This year it is 375 years since Yakutia became part of Russia. It is also 210 years since the birth of St. Innocent, missionary to Siberia and North America and Bible translator. In honor of these anniversaries, a church history conference was held in Moscow entitled “St. Innocent (Veniaminov) and Orthodoxy in Siberia and America”. The conference was organised by the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Moscow Theological Academy, the Orthodox University of the Humanities, and the Diocese of Yakutia. There were participants from Russia, the United States, France, Switzerland, South Korea; a total of more than 200 delegates from different countries, including representatives of the Aleut and Tlingit peoples of Alaska.

Among the speakers was IBT director Marianne Beerle-Moor. In her presentation she spoke of IBT's Yakut project and its results – most importantly the publication of the New Testament in Yakut in 2004, and also the latest IBT publication in Yakut, the Hexapsalm (the six psalms used during Orthodox morning prayer service), prepared at the request of the Diocese of Yakutia.

The presentations by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and North America showed that the work begun by St. Innocent continues. And his words about the need for preaching and nourishing the Christian faith in both small and large people groups, for developing cultural links between peoples, for translating the Bible and holding services in native languages, are as important today as they were then.

On 9 December a historic event took place – the Patriarch, Aleksiy II, held a service in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow at which a priest from Yakutia read the Epistle and Gospel readings from the modern translation of the New Testament (IBT, 2004) following the Church Slavonic texts. After the service a Yakut choir sang, and the Patriarch said: “We feel and understand that we are one united holy Orthodox Church wherever our believers live, whether in the Far North or in the Far East.” It was a pleasure to see many Yakut faces in the church. Some were guests from Yakutia, who had come for the conference, but there were also representatives of the Yakut diaspora in Moscow. And it was thrilling to hear a Turkic language in a cathedral service in Moscow (Yakut is a member of the Turkic language group).
 

IBT Russia’s annual international fellowship day took place on 30 November 2007 at its office in Moscow. Representatives of partner organisations from Norway, Finland, Sweden, UK and USA were present, as well as all the staff and some representatives of the Russian Board.

Translation consultant Andrei Desnitsky was the moderator of the event, which included presentations by several co-workers on different aspects of the translation process such as translation, exegetical checking, testing and publishing. In the evening fellowship continued with a birthday celebration for translation consultant David Clark, with many stories, songs and music.

On the following day, 1 December, the International Advisory Board held its annual meeting while guests enjoyed a cultural programme in Moscow.

02.11.2007  I Hexapsalm in Yakut

Following the success of the new translation of the New Testament into Yakut three years ago, the Orthodox Church in Yakutia (Sakha Republic, northern Siberia) requested the Institute for Bible Translation to publish in Yakut the Six Psalms, or Hexapsalm, that are read daily during Morning Prayer (matins). IBT was already working on a translation of the whole Psalter.

According to Orthodox exegetes these psalms, which in the Western tradition are numbered 3, 38, 63, 88, 103 and 143, depict both Christ and events in His life on earth as well as the Christian’s journey and that of the whole Church towards Christ.

As the Hexapsalm is a liturgical text, the translation was also checked against the Septuagint which is the source text for the Church Slavonic translation currently in use. In addition it was tested among believers in Yakutia and was reportedly welcomed.

About 150 years ago priests in Yakutia preached and read the Word of God to their parishioners in their native language. This new publication is a step towards church services in Yakutia once again being held in the Yakut language, and we are pleased to be part of that process.

26.10.2007  I IBT Presentation at the first International Congress for Caucasian Studies in Tbilisi, Georgia

The congress, organised by the Institute of Caucasian Studies of the Faculty of Humanities of Tbilisi State University and the Arnold Chikobav Linguistic Institute, took place from 22 to 26 October 2007. Its theme was “Caucasian civilisation in the lingua-cultural context of the Near East”. There were sections devoted to linguistics, history, archaeology, cultural studies, art, ethnology, folklore and literature. The working languages were Georgian, Russian and English.

Great interest was shown in IBT’s presentation, “Bible Translation in the North and West Caucasus (on the activities of the Institute of Bible Translation)”, which introduced the Institute, and its approach towards and principles for Bible translation. It was good to hear the opinions of other linguists and theologians. IBT translations of the Bible into Caucasian languages were displayed on the stand belonging to the Georgian Orthodox Church.

On 28 September 2007 the Institute for Bible Translation marked the tenth anniversary of its move to the Andreyevskiy Monastery in Moscow, which houses the Russian Orthodox Church’s Synodal Library. The IBT Board and staff celebrated with colleagues from the monastery with whom they have worked closely during this time.

IBT Director Dr. Marianne Beerle-Moor expressed the Institute’s gratitude for such an appropriate workplace. The monastery rector, Father Boris Danilenko, said: “As early as the 17^th century there was work on the Bible in the Andreyevskiy Monastery. It is a good place for this kind of activity. When we look at the bigger picture, the Lord led you here. And we understand that, since we were also led here by the Lord. I am very pleased that we are here together, and that we can help each other.”

Photographs, music, videos and stories told by guests and colleagues reminded people of the highlights of the past ten years in the life of the Institute. In this time IBT’s history has been closely linked to the Andreyevskiy Monastery. Seminars, presentations, colloquiums and conferences arranged by IBT have often taken place in the halls of the Synodal Library, including the 15^th Forum of Bible Agencies International.

“When the Khakas get the New Testament they will understand that this message is also for them, and not only for Russians,” says one of the members in the translation team.

The booklet is meant to have a visual impact on the readers - the illustrations make the text of the parables more immediate and understandable. This is an artistic edition with a colorful cover and with printing on thick off-white paper in two colors – the page numbers and the ornaments are in red.

The Aguls are a small ethnic group in the southern part of Dagestan. Dagestan is situated in the Caucasus, the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The total population of the Aguls is about 28,000. Their religion is mainly Islam (Sunni).

In 2005 IBT published the Gospel of Luke in Agul, which was the first Bible text, and at the same time one of the very first books in the Agul language. The Aguls first received an alphabet in 1990 and their language does not have a literary tradition. Since not many Aguls are good at reading their own language, an audio recording of the Gospel text is being prepared, which we hope will be useful.

More than five million people in Russia speak Tatar, making the Tatars the biggest ethnic minority in the country. They are Muslim by tradition, so they have heard of the Taurat (Torah in Tatar) through the Qu’ran. However, until now they have not had access to the Pentateuch in their own language.

In 2003 IBT published the book of Genesis in Tatar, which was well received by the readership. Several thousand copies were distributed. Since then four more books – Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy - have been translated. And in May 2007 the first Pentateuch in Tatar was published, a landmark in the history of Tatar literature and for the Tatar people.

IBT had previously published in the Tatar language Proverbs with Ecclesiastes (1999) and the New Testament (2001).

According to recent statistics, of the 2,400 language groups in the world that have portions of the Bible, 1,115 have the New Testament. Only 426 have a full Bible, including the Old Testament. “Having the New Testament without the Old is like having a sword without the hilt,” one translator has stated.

So far IBT has published translations of the New Testament in 24 languages of Russia and the CIS, but the full Bible in only three languages. At present IBT is involved in 22 Old Testament projects. Muslims are already familiar with characters such as Abraham, Jacob and Joseph, and to them the Old Testament may become a bridge to the New Testament.

23.03.2007 | Old Testament translation seminar