Bible Society meets the challenge of a changing market

BELARUS — “The Orthodox Church is well served by the Bible Society,” says Father Sergei, Vice-President of the Board of the Bible Society of the Republic of Belarus. “Before the Bible Society was founded, the Church printed all Bibles. We are very grateful that the Society has taken over this task and that we now have a good range of Bibles in various translations, languages and formats.”

Father Sergei’s involvement with the Bible Society dates back to its founding in 1991. As well as serving his congregation and the Bible Society, he also teaches at the Theological Institute of the University of Minsk. He became a priest towards the end of the Soviet era, when Bibles were very hard to obtain and could cost a whole month’s wages. Now, life has changed significantly. So, in turn, has Bible work.

Identify

“New lifestyles are emerging, but there is still great interest in the Bible and in spiritual matters. Those who really wanted a Bible now have one, and it is time to identify new groups that need the Word of God.

“In the Orthodox Church, it has always been the view that the faithful should receive nourishment from the Word, both at services and at home. A century ago that was not always possible, however, because many of the faithful were illiterate. My grandmother didn’t even know what the alphabet was! Also, most of the religious literature was in a language that even literate people didn’t understand well. Now the Word of God is available in a completely different way, both for academics and lay people.”

Father Sergei’s own journey to faith began as a child. His parents, both Christians, were afraid to take him to church services, but they prayed at home and taught him to pray.

“At school we were told that God did not exist, but my mother, a very wise woman, simply said, ‘There are different opinions about the existence of God. Let others believe what they will, but do not let them take away your faith’.

“When I was 13 I began attending services at my village church once a month. Later I went every Sunday, and my friends respected me for this. But my teachers often asked me why I went, as it could harm my chances of going into higher education.

Freedom

“When I was growing up, I could never imagine the spiritual freedom that we would experience after the fall of the Soviet Union. At school and university, most of the books dated from pre-revolutionary times. If we wanted our own copy, we had to hand-write it ourselves or get somebody to type it. I still have many notebooks from that time containing texts that I copied for myself. Now we have the freedom to obtain as many books as we want!

“It is important for the Bible Society to sell Bibles at a price that allows ordinary people to buy them. Our policy is to set a reasonable price but to also give discounts and distribute free Bibles if necessary. Those who can afford the full price should pay it, so that the Bible Society’s finances can be improved in order to meet the need for Bibles that exists here.”