New translation of the Bible for Iran is now inaugurated

Martyr widow received the first copy

Danish European Mission donors have supported the distribution of the New Testament to Iran - and now have the pleasure of supporting the smuggling of the entire Bible to Iran in the future.

It was a great honor that Juliet Michaelian (pictured above), widow of Pastor Tateos Michaelian, attended the dedication. In May 1994, at the very beginning of this Bible project, Sam Yeghnazar, head of the Danish European Mission's partner organization, Elam Ministries, had written to his friend Tateos Michaelian, Iran's most experienced translator, asking him to take a leading role in the work. He agreed, but a month later Tateos Michaelian was shot and killed. He was murdered for his faith.

It was only fitting that the translation project was called 'The Michaelian Project'. It was a very emotional moment on Monday night when Sam Yeghnazar gave the very first copy of the new Bible to Tateos Michaelian's widow, Juliet. The next copy was given to Tateos Michaelian's granddaughter. Copies were then also handed out to members of other families who have experienced the martyrdom of a family member in the last few years.

Ladan attended the seminar

The launch of the new Bible translation took place at the historic Church House at Westminster Abby in London. Ladan, who has been imprisoned for his faith in Iran - and will speak about it to the seminar in Valby on 11/10/2014 - met Samuel (left) from the Danish European Mission and Kenneth Kühn from the Metropol Network Church (right), who together organize the seminar with her.

Watch a video with Ladan's story here...

Translation work took 18 years

Sam Yeghnazar also gave new Bibles to the project coordinator Rev. Dr. Mehrdad Fatehi and his wife, Mojdeh, the chief administrator and an exegete. They led a team of over 30 translators and specialists for almost twenty years. Every verse was checked to ensure that the text was as accurate a translation as possible of the original Greek or Hebrew.

Then the beautifully bound Bibles were handed out to the audience. Then followed a time of intense prayer for the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who will soon receive this new translation, called the New Millennium Version.

The title of our evening was, "New Bible, New Iran". We believe that when a country receives a new translation of the Bible, the church is always strengthened.

On behalf of the church in Iran, a big thank you to all Danes who support the smuggling of Bibles to Iran through the Danish European Mission.