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Lebanon
& Syria Focus: All
10 stories and photographs were gathered during a recent trip by John
Dean, UBS Europe-Middle East Program Consultant.
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BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Armenian Apostolic Church is a regular Bible Society partner, producing a Scripture calendar each year, as well as co-operating on the Western Armenian translation project. Armenian Apostolic Archbishop Zareh Avnavourian recently discussed the tragic history of the Armenian people and how it brought them to “a strong faith in the Lord and a closeness to the church and the Bible.”
“For the Armenian people, the 20th Century was a very difficult period in our history,” he said. “It started with the massacres in 1915, which were a complete and profound shock for our people. Many managed to retain their faith, but they were still in crisis. However, subsequent events have had a strengthening effect, not least in the support that people received from the Armenian Church and other churches.
“In the past the Bible was more preached in the churches than a part of personal devotional reading at home,” continued the Archbishop. “Little by little, however, our people have acquired a taste for reading the Bible…[and] in the last 30 to 40 years in our Catholicosate, we have seen a growing demand for Scriptures.
“For example, when I went to Iran two years ago, everyone, especially young people, said, ‘We need Bibles!’ In response, the Bible Society printed a new Children’s Bible – 365 Bible Stories – in Eastern Armenian and donated them to Iran. They are now being distributed.
“The Western Armenian New Testament…was first published in 1993…and we urgently need a reprint,” he said. “There is a particular need for a reprint in a larger format so that visually-impaired people can read it.” (WR 358/10 - 03.01) [PHOTOS]