Carm -TNC
https://forums.carm.org/threads/codex-sinaiticus-the-facts.12990/page-82#post-1580808
Christfried Böttrich's article (Greifswald University) 2018:
https://www.die-bibel.de/ressourcen/wibilex/neues-testament/tischendorf-constantin-von
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Interesting takeaway's!
"In 1859, the University of Leipzig appointed him a chair for “Biblical
Palaeography and Theology”"
"At the same time, Tischendorf knew how to interest a broad audience in the subject of biblical text research through entertaining travel descriptions. In addition to regular articles in the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, he wrote extensive reports on all three major journeys: Journey to the Orient (1845/1846), New Travel Pictures from the Orient (1853, continued in the Dresdner Journal) and From the Holy Land (1862). The book The Sinaibibel (1871) summarizes the entire history of the discovery, publication and donation of the Codex Sinaiticus."
"The discovery of the codex took place over a period of 15 years (1844-1859)."
"Tischendorf was not the first and only Western European to see the leaves in St. Catherine's Monastery. They were probably seen and described by the Italian naturalist Vitaliano Donati (1717-1762) in 1761. In 1845, shortly after Tischendorf's first visit, the Russian archimandrite Porfirij Uspenskij (1804-1885) held them in his hands, who also described them in a travel book in 1856,
but - like Donati before him - failed to recognize their significance. It was left to Tischendorf to identify these leaves and make them available for scientific use."
"There was a controversial discussion about the 1844 find, in which the mysterious basket was called into question. However, there can be no doubt that it was actually a waste basket. Round baskets are definitely not containers for manuscripts - and certainly not for those in the rectangular shape of the codex. Tischendorf was probably just mistaken in assuming that the contents of this basket were intended for burning, for which parchment is extremely poorly suited. Rather, the discarded parchment sheets were kept in this waste basket
(which has also been described by other travelers) for secondary use, probably mainly for book bindings. In 1853, Tischendorf found a strip of parchment that also belonged to the original codex as a bookmark in a volume with the lives of the saints. In 2009, a page of the codex that had been used as a cover was again discovered in the monastery library."
NOTE: His use of "waste basket" could be interpreted wrongly by Americans as a "waste paper basket" (rubbish bin elsewhere).
"The greatest controversy arose around the discovery of 1859. Since the fathers rejected an offer to buy them, Tischendorf first requested that the sheets be transferred to the Cairo Metochion of the monastery, where he gradually made a first copy. He then arranged for the loan of the entire collection for the work on printing, which is documented in a "receipt" dated 16/28 1859. At the same time, he suggested to the fathers that they give the Codex as a gift to Tsar Alexander II, one of their most powerful protectors. This idea, which was generally received positively, was stalled by an interim decision during the election of a new archbishop. The ensuing turbulence, which lasted for ten years with the election, the uncanonical consecration and finally the deposition of the controversial candidate Kyrillos, also cast the donation project under a twilight of various suspicions. However, after the successful election of a new consensus candidate, the donation was legally implemented in 1869. The codex, which had been in the Russian Foreign Ministry as a diplomatic guest after its publication in 1862, thus became the property of Russia and was now transferred to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. The donation documents, which are dated November 13 and 18, 1869, were published in Russia in 2007."
"Tischendorf's relationship with Porfiry Uspensky (1804-1885) was particularly tense. As a Russian expert on the Orient, he had visited Sinai several times and had held the 346 sheets from 1859 in his hands before Tischendorf did -
although without recognizing their value.
Hurt by the preferential treatment of a German Lutheran professor at the court in St. Petersburg, he spoke out in a contradictory way in the final phase of publication in 1862: on the one hand, he emphatically claimed the glory of the discovery for himself; on the other hand, he tried to fundamentally question the orthodoxy of the codex with a small brochure and thus delay its publication. These accusations, which lacked any expertise, were immediately refuted in writing by the learned Avraam Norov, the former Russian Minister of Education and Tischendorf's protector. Tischendorf himself later addressed them several times. Despite repeated meetings, the relationship between the two men remained tense."
"In 1862, the Greek Constantin Simonides, who had been convicted and arrested as a manuscript forger in Leipzig in 1856 on the basis of a report by Tischendorf, came forward from England. He then turned the tables and claimed that he himself had written the codex discovered by Tischendorf in 1839 in a monastery on Mount Athos, using various old manuscripts as models.
The contradictions in his account, which was obviously not based on his own observation of the manuscript but solely on Tischendorf's preliminary information, made it easier to refute this transparent claim. Nevertheless, this affair enjoyed great popularity for a long time, especially in the English press."
"In Germany, Tischendorf faced quite unexpected opposition from biblical circles
who considered the old textus receptus to be inspired and fundamentally questioned the textual critical work that Tischendorf had brought to prosperity and popularity. These accusations put Tischendorf, who at the time was a conservative Lutheran and a fighter against the Gospel criticism of → David Friedrich Strauß, had moved out, especially."
"Tischendorf's relationship with the Sinai Fathers became increasingly complicated. Initially mutual reticence developed into friendly relations over time. The third trip on behalf of Russia proved particularly beneficial. During the confusion surrounding the election of a new archbishop, Tischendorf also found himself caught between the lines of various parties. For a long time, he chose the wrong candidate, Kyrillos. The accusation of corruption that was raised in the context of Kyrill's later deposition also affected the donation project.
When the donation was finally made, Tischendorf was no longer involved in the negotiations. From the mid-1870s onwards, however, the monastery began to tell travelers that Tischendorf had stolen the codex, always citing the "receipt" from September 1859. However, this receipt was not made available in print until 1964 and was then shown to visitors to the monastery for several years in a glass frame with an English translation, which is now located in the internal area of the library. The donation documents, however, whose existence Caspar René Gregory had already had confirmed by the Russian government in 1878, are still considered lost in the monastery to this day. In the meantime, however, as part of the joint digitization project (2005-2009) and the publication of the donation documents (2007), a new, albeit still critical, view of the events between 1859 and 1869 surrounding the Codex Sinaiticus is emerging, including from the monastery."
