Issue Date: 11/18/2025

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Russia Did WHAT with the Sinaiticus?

Why Was Russia So Anxious to Get Rid of Sinaiticus?

Hi Friend, 👋

We're nearing the end of our King James Defenders series, and that's why we'll be zeroing in on some very important remaining issues. First up, Russia's sketchy treatment of the supposed "world's oldest Bible."

For over 70 years, Russia held onto a manuscript scholars loudly called “the world’s oldest Bible.”
So why did they suddenly sell it off in 1933?

What did they know?

Meet N.A. Morozov 🧠📚

Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov (1854–1946):

  • Studied history, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and Hebrew
  • Director of the Lesgaft Institute of Natural Sciences
  • Honorary member of the USSR Academy of Sciences
  • Correctly predicted the existence of inert elements
  • Expert in ancient documents

👉 Most importantly: he personally examined Codex Sinaiticus.

“This Doesn’t Look Ancient…” 👀

Morozov’s observations were startling:

  • No fraying or dirty page corners
    • Not what you expect from a manuscript supposedly used for 1,600 years
  • Old manuscripts get darkened by finger oils
    • Sinaiticus had none of that
  • Kirsopp Lake’s 1911 photos made it look much dirtier than it was
    • 📸 “The pages appear much dirtier than they really are.”

Morozov expected fragile, brittle parchment. Instead:

  • Pages were thin, beautifully made
  • Sheets were flexible, not fragile
  • Nothing like a document over 1,000 years old

⚠️ He had handled truly ancient manuscripts — and they fall apart easily

Sinaiticus didn’t act ancient at all.

Vaticanus Looked the Same 🏛️📜

Morozov also questioned Codex Vaticanus:

  • Also written on parchment that stayed flexible
  • Not behaving like something from 350 AD
  • Even Vatican monks said they didn’t know when it arrived there
  • It first appears in Vatican catalogs in 1475 and 1481 — nowhere earlier

Scholars claimed it was ancient because Tischendorf popularized the idea.
Johann Leonhard Hug first suggested it in 1810 — and I translated Hug’s book for my next Westcott & Hort volume.

Other researchers dated it anywhere from the 400s to 1100s.

Then Morozov dropped the bomb:

“…nothing could prevent a lover of beautiful books… from having a scribe make such a copy in the 16th century.”

📌 In other words: It could easily be a medieval copy.

Erasmus Already Suspected This 🔍

Erasmus — whose Greek text sparked the Reformation — believed Vaticanus was written for the Council of Florence (1435–1445).

That’s 1,000 years later than modern scholars claim.

And the evidence matches him.

Even the British Library’s own publication admits:

“We cannot be certain of the exact date… nor trace its history before the fifteenth century.”

So even top scholars quietly admit:
👉 there’s no proof Vaticanus existed before the 1400s.

Did Morozov Influence Russia?

Timeline:

  • 1914 — Morozov publishes his findings
  • 1932 — He’s honored by the Soviet Academy of Sciences
  • 1933 — Russia suddenly sells Sinaiticus to England

Coincidence?

Maybe.
But it sure looks like Russia realized the manuscript wasn’t nearly as old as claimed.

England paid £100,000 — a fortune.

🎯 My conclusion: England got conned.
Russia got money for its war effort.
England got a manuscript that wasn’t what they thought.

The Real Lesson 📖🔥

When people abandon the:

  • tried-and-true
  • devil-chasing
  • evil-beating
  • revival-producing
  • faith-building
  • repentance-preaching

words of God in English — the King James Bible —

…they fall for anything.

I’ve chosen my Bible.
What about you?

Pop Quiz!

  1. Why did Morozov doubt that Codex Sinaiticus was as old as scholars claimed?
  2. What observation did Morozov make about Kirsopp Lake’s 1911 photographs of Sinaiticus?
  3. How did Morozov compare Codex Vaticanus to Sinaiticus?
  4. What did Erasmus believe about the origin date of Codex Vaticanus, and what evidence supports his view?
  5. What is the implied reason Russia sold Sinaiticus to England in 1933?
A book titled Just One Bible? by David W. Daniels

The crime is fraud, and you’re the detective!

 If the devil has cooked up a plot against your Bible, would you want to know it? In this book, you'll discover the evidence that reveals a much larger plot. 

Learn more >

Testimony

"Wonderful book detailing the history of the Sinaiticus!"

 

"I continue to read this book and I recommend it to others. It gives a very detailed history of how this Sinaiticus text was brought to the public and that the Sinaiticus is a book of doubt, whereas the Received Text is a book of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."

 

 — Erin (Verified Buyer)

Did you complete last week's quiz?

Here are the answers!

  1.  Because evidence shows it lacks genuine antiquity and displays characteristics consistent with a much later creation.
  2. He claimed that he personally wrote the manuscript in the 1800s.
  3. His story contains contradictions, shifting timelines, and discrepancies with established historical records.
  4. The evidence is assessed using historical facts, timelines, external witnesses, and documented records.
  5. A consistent picture forms suggesting who actually created Sinaiticus and casting doubt on any Bible based on it.

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