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New edition of famous Bible
Standard for use in Catholic, Orthodox services
The Vatican has unveiled the second edition of the famed Romanian-language Bible of Blaj, which the prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches characterized as a “monument of the Romanian language.”
Cardinal Ignace Moussa I Daoud presided at a May 29 press conference in Rome as the Vatican introduced the new work. The original Bible of Blaj, translated in the late 18th century by the Romanian Catholic monk Samuil Micu, was accepted by both Romanian Orthodox and Catholic leaders as the definitive work in the Romanian language. It has been used in the liturgy of both the Orthodox Church and the Byzantine-rite Romanian Catholic Church.
Cardinal Daoud suggested that the new edition could “help dialogue with the Orthodox Church,” and at the same time help other Catholics to recognize “the importance which the Byzantine Catholic Church has had in the history of the Romanian nation.”
The new edition of the Bible of Blaj is a 2,500-page volume, including a substantial critical study prepared by the Romanian Academy in Rome. The new work represents the product of a 5-year project.