Oldest copy of New Testament to be unified online

THE oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, a 4th-century version that had its Gospels and epistles spread across the world, is being made whole again — online.

The British Library says the full text of the Codex Sinaiticus will be available to web users by next July, digitally reconnecting parts that are held in Britain, Russia, Germany and a monastery in Egypt’s Sinai Desert.

A preview of the codex, which also has some parts of the Old Testament, will hit the web tomorrow: the Book of Psalms and the Gospel of Mark.