Some thoughts on the ECM Revelation PDFs becoming open access
Includes updates and corrections, but no text and apparatus
I wrote previously an initial overview of the Editio Critica Maior (ECM) of Revelation based on info from the chief editor (Martin Karrer) and his presentation at the 2024 British New Testament Society (BNTS):
You can see that original post here:
Several people have already posted on Facebook groups that the 4-volume ECM Revelation is available as open access PDFs through the University of Wuppertal (where Karrer is on faculty):
1 - Text (introduction only, 78 pages) https://elekpub.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/ubwhs/content/titleinfo/8166792.
2 - Supplementary Material https://elekpub.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/ubwhs/content/titleinfo/8166806
3.1 - Studies on the Text https://elekpub.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/ubwhs/content/titleinfo/8166814
3.2 - Studies on Punctuation and Textual Structure https://elekpub.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/ubwhs/content/titleinfo/8166818
Thanks to William Chong for updating me on this.
ECM Revelation had a different funding source than the rest of the ECM volumes (Acts, Catholic Epistles, Mark) — so those other ECM volumes will not be available as open access PDFs 🥲
But ECM Pauline Epistles might become open access…??? (given that the chief editor, Hugh Houghton, has other major research projects which have made their results open access)
The German funding body behind ECM Revelation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [DFG]) wanted the 4-volume edition to be made open access after 1 year:
I emailed the publisher and University of Wuppertal in July 2025 (one year after the July 2024 publication) — but neither knew what was going on, so it’s nice to see everything available now.
I think it took them about 1.5 years to get the PDFs out because I noticed that they incorporated some “updates” and “corrections” into these open access PDFs.
The “updates” and “corrections” to ECM Revelation can be a bit frustrating for those who spent a significant amount of money to buy the physical ECM volumes in 2024 or 2025; those physical volumes are nearly obsolete.
I say “nearly” obsolete because the open access PDFs only include the introduction to vol. 1 and omit the text and apparatus of Revelation.
Why omit the text and apparatus?
Because the INTF website is hosting the text of the ECM volumes: https://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/ecm (something which not everyone knows!) In other words, you don’t have to buy the ECM volumes to access the ECM text and apparatus.
However — Karrer expressed in his 2024 BNTS presentation that the INTF was having a difficult time incorporating into the website one of the main innovations of ECM Revelation: an apparatus of segmentation (i.e. punctuation and paragraphing). And it looks like they still haven’t figured out a way to put the segmentation apparatus into the ECM website (I don’t see it when I use the website).
So you won’t have access to the ECM Revelation segmentation apparatus unless you have the printed volumes.
It’s not the easiest thing to use; I constantly need the abbreviations and sigla next to me when I use it.
But there is some really good stuff in the ECM Revelation segmentation apparatus, although it also some problems … as I pointed out in my presentation at SBL this past November:
You can download my powerpoint slides: https://bit.ly/3YIV3Q8
And download my own audio recording of the presentation: https://bit.ly/3Lye2tE