"Every Year is a Year of the Bible”

 These were the words of His Holiness Aram I at one of the last activities in the Year of the Bible celebrated by the Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia. His Holiness also said: "It’s true that 2003 is the Year of the Bible, but it’s not enough to hold a Year of the Bible – what is really important is to Live the Bible! That was the reason why our Church made this year “The Year of the Bible” as we once more need to build our Church and nation on the Word of God like our forefathers did 1700 years ago. With people like His Grace Zareh Aznavourian and Dr. Ari Topouzkhanian together with the Bible Society translation team we as a Church know that the Scriptures will be faithfully translated. This is a great concern of the Church in an age such as ours.

In his short introduction His Grace Zareh Aznavourian, a well-known Bible translator and biblical scholar as well as the organizer of the evening at the Catholicosate emphasized the importance of translating the Scriptures into the language that people speak today. “To translate the Scriptures is a matter of life and death! Once in the language of the people the Gospel is there to give us life and light!" He also at length presented the speaker of the evening Dr. Ari Topouzkhanian who with his scholarly background has made an invaluable contribution to the Bible cause.

 As we at the Bible Society have been at the forefront of the work on "The Armenian 1700th Anniversary Bible it was a very special evening and a suitable beginning of the “Year of the Bible – 2004” - soon to be launched. What could be more proper than seeing this happen at one of the oldest churches, the Armenian Apostolic Church, at its Catholicosate in Antelias? On this first evening with the special guest-speaker Dr. Ari Topouzhkanian we heard him talk about “The Need for a New Armenian Translation”. Three days later he followed this lecture up with another one entitled “The Armenian 1700^th Anniversary Bible on CD” held at Haigazian University, Beirut.

 Dr. Topouzkhanian is famous in Armenian circles for having made the first Armenian software for personal computers. This software revolutionized communication in general and publishing in particular for Armenians living in Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora. But Dr. Topouzkhanian has been even more of a blessing to the Bible cause with his biblical scholarship, although we must admit that this has been enhanced by his computer-knowledge. Both of his great skills have certainly come to good use, as he together with Rev. Hovhannes Karjian and Rev. Manuel Jinbachian some ten years ago set out to revise the text of our Western Armenian Bible that eventually became a reference Bible – The 1700^th Anniversary Bible – celebrating the year the Armenian nation proclaimed Christianity as a state religion back in 301. Through Dr. Topouzkhanian’s efforts you can now find not only  the printed reference Bible, but also a CD version of it on the Bible Society website www.biblesociety.org.lb.

 Before presenting his power-point presentation, which in a very vivid way showed the importance of a new revision of the “old” Bible, Dr. Topouzkhanian referred to an article that appeared in the Chronicles of the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate of Jerusalem when they celebrated the 100^th anniversary of this the most widely used Western Armenian Bible translated into Modern Armenian. They wrote: “The translation of the Bible into any language will make a difference in the life of the government, society, family and individual. The Armenian nation witnessed this after the first Armenian translation that was spread with incredible speed among the Armenians. And when they had experienced the light – that light brought about the Golden Era of our people.”

 Both nights saw large audiences witness how the Word of God has come alive through the printed word and in a language that people can understand. At the time before the modern translations it was sometimes true that the words of Jesus had been buried in archaic languages with most people ignorant of the truth in them. But judging from the book-table, where you could find the 1700^th Anniversary Bible, as well as the Bible for All Ages specially tanslated and illustrated for children and the CD with the Armenian Bible, it was made very clear that the Word of God is today made available and well understood by the Armenians and most importantly a means of changing lives.