September 28, 2012
The series was initiated by the appeals from ruling Bishops of Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Anadyr and Chukotka dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church to the IBT. All publications are planned to come complete with audio recording of the text.
A colorful children’s edition of "The Story of Jesus Christ" has been recently released in the Koryak and Dolgan languages with parallel Russian text. This edition is already on the market and the demand for it is high.
Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka diocese will soon receive the edition of the Gospel of Luke in the Koryak language with introductory remarks by Bishop Artemiy of Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka. This edition published at the expense of a Russian sponsor will go to churches, libraries and schools free of charge.
The text of the Book is also available in electronic format on the IBT website.
Other parts of the series are planned to be released in 2012-2013. The Gospel of Luke in the Nanai language is the first one in the order.
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Translating of the Holy Scripture into the native languages of the Russian North is one of the priorities for IBT. In September of 2012 the staff of the Institute and its director Dr. Marianne Beerli-Moore received Northern Nationalities Benefit Compensation Fund diplomas "for translating and publishing the books in Koryak and Itelmen, for their work in preserving and promoting the national cultures of circumpolar Kamchatka."
The Fund was established in 1991 to support the Northern native nations and to preserve their spiritual heritage and culture. Arthur Izosimovich Belashov is a Chairman of the Foundation. He is also a well-known Kamchatka social activist, publisher, writer, director of the Museum of the History of Orthodoxy in Kamchatka and Russian America, and author of the three-volume "Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka Dioceses History".
(Translation by Ksenia Dolgova)