Jésus

With dimensions of 560mm x 760mm, the Jésus format has a surface area of 425,600 sq mm or 0.4256 sq meters. Its biblical name refers to early watermarks depicting imagery of Jesus Christ - denoting the size's historical predominance for religious texts, biblical art, stained glass schematics, ecclesiastical records and Christian publications in predominantly Catholic France. Although Jésus has been largely superseded by standardized paper formats today, it remains popular for antique bible reprints, psalm collections, prayer cards, hymn handouts, clergy letters, religious theses and biblical study aids wanting a medieval monastic style. So despite its decline since France's widespread dechristianization, Jésus endures as a symbolic carrier of the ancient guarded manuscripts and illuminated gospels scribed by monks and clerics over a millennium ago. Artists, theologians, historians and devoted parishioners thus uphold the heralded format once central to the spread of scripture, back when the bible was "chained" for public reading at churches rather than mass produced. Its aura persists by grace of those keeping spiritual traditions on paper alive.