ദോഹ മലങ്കര ഓർത്തഡോക്സ്‌ ദേവാലയത്തിലെ 1077 ഇടവക ജനങ്ങൾ മൂന്ന്‌ മാസം കൊണ്ട് എഴുതി പൂർത്തീകരിച്ച വിശുദ്ധ വേദപുസ്തകത്തിന്റെ കൈയെഴുത്ത് പ്രതി വിശുദ്ധ കുർബാനയ്ക്ക് ശേഷം (22/10/21) ദേവാലയത്തിൽ സമർപ്പിച്ചു. പൂർണമായും ഇംഗ്ലിഷ് ഭാഷയിൽ എഴുതിയ പുസ്തകത്തിൽ പഴയ നിയമം, ഉത്തരക്കാനോനിക പുസ്തകങ്ങൾ, പുതിയ നിയമം എന്നിവ ഉൾപ്പെടുത്തി സമ്പൂർണ വേദ പുസ്തകമായിട്ടാണ് ചിട്ടപ്പെടുത്തിയത്. വേദ പുസ്തകത്തിന്റെ ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് പരിഭാഷകളിൽ ഏറ്റവും കൃത്യതയുള്ള NRSV ആണ് മാതൃക ആയി സ്വീകരിച്ചത്.
26kg ഭാരം വരുന്ന ഈ വേദപുസ്തകം കോവിഡ് മഹാമാരിയുടെ കാലഘട്ടത്തിൽ ദൈവം ഇടവക ജനങ്ങൾക്ക് നൽകിയ സംരക്ഷണത്തിനുള്ള സ്തോത്ര സമർപ്പണ മായിട്ടാണ് 22-10-2021 വെള്ളിയാഴ്ച വി. കുർബാനക്ക് ശേഷം ദേവാലയത്തിൽ സമർപ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ടത്.
The Bible is God’s Word to us. During the pandemic year of 2021 with lockdowns, people are forced to stay at home and Churches continue to remain empty or half-empty.
In these trying times, we initiated a spiritual exercise to commission a handwritten Bible Project. The unique aspect of the Bible is that the Bible is best suited for our times and for all times. This initiative was a part of Malankara Orthodox Church Doha’s Harvest Festival 2021 undertaking. We are a people of ‘The Book’ and exhorted our parish members to feel God’s Word and privilege themselves to increase their Bible engagement, to interact more by reading and writing portions of the Sacred Scriptures. With this intention, not only did we acquaint more with the Scripture but also synthesized how certain sections or parts of the Bible relate to the whole of the Scripture and understand its message.
By commissioning a handwritten Bible, MOC Doha revived a century old memorable tradition to experience the joy and blessings of writing the Bible by hand. It was not just an incredibly blessed privilege to be associated in this holy endeavor, but also in the vast efforts of its collection, coordination, compilation, proof-reading and in bearing the responsibility to ensure accuracy in-line with the original text.
The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) with Deuterocanonical books was chosen as reference Bible due to its authenticity and direct translation from Greek. The NRSV is still pursued as a source of reference and study even in Orthodox seminaries at Kottayam & Nagpur. The Old Testament consists of 39 books: Deuterocanonical books - 14 books and the New testament consists of 27 books.
Handwritten Bible Project Major Timelines
A total of 1077 parish members from 640 families wrote the Bible.
Each registered member received a writing kit including A3 writing sheets, draft A3 sheets for practice, source material, black & blue pens including a general guideline to ensure uniformity and consistency across pages. More than 150 parish members (MC/PCs/APCs/unit leaders) were involved in the logistical exercise of handing over writing kit and collecting the completed written sheet and ward level proof reading.
With a goal of achieving accuracy and readability, more than 120 parish members (Sunday school Teachers, MGOCSM, OCYM, MMVS) worked painstakingly in the central proof reading for three long continuous weeks. With due attention to detail, the proofreaders were responsible for ensuring that the text fits on each page properly and that the spelling, punctuation, and word usage correctly reflects the original texts — assurances that only a human eye can verify.
Virtually, every Christian must read the entire Bible, believing that it is the Word of God and therefore naturally not wanting to miss a word of it. Accordingly, we exhort all to read through this Bible while bringing with it the countless blessings.
