A New Witness to the Catena of Codex Zacynthius

Abstract The so-called Codex Zacynthius (Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 10062) is believed to be the earliest surviving Byzantine manuscript bearing commentaries on the New Testament; it preserves a series of commentaries on the Gospel of Luke consisting of quotations from writers of the early Christian period. The present article demonstrates that Codex Zacynthius must no longer be deemed the only witness to this collection of exegetical passages: the same collection for Luke 1:1–2:35 is found on four pages at the beginning and end of a 12th-century manuscript (Codex Vaticanus Palatinus graecus 273). This manuscript not only helps us to read parts of Codex Zacynthius that are now illegible, but it also provides us with the text of seven pages of the collection that are missing from Codex Zacynthius. These include commentaries by seven of the ten authors cited in this collection, including Greek passages from Severus of Antioch. The article includes the editio princeps of these previously unknown parts of the collection.