Biblical Society

Categories / Religion. Church/Reigious Organizations
BIBLICAL SOCIETY, a religious public organization engaged in translating, publishing and distributing the Holy Scriptures in Russia. The St. Petersburg biblical society was founded in 1812 (opened in January 1813) as a subsidiary of the British Biblical Society, headed by the Chief Procurator of the Apostolic Synod Prince A. N. Golitsin. From the very start the Biblical Society aimed at spreading the Bible among adherents of other religions and pagans. In 1814, the society was renamed the Russian Biblical Society and was licensed to publish the Holy Scripture in Church Slavonic and Russian languages. Many hierarchs, highest officials and the Emperor Alexander I himself were members of the Biblical society. Donations and annual dues made up the treasury of the Society (Emperor Alexander I made a donation of 25,000 roubles and paid an annual fee of 10,000 roubles). The Society also received monetary awards from the treasury. In 1816, by order of Emperor Alexander I, a house in St. Petersburg was given to the society to accommodate a printing-house, a book shop and a book store. Subsidiaries of the Biblical Society were opened in many cities. In 1816, the society began publishing the Bible, and in 1819 — the Russian translation of the Four Gospels. Later, the Society published other books of the New Testament and the Psalms, and in 1825 prepared the Russian translation of the Pentateuch of Moses, books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth (their publishing was stopped because of the opposition of the Synod). Many translations were made by G. P. Pavsky. After the retirement of Golitsin in May 1824, Petersburg Metropolitan Serafim (Glagolevsky) became the president of the Biblical society and in the same year made a report to Emperor Alexander I about "the harm" of the society and the necessity of its liquidation. In 1826, the Biblical society was closed by the decree of Emperor Nicholas I (its property, valued at some 2,000,000 roubles, was given to the Synod), the Russian translation of the Old Testament was stopped, and Pavsky was persecuted for continuing the work. In the beginning of the 1990s the North-Western Biblical Commission was opened in St. Petersburg.

Reference: Чистович И. А. История перевода Библии на русский язык: В 2 ч. СПб., 1873; Гильтебрандт П. [Император Александр I и Библейское об-во] // Древняя и новая Россия. 1879. Т. 2, № 9. С. 430-431; Пыпин А. Н. Исследования и статьи по эпохе Александра I. Т. 1: Религиозные движения при Александре I. Пг., 1916; Очерки истории Санкт-Петербургской епархии. СПб., 1994. С. 104-105, 108-109.

M. V. Shkarovsky. Alexander I, Emperor
Chistovich Illarion Alexeevich
Golitsyn Alexander Nikolaevich, Duke
Nicholas I, Emperor
Pavsky Gerasim Petrovich, Protopresbyter
Pypin Alexander Nikolaevich
Serafim (Stefan Vasilievich Glagolevsky), Metropolitan
Гильтебрандт П. [Император Александр I и Библейское об-во] // Древняя и новая Россия, 1879
Очерки истории Санкт-Петербургской епархии. СПб., 1994
Чистович И. А. История перевода Библии на русский язык: В 2 ч. СПб., 1873
Пыпин А. Н. Исследования и статьи по эпохе Александра I. Т. 1: Религиозные движения при Александре I. Пг., 1916 Synod
1812