Editio Critica Maior

The Editio Critica Maior (shortened to ECM) is a critical edition of the Greek New Testament being produced by the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung (Eng. "Institute for New Testament Textual Research") — which is famous, for example, for the Novum Testamentum Graece (or Nestle-Aland) critical editions of the Greek New Testament — in collaboration with other international institutes.

The Editio Critica Maior project is supported by the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. It is to be completed by the year 2030.

Methodology

The ECM is a documentation of the expressions of Christian faith communities as they transmitted the New Testament in time through Greek manuscripts, translations, and ancient citations in the first 1,000 years of New Testament transmission. The difference between earlier and later readings is shown by the concept of 'direction' in the ECM, with the earliest expression of the Christian readings printed in the main text.^[1] Its aim is to edit the text of every book of the Greek New Testament utilising every single New Testament manuscript in existence, which is required in order to evaluate the entire manuscript tradition and make judgements based on the variant readings.^[2]

The Coherence Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) is the method being used to construct the ECM. The CBGM has two components, pregenealogical coherence and genealogical coherence. Pregenealogical coherence is a text-critical method which uses computer tools to compare the places of variation New Testament Witnesses to determine if the readings are related. Then, critical principles are applied by a textual scholar to make a decision on the directionality of the reading itself. Places where the direction cannot be determined, or split readings, are indicated by a diamond in the text. The ECM is the first critical edition of the Greek New Testament to include thus:

• 1) a systematic assessment of witnesses
• 2) a mature consideration of those witnesses
• 3) a reconstruction of the oldest form of the recoverable text, or initial text
• 4) a complete and systematic apparatus
• 5) a full explanation and justification of its methodology and conclusions.^[1]

Publication

Each publication consists of three different volumes: the main Greek text (which can come in one or more parts); supplementary material; and studies on the text and transmission of the particular book/collection of Epistles.^[2] Alongside the printed editions are the digital editions available at the New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room (NTVMR), released simultaneously but not consisting of the "studies".^[2]

The Gospel of Mark edition had a selection of 206 total Greek manuscript witnesses which the text was based off, of which 174 manuscripts either disagreed with the Byzantine Majority text less than 90%, or agreed with it as approximately to 100%.^[2]: 227 This selection is based on 196 test passages in the Gospel of Mark where every Greek manuscript known was collated, and variants noted.^[2]: 226 The editorial team for the ECM of Mark consisted of Georg Gabel, Annette Hufmeier, Marie-Luise Lakmann, Gregory S. Paulson, Klaus Wachtel, and Holger Strutwolf.^[2]: 235

Result

The recent editions of Nestle-Aland (the 28th edition), and the Greek New Testament of the United Bible Societies (the 5th edition), follow the text of the ECM for the Catholic epistles.^[3]

Current editions

The Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior is published by Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (the German Bible Society).

The Gospel of Mark

• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, I/2.1, The Gospel of Mark, Part 2.1, Text,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05615-3
• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, I/2.2, The Gospel of Mark, Part 2.2, Supplementary Material,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05616-0
• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, I/2.3, The Gospel of Mark, Part 2.3, Studies,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05617-7

• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, III/1.1, The Acts of the Apostels, Part 1.1, Text, Chapter 1-14,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05609-2
• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, III/1.2, The Acts of the Apostels, Part 1.2, Text, Chapter 15-28,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05610-8
• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, III/2, The Acts of the Apostels, Part 2, Supplementary Material,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05612-2
• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, III/3, The Acts of the Apostels, Part 3, Studies,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05613-9

• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, IV/1, Catholic Letters, Part 1, Text,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05606-1
• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, IV/2, Catholic Letters, Part 2, Supplementary Material,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05607-8

• Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior, Parallel Pericopes,
  ISBN 978-3-438-05608-5