The Bible has traveled around the last two millennia. The Bible has been searched by people who need comfort, learned by students in confirmation class, repeated by parents to their children, explained by the leaders of the Churches, written down on paper by printers, and used as a source of inspiration by the faithful.

In 2017, the Bible began its travels through the Transtibiscan Church District as an emblem. It represents what it means to be a Calvinist and what your commitment is, such as reading the Word of God in front of the community.

On the first day of 2017, the congregation of the Great Church in Debrecen read a section of the Bible and afterwards they carried it over to the Small Church. That’s how the road began, and thereafter everybody carries the Bible to the next congregation. In the Transtibiscan Church District there are 414 parish churches. This traveling Bible program will last for the whole year and each congregation will get time with the Bible. On each Sunday, congregations will read from the Bible in two different places, and there are three days when the program takes a break (Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Christmas Eve). There is also a brochure which complements the reading, containing a chant and the prayer order.

The reading is suited to the individual context of the congregation, which means it doesn’t matter if only the pastor and the janitor can read the Bible and carry over to the next congregation – the Bible is for everyone. It is also possible that someone may take the Bible to a Bible Study, or to the retirement home, and read the appointed section there. Sometimes the members of the congregation choose a special place where they can read the daily section and also meet with the other congregation to pass the Bible along.

The Bible can be transferred to another congregation by any member or group of the congregation, like the pastor, the janitor, presbyters, and members of the woman’s association. This program helps to make contact between the different congregations as they come together to share the book.

The message of the Bible is: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

The church hopes that the Word of God becomes a source of blessing for the congregations that participate in this project!

Written by Veronika Tóth-Mihala

Translated by Viktória Fülöp

Edited by Kearstin Bailey

Photos by Vargosz & Czeglédi Zsolt / MTI