Posted on 09/30/2008 4:21:20 PM PDT by NYer
ROME, SEPT. 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A multilingual Bible will be given to Benedict XVI in honor of the October synod of bishops on the word of God.
The "Polyglot Bible," illustrated by Cláudio Pastro, will be given to the Holy Father on Oct. 7, in a special white deluxe edition. Red copies will also be given to the members of the synod.
The Bible's Old Testament is in five languages: Hebrew-Aramaic, Greek, Latin, English and Spanish, while the New Testament is in four languages: Greek, Latin, English and Spanish. The Bible is designed for liturgical, academic and exegetical usages.
The 3,220-page deluxe edition was printed by the Brazilian Biblical Society press. It weighs 3,440 kilograms (7,583 pounds). The final presentation of this special edition of the "Polyglot Bible" was endorsed by the American Bible Society and the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Mario Paredes, an official at the American Bible Society, told ZENIT that the Bible also has an ecumenical value. He lauded the initiative "because of the symbolic value and the contribution this initiative represents for the ecumenical endeavor, an endeavor of all believers in Christ: to permeate the world with the values of the Gospel."
"We Christians rejoice over this biblical initiative that contributes significantly to our Lord's desire: 'that all may be one,'" he said. "Above and beyond our foundational histories, our traditions and our differences in the doctrinal and liturgical area, and the different religious expressions, the 'Polyglot Bible' confirms, makes possible, enlarges and enriches a common agreement among all Christians and a weighty intention in the ecumenical interest of Benedict XVI's pontificate: the centrality that the word of God must have in our personal, ecclesial and social histories."
The "Polyglot Bible" will also be presented in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 28, just after the synod has ended, during a reception hosted by the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi.
Polyglot ping!
The DVD (and the computer to run it) would weigh in under ten pounds.
They should present him with a spredsheet on the precipitous decline in self-described Christians and Catholic Church membership in Europe instead.
7,583 pounds!!!!! Not exactly light reading. ;O)
That cannot be right. Two pounds per page?
May the English translations be transformed under the guidance of Pope Benedict XVI!!!!
That sounds like six languages to me, but I wasn't a math major.
Why is a Brazilian edition using Spanish instead of Portuguese?
Perhaps it’s the gold leaf. ;O)
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