Bucharest Bible
The Bucharest Bible (Romanian: Biblia de la București; also known as the Cantacuzino Bible) was the first complete translation of the Bible into the Romanian language, published in Bucharest in 1688.
 Coat of arms of Wallachia, as depicted on the Bible's first page. | |
| Author | collective work assumed by Constantin Brâncoveanu |
|---|---|
| Original title | 'Biblia adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură ale cei Vechi și ale cei Noao Leage' |
| Country | Wallachia (Bucharest) |
| Language | Romanian (Cyrillic) |
| Publisher | Metropolitanate of Bucharest |
Publication date | 10 November 1688 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 944 |
| Preceded by | first full Romanian Bible translation |
| Followed by | Vulgate Bible of Blaj, 1760 |
It was ordered and patronized by Șerban Cantacuzino, then-ruler of Wallachia, and overseen by logothete Constantin Brâncoveanu.
It's a compilation based on a "Frankfurt Septuagint"[1] from 1597 compared with a Venetian Bible printed in 1687 both translated by the Greceanu brothers, an Old Testament by Nicolae Milescu and a New Testament of Transylvania's Metropolitan Simion Stefan from 1648 patronized by Prince György Rákóczi.
The translation project started somewhere in 1682, the material being collected and organized by Archbishop Germanus of Nyssa from the Patriarchal Academy of Constantinople, Sevastos Kyminitis from the Greek School of Bucharest, Radu Greceanu and Stefan Greceanu. None of them is mentioned in the book. The final draft was submitted for correction to Bishop Mitrofan of the Huși Diocese (mentioned on the last page). The printing run began on 5 November 1687 and ended on 10 November 1688. It was printed in the Metropolitanate's Press of Bucharest under the see of Theodosius, Metropolitan of Hungro-Wallachia.
It was a milestone for the Romanian culture and for the Romanian Language to be used in the church. At the time, Romanian language was despised and it was not used in the Romanian Church. For example, in 1698 Atanasie Anghel was ordained Archbishop of Transylvania receiving specific orders from Dositheos of Jerusalem to "read aloud inside the church either in Greek or Church Slavonic since Romanian is too small and too limited".[2]
See also
References
- Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre, Editura pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966
