400th Anniversary of the KJV
In her address at the inauguration of the new General
Synod in November, Her Majesty the Queen emphasised the importance
of the forthcoming 400th anniversary of the publication
of the Authorised
Version of the Bible. This was commissioned by King James at
the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 and completed in 1611, and Her
Majesty described its lasting impact on the life of the Church and
the nation.
The King James Bible
Trust has been established to celebrate the anniversary.
Throughout 2011, many Events and
Projects will be taking place across the UK and around the
world to mark the 400 years since the creation of the book that
changed the world.
HRH The Prince of Wales is the Trust's
Patron, and the Vice-Patron is the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard
Chartres, Bishop of London. The Chairman of Trustees is
the Rt Hon Frank Field MP.
The 2011 celebrations were launched at
Hampton Court, where the translation was commissioned; the year
will close on 16 November 2011 with a service in Westminster Abbey
where, in the Jerusalem Chamber, the final editing of the Bible was
completed.
Information about the national commemoration can be found at www.kingjamesbibletrust.org/
Individual dioceses are also organising their own local
celebrations of the anniversary. For example -
- The Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Anthony
Priddis, is challenging all of us to mark the 400th
Anniversary by having a go at reading the King James Bible during
the year. A suggested reading plan is available so readers can
include some of the old Testament, some of the New Testament, part
of the psalms and one other book each day. Find out more at
www.hereford.anglican.org/visitors/the_newspaper/news_plus/read_the_bible_2011/index.aspx.
- In January, the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd
John Pritchard, and pupils from a Church of England primary school
recorded the first all-age Bible reading for a worldwide project
aimed at capturing the whole of the King James Bible on
YouTube. See
www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2011/02/youtube-psalm-reading.aspx
- And the Bishop of Huntingdon, the Rt Revd Dr
David Thomson, is reading the whole Bible, from start to finish,
during the 40 days of Lent, and will be taking to the streets of
Ely to challenge people to do the same. His challenge
commemorating the anniversary is entitled Round the Bible in 40
Days. Those taking part can visit roundthebible.wordpress.com/,
which takes them to a special blog where they can download the
reading plan, a starter-guide to the Bible, and see specially
written daily intros and comments.
The 90-minute, drama-documentary film The King James
Bible: The book that changed the world has been made
by the team www.1aproductions.co.uk
which created Beyond Narnia and Florence
Nightingale, with the BAFTA and Emmy Award winning director
Norman Stone (Shadowlands) as director
and screenplay by Murray Watts, screenwriter of
The Miracle Maker.