Presentation of the New Testament in the Mari-Hill language
October 24, 2014

On 21 October the New Testament in the Mari-Hill language, published by the Institute for Bible Translation in Helsinki, was presented to the Mari people at the National Library of Mari El in Yoshkar-Ola (Russian Federation).

The joyful presentation started with singing by a local choir and a reading of selected Scripture passages from the long-awaited new translation. Besides Mari community members, invited guests included the Orthodox Archbishop of Yoshkar-Ola and Mari, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Media and Ethnic Affairs of the Mari El Republic, scholars from Mari State University and the Russian Academy of Sciences, members of the translation team, and representatives of IBT Finland and IBT Russia. The presentation was also attended by donors who supported the publication of the New Testament, the staff of the Yoshkar-Ola and Mari Diocese Bible Translation Commission, and clergy and representatives of the Mari-Hill Association.

On 22 October  another presentation of the Mari-Hill NT took place in the Central Regional Library in Kozmodemjansk, the administrative center of the Mari District.

According to IBT Finland, 8 of the Finno-Ugric languages spoken in Russia now have a New Testament and 2 more are due to be completed in the near future.