Russian Bible Society
Encyclopedia
Russian Bible Society - christian
non-denominational organization for translating and distributing the books of the Old Testament
and New Testament
and the Bible
in Russia.
The full-scale Bible
translation into Russian language began in 1813 since the establishment of the Russian Bible Society. The full edition of the Bible with Old Testament
and New Testament
was published in 1876. This work, called also Russian Synodal Bible
, is widely used by Protestant and even Catholic communities all over Russia and former USSR countries, and is also used by many Russian Orthodox for all kinds of teaching and private study, outside of liturgical use (for which the Old Church Slavonic version is preferred). Lately appeared several modern translations. The Russian Bible Society since its establishment in 1813 and up to 1826 distributed more than 500 thousand of Bible related books in 41 languages of Russia. Several times in the 19th and 20th centuries, activities of the Society were stopped by reactionary policies of the Russian Government.
The opening ceremony of the Building of the Russian Bible Society in Moscow was visited by representatives of Orthodox
, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches, who joined their efforts in Bible translation and distribution cause. The well-known Orthodox priest and theologian Alexander Men
was one of the leaders of the refounded institution.
The editions of Society are based on the universal doctrine of the early Christian church and include non-confessional comments. Over 1,000,000 Bible related books are printed per year by that institution. The Bible is also being translated into native languages and dialects of Russia's ethnic groups.
Since 1995, the Russian Bible Society is a member of the United Bible Societies
association.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
non-denominational organization for translating and distributing the books of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in Russia.
Early history
The first attempts to translate books of the Bible into modern Russian language of that time took place in 16th and 17th centuries. But the mentioned works (by deacon of Posolsky Prikaz Avraamiy Firsov, pastor E. Gluk, archbishop Methodiy (Smirnov) were lost during political turbulence and wars.The full-scale Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
translation into Russian language began in 1813 since the establishment of the Russian Bible Society. The full edition of the Bible with Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
was published in 1876. This work, called also Russian Synodal Bible
Russian Synodal Bible
Russian Synodal Bible is a Russian non-Church Slavonic translation of the Bible commonly used by the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Baptists and other Protestant, as well as Roman Catholic communities in Russia....
, is widely used by Protestant and even Catholic communities all over Russia and former USSR countries, and is also used by many Russian Orthodox for all kinds of teaching and private study, outside of liturgical use (for which the Old Church Slavonic version is preferred). Lately appeared several modern translations. The Russian Bible Society since its establishment in 1813 and up to 1826 distributed more than 500 thousand of Bible related books in 41 languages of Russia. Several times in the 19th and 20th centuries, activities of the Society were stopped by reactionary policies of the Russian Government.
Modern time history
The Society was restored in 1990-1991 after a pause connected with the Soviet regime restrictions.The opening ceremony of the Building of the Russian Bible Society in Moscow was visited by representatives of Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches, who joined their efforts in Bible translation and distribution cause. The well-known Orthodox priest and theologian Alexander Men
Alexander Men
Father Alexander Vladimirovich Men was a Russian Orthodox theologian, Biblical scholar and writer.Father Alexander wrote dozen of books ; baptized hundreds if not thousands; founded an Orthodox Open University; opened one of the first Sunday Schools in...
was one of the leaders of the refounded institution.
The editions of Society are based on the universal doctrine of the early Christian church and include non-confessional comments. Over 1,000,000 Bible related books are printed per year by that institution. The Bible is also being translated into native languages and dialects of Russia's ethnic groups.
Since 1995, the Russian Bible Society is a member of the United Bible Societies
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies is a worldwide association of Bible societies. In 1946 delegates from 13 countries formed the UBS, as an effort to coordinate the activities of the bible societies. The first headquarters were London and in Geneva...
association.