Posted on 07/10/2007 7:35:44 PM PDT by markomalley
Bhopal, India, Jul 10, 2007 / 10:53 am (CNA).- A group of Christians set a new world record by writing out the entire Bible in 232 minutes. They chose to do this on the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year of the new millennium.
An ecumenical team, which ranged in age from 11 to 77 and included priests, nuns, pastors, brothers, and lay people, was led by local layman Sunil Joseph, reported ICNS. Joseph set his own record in 2005 by writing out the Bible on his own in 123 days.
The writing began at 5 p.m. in the presence of Archbishop Pascal Topno. It ended at 7:32 p.m. with common prayer.
“It is a historic movement of brotherhood among the Christians,” the archbishop told those present. “We are one in Christ. Our differences are nothing before the strong brotherhood feeling we have among us.”
The event was also organized to mark 07 / 07 / 07, organizers said. Christians consider the number seven, which appears often in the Bible, as the most complete number among all numbers.
“This is an effort to spread the message of love in the Holy Bible for the unity and brotherhood of our country,” Joseph said. “It is also to encourage people to read the message of love embedded in the Holy Scripture.”
After the opening prayer, Christians from diverse denominations began writing at 5 p.m. local time and ended at 7:32 p.m. with a common prayer, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
“It is a historic movement of brotherhood among the Christians,” said Topno, according to Indian Catholic news. “We are in Christ, our differences are nothing before the strong brotherhood feeling we have among us.”
The event was organized by the Catholic Church to commemorate the significance of 7/7/07 – a day many Christians believe to be special.
Christians believe the number seven is the most complete number, pointing to Genesis 2:3 which says God set the seventh day apart as a special day because He had completed His creation.
Fr. Anand Muttungal, spokesperson for Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, India, coordinated the event. According to him, the day is important because it is the most complete date, year and time of this century, according to Indian Muslims.
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