In October 2019, Archbishop Roman presented an award from the Orthodox diocese of Yakutia to Dr. David J. Clark (in absentia) for his many years of service as the translation consultant for the Yakut New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. The award — the II Degree Medal of the Holy Martyr Yevgeniy Zernov — has now reached England, where David resides, and he has responded with typical humility, saying, "It’s really a tribute to the work of IBT as a whole rather than specifically to me. Lots of colleagues have done the sort of work I did, and for much longer in many cases."

David Clark is a scholar who has dedicated his life to work among minority peoples around the world, and has influenced several generations of Bible translators with his work. His studies began with descriptive linguistics in West Africa in the 1960s, and during the next half-century encompassed Bible translation and the study of languages all over the world, including India, the South Pacific, East Asia, the former Soviet Union, and Europe, mainly in collaboration with the United Bible Societies and the Institute for Bible Translation.

In his many publications, attention to the minute but important details of the biblical text goes hand in hand with his personal deep faith in the Bible’s importance for everyone, no matter what language they speak and what cultural background they belong to.

David Clark first came to Russia in 1988 and worked for decades as a consultant in various IBT projects, including Yakut, Khakas, Kalmyk, Chechen, Tuvan and Gagauz. Everyone who has had the honor of working with David has deep respect for his professional qualities and values his friendship.

IBT wishes to express our heart-felt congratulations to Dr. David Clark on this well-deserved award.