Scholar Finds First Christian Hymns While Cleaning Office

The strange tale of the “Odes of Solomon”

“Odes of Solomon” (public domain); J. Rendel Harris (public domain; colorized)

As a scholar of early Christianity, J. Rendel Harris of Birmingham, England, had manuscripts mailed to him from all corners of the Middle East. His procedure was to remove them from their envelopes, place them on a shelf, and return to them a few years later.