Critical Texts

Dr. Greg Paulson & Dr. Katie Leggett

How Many Complete Greek New Testament Manuscripts Are There REALLY?

by Katie LeggettApril 16, 2026 2 Comments

How Many Complete Greek New Testament Manuscripts Are There REALLY? By For decades, the standard answer to the question, “How many complete Greek New Testament manuscripts do we currently have?” has been “about 60.” But what, precisely qualifies a...

From Darkness to Light: A Year Through a Byzantine Gospel Lectionary

by CriticalTextsApril 6, 2026 1 Comment

Entering the Light of Pascha Just before midnight, on the eve of Pascha (Easter), the church stands in complete darkness. No lights, no candles—only silence, evoking the stillness of the tomb. The priest, standing before the altar, ignites a single...

Introducing the New UBS 6 GNT

by Greg PaulsonApril 2, 2026 2 Comments

Introducing the New UBS 6 Greek New Testament By The sixth edition of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (UBS6), published in late 2025, introduces numerous significant changes, including a new order of books and the inclusion of...

A Brief History of Cataloging Greek New Testament Manuscripts

by CriticalTextsMarch 9, 2026 1 Comment

Colleagues often ask whether it is possible to determine when a manuscript was first added to the list of Greek New Testament manuscripts. The cataloguing of these manuscripts—making them available for use in critical editions and broader scholarly research—has been...

Featured Manuscripts

ga 2955 — ℓ 2581 (Urechia Public Library, Galați, Romania) the newest lectionary in the Liste. Formerly erroneously catalogued as GA 2955; after obtaining digital images, it was determined to be a lectionary.

ga 2571 — GA 2571 (Museum of Paleokastritsa Monastery, Corfu), 11th century Tetraevangelion on parchment. Pictured is the opening of Mark. Curiously, the Gospel of Mark is bound entirely out of order in this manuscript.

screenshot — GA 2779 (Museum of Christian Art, Crete) 15th century, formerly housed at the Historical Museum of Crete and the Monastery of Saint George Epanosifis. Interestingly, the book of John is split between the beginning and end of the codex.

ga 2132 — GA 2132 (National Library of Russia), 11th century purple parchment folios at the beginnings of Luke and John. Only 2 other minuscules are known to have purple parchment: GA 565 and 1143.

ga l2555 — GA ℓ2555 (St. Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai), 10th century back flyleaf of a lectionary with an excerpt from John 1:4–9, 15–17.

ga l 1734 — ℓ 1734 (National Library, Sofia) after digitization, an additional folio was identified and added; these folios likely belong with ℓ2038 at the Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery in Elassona.

screenshot 2026 04 02 at 12.10.50 — GA 61 (Dublin), a complete NT codex and the first Greek manuscript discovered to contain the Comma Johanneum (4th line from bottom). This folio is in markedly worse condition than the rest, likely from repeated examination.

ga 087 — GA 087 (National Library of Russia), 6th century uncial on parchment with Mt. 21:22-24. According to the National Library, Tischendorf was the previous owner.

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Critical Texts is the academic blog of Dr. Gregory Paulson and Dr. Katie Leggett, offering reflections and resources about Greek New Testament manuscripts and critical editions.

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