The Bible Society, in partnership with World Vision, launched the Peace & Justice Arabic Bible on Sunday, June 22, 2014, in Bkerke, under the patronage of Cardinal Rai, Patriarch of the Maronite Church.
The launching event took place during the morning Mass at the Patriarchal See, with the presence of hundreds of guests and perishes, and live coverage by MTV-Lebanon and Tele-Lumiere. The event commenced with an introductory word by the General Secretary of the Bible Society, Dr. Mike Bassous, who commended the Patriarch on the timely launching of this Bible. “The launching of the Peace & Justice Bible coincides with the Pope’s visit to Jordan and the Holy Lands, accompanied by His Beatitude,” said Dr. Bassous, “where every papal speech included the words ‘peace’ and ‘justice’. This is prophetic timing!”
During the Patriarch’s homily, he highly appreciated the work of the Bible Society in spreading the word of God and promoting social justice. “I congratulate the Bible Society and World Vision on the publishing of this inter-confessional Today’s Arabic Version Bible and its 15 articles on issues pertaining to peace and social justice from a biblical perspective.” The Patriarch continued to say, “The Bible Society is concerned with providing the ‘bread of eternal life’ to its constituencies.” His homily continued to focus on the importance of the word of God and peace and justice issues. This was followed by the partaking in the Eucharist.
The event concluded with the Patriarch offering a personal copy of the Peace & Justice Bible to a selected dozen of high profile leaders who are custodians of peace and justice issues. The honored guests included Judge Jean Fahed, President of the Supreme Judicial Council, and Judge Ghaleb Ghanen, President Emeritus; Mrs. Rose Choueiry; Fr. Paul Karam, President of Caritas; Media Anchors Rebecca Abou Nader and Rania Baroud; General Dalal Rahbani of the General Security; and other esteem guests. Copies were distributed to the other guest as the event adjourned.
The Bible Society’s vision is for all generations to encounter the life-giving message of God’s Word. As a nonprofit organization, its mission is to publish and achieve the widest possible, effective and meaningful distribution of the Holy Scriptures in a language and media which meets the needs of the people it serves, at prices people can afford, encouraging people to read the Scriptures, and helping them interact with the Word of God. The Bible Society seeks to carry out its task in partnership and cooperation with all the churches and with Christian organizations.
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