Cambridge University Library plans to raise £1.1m to purchase an outstanding Biblical manuscript. Dating from the 6th or 7th century, Codex Zacynthius is a palimpsest that offers scholars a key to understanding the way in which the text of St Luke's Gospel was transmitted as Christianity spread. 

Cambridge University Library, renowned throughout the world for its faith collections, is raising funds to acquire the remarkable manuscript known as Codex Zacynthius. 

Codex Zacynthius was deposited at Cambridge University Library in 1984 by the British and Foreign Bible Society, who have owned it for almost 200 years. At first glance the Codex is a text compiled in the 13th century from passages taken from the New Testament, but its true origins are much earlier. 

Bible Society wishes to sell Codex Zacynthius as part of an exceptional exercise to release funds to establish a new visitor centre in Wales. Conscious of the interest in the manuscript, Bible Society has given the UL first refusal to purchase. The acquisition of Codex Zacynthius by the UL would allow scholars and public audiences to discover more about the history of one of the world's most important manuscripts, by using science to unlock its ancient secrets.