Austrian Bible Society
| Austrian Bible Society | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Registered association |
| founding | September 23, 1970 |
| Seat | Vienna , Austria |
| Website | www.bibelgesellschaft.at |
The Austrian Bible Society sells all German-language Bibles and Bible editions in around 80 languages in Austria , advises on questions about the Bible and supports Bible projects abroad.
goals and tasks
The main concern of the non-denominational biblical society is to give people access to the Bible in a contemporary way, partly in cooperation with the Christian churches. This takes place through Bible missionary projects, lectures, events, exhibitions and in the “Bible Center at the Museumsquartier” in Vienna, which opened in 2005 . The Bible Center is a place to encounter the Bible, for the dialogue between the Bible, art and society. The Bible Society is a sought-after contact for schools, educational institutions and parishes.
For several years now, providing free Bibles to refugees and prisoners has been an important area of work. As a member of the World Federation of Bible Societies with its 135 national Bible Societies, the Austrian Bible Society also supports Bible translation and Bible dissemination projects abroad.
history
The history of the Bible Society in Austria goes back to the year 1850. At that time, the British businessman and language teacher Edward Millard founded a Bible repository for the British and Foreign Bible Society in Vienna. From here Millard began to organize a Bible dissemination service within the Habsburg Monarchy. During his activity from 1850 to 1887, 4,758,262 full or partial Bibles in the various languages of the multinational kingdom were brought to the population. Even after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the British and Foreign Bible Society continued to work in Vienna. Even before the outbreak of World War II, the Berlin branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society had to be closed under pressure from the Gestapo. The holdings were to be transferred to Vienna. After the outbreak of war, however, the assets of the British and Foreign Bible Society were confiscated by the Nazi regime as "hostile assets". Now the entire Berlin inventory should be destroyed. In the meantime, the Vienna branch was able to continue working, albeit under massive conditions. In a truly adventurous way, the then director of the Vienna Bibles Depot, Karl Uhl, succeeded in bringing the Berlin holdings - 35 tons of Bibles - to Vienna during the war and thus preserving them. In 1970 the Vienna branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society was to become the independent Austrian Bible Society.
The holdings from Berlin intended for free distribution and sale also included a collection of historical Bibles, which was to lay the foundation for the historical library in Vienna. Today the small historical library of the Austrian Bible Society - located at the Museumsquartier in Vienna's seventh district - houses an extensive collection of around 1,750 Bible editions in more than 470 languages from six centuries. It also includes around 80 different German Bible translations. Since the 1950s, the inventory has grown continuously through targeted purchases on the one hand, and donations and bequests on the other. These are, on the one hand, full Bibles and, on the other hand, partial editions or individual biblical books, but also historical, topic-related lexicons and study books. In addition to first prints, new editions in the respective languages have also been incorporated. Parts of the holdings as well as valuable exhibits are on display as part of a permanent exhibition in the glazed areas of the library. The library also houses an extensive facsimile collection as well as academic literature on the subjects of Bible translation and Bible languages. The archive of the Bible Society is also integrated into the library inventory. The library is constantly growing, which means that as many new publications as possible of Bible translations are constantly being added to the inventory. The core of the historical exhibits is a small collection of Bible prints from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, with the oldest (Latin) Bible dating from 1509. Numerous Bibles - also in foreign languages - from the 17th and 18th centuries follow. With the woodcuts, copper engravings, cartouches and emblems contained therein, the representations of biblical scenes, but also of the church fathers, reformers and Bible translators, the viewer opens up the multifaceted world of illustrated book printing of the early modern period. The large-scale translation of the Bible into non-European languages, which began in the 19th century as a result of the establishment of Bible societies, is reflected in the library in the extensive holdings of foreign-language Bibles from that time. In addition to simple editions, the German Bibles also contain lavishly designed copies in splendid historicist bindings that refer to the rich domestic, family and christening Bible traditions of the 19th century. The collection is supplemented by the main stock of the library, with Bible editions from the 20th and 21st centuries. In 2011 the library was subjected to a thorough revision and partially reorganized.
Member churches
The work of the Bible Society is carried out by twelve member churches : The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession ( Lutheran ) should be mentioned here, the Evangelical Church of the Helvetic Confession ( Reformed ) and the Evangelical Methodist Church as well as the Old Catholic Church , the Armenian Apostolic Church , the Greek Orthodox Church , the Romanian Orthodox Church , the Syrian Orthodox Church , the Anglican Church , the Union of Baptist Congregations , the Free Christian Congregations and the Salvation Army . The work of the Bible Society is also supported by the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna .
In the Catholic area, the Austrian Catholic Biblical Works mainly work .
See also
literature
- Harald Uhl: A Gestapo document on the history of the spread of the Bible in Austria during the Nazi era. In: JbGPrÖ 120 (2004) pp. 277–282.
- Harald Uhl: The Bible Society in Austria of the 19th Century. In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria 127/128 (2011/2012) pp. 167–203.
- Robert Kauer (ed.): God's word cannot hinder anyone. From the memoirs of Karl Uhl . Vienna 2007 (selected on the basis of autobiographical records completed in 1989, edited and provided with additional explanations and photos by the son Harald Uhl).
- Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer : Karl Uhl . In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon , Vol. 29 (2008) Sp. 1483–1486.
- Stefan René Buzanich / Veronika Macek, Würzburg, 1705: A high baroque Bible tells its story (s). Entertaining information from the historical library of the Austrian Bible Society , in: biblos. Contributions to books, libraries and writing, Volume 61, 2 (2012) (pp. 119–129)
- Stefan René Buzanich / Veronika Macek, "A present from my dear mother, given on my wedding day ...". The marriage and confirmation Bibles of the 18th and 19th centuries in the historical library of the Austrian Bible Society and their story (s) , in: biblos. Contributions to books, libraries and writing, Volume 62, 1 (2013) (pp. 69–77)
Web links
Single receipts
- ↑ Stefan René Buzanich / Veronika Macek, Würzburg, 1705: A high-baroque Bible tells its story (s). Entertaining information from the historical library of the Austrian Bible Society , in: biblos. Contributions to books, libraries and writing, Volume 61, 2 (2012) (pp. 119f.)
- ↑ Stefan René Buzanich / Veronika Macek, Würzburg, 1705: A high-baroque Bible tells its story (s). Entertaining information from the historical library of the Austrian Bible Society , in: biblos. Contributions to books, libraries and writing, Volume 61, 2 (2012) (p. 120f.)