georgia and Japan. Once again, participants benefitted from the congenial surroundings of Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre.

Pictures and news from the colloquium were shared through Twitter with the hashtag #BhamColloquium

colloquium-2017

In the final, closing session, Professor David Parker reflected on his influential book, The Living Text of the Gospels, and the circumstances which led to its writing. There was also a pictorial celebration of the meetings which have been held since the foundation of the biennial Birmingham Colloquium by David Parker and David Taylor twenty years ago, in 1997.

The ever-increasing popularity of the colloquia has made this one of the leading events in the field of New Testament Textual Criticism, and plans will now be made for the eleventh colloquium in 2019.

Further information about the Birmingham Colloquium may be found at www.birmingham.ac.uk/colloquium

 Participants at the Tenth Birmingham Colloquium

Participants at the 10th Birmingham Colloquium