The varying number of nomina
sacra found in some early manuscripts containing Matt 28.19 (εις το ονομα του Πατρος και του Υιου και του αγιου Πνευματος) are illustrative: Codex Vaticanus
here has none of the words marked as nomina sacra, whereas Codex Bezae
has one nomen sacrum (Spirit), Codex Sinaiticus and Codex
Washingtonianus two (Father and Spirit) and Codex Alexandrinus
and the Majority Text—probably influenced by the practice of baptizing in the
Triune Name—three (Father, Son and Spirit).
Besides the suitable designation ‘embryonic
creed’, we could also speak of the nomina sacra as an important link
bridging the potential structural, theological and narrative gap between the
Scriptures and the second-century oral kerygma, the developing regula fidei.
(Thomas Bokedal, The Formation and Significance of the Christian Biblical
Canon: A Study in Text, Ritual and Interpretation [London: Bloomsbury
Academic, 2014], 116)
