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NEW YORK,
NY—Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Eastern
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, will present
an informative and interesting lecture on the trials and tribulations
of translating the Bible. This first of a kind lecture will
take place Friday, February 17, at the Armenian Center, 69-23
47th Ave., Woodside, New York. The lecture, sponsored by the
Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society of New
York, will begin at 8:30 pm.
Archbishop Oshagan has been associated with Bible translation
since the 1980s when he joined with the late Archbishop Zareh
Aznavourian to produce a new modern Western Armenian translation
of the entire Bible. With the enthusiastic support of the Bible
Society, they first began translating the New Testament and
then the Old Testament. Unfortunately, the pressing duties of
their respective offices, and later the fatal illness of Archbishop
Zareh slowed the process somewhat.
The New Testament was completed in about ten years and has already
been published in several printings. The parts of the Old Testament
that are complete are Genesis, Exodus, Samuels (1 and II), Psalms,
Proverbs, Jonah, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes and most of Isaiah
and Jeremiah. |
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The primary goal of this project was to produce a translation
that would be acceptable and accessible to both scholars and the
average reader. The translators worked with the original text—Greek
for the New Testament and Hebrew for the Old Testament. However,
Archbishop Oshagan notes that the Septuagint and the Armenian
Krapar version were always consulted and provided greater elucidation.
Acknowledging that it is difficult to continue without Archbishop
Zareh, Archbishop Oshagan states that the translation project
is resuming. “Completing this task,” His Eminence
says, “will be the finest memorial to Archbishop Zareh who
was totally devoted to this mission and whose final words lamented
its unfinished state.” During the upcoming lecture Archbishop
Oshagan will describe the various challenges faced by Biblical
scholars and translators, as well as describe the current progress
and future prospects of the ongoing translation effort.
The Eastern Prelacy in association with the Bible Society of Canada
published the most recent edition of the new translation of the
New Testament and the Psalms last year. Copies are available at
the Prelacy Bookstore, 212-689-7810. |
