In the evocative setting of the Waldensian Temple in Piazza Cavour, Rome, the presentation of the NEW TESTAMENTin the Ecumenical Literary Translation (TLE) version took place on February 25. This project was jointly supported by Catholics, Orthodox, and Evangelicals.
“It represents the first Italian ecumenical translation conducted with literary criteria that adhere to the original text, the result of work that involved translators and reviewers from different churches. The work was coordinated by the Italian Biblical Society (SBI) and approved by the United Bible Societies,” as stated on the back cover of the text published by Elledici editions.
This New Testament was translated following the criterion of “formal equivalence,” meaning adherence to the original Greek text as edited in the Novum Testamentum Graece. The translation is literary (i.e., not in contemporary language) and ecumenical, carried out together in the broadest possible way at the moment and open to new future contributions.
New Testament. Ecumenical Literary Translation
This first edition included participation from: the Catholic Church through the CEI, the Orthodox Churches with the Sacred Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy, the Old Catholic Christian Church, numerous Evangelical Churches through the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, the Waldensian Table (for the Waldensian churches), the Methodist Churches in Italy, the Italian Apostolic Church, the Christian Evangelical Baptist Union of Italy, the Lutheran Evangelical Churches in Italy, the Salvation Army, the Church of Scotland, the Federation of Pentecostal Churches, the Apostolic Church in Italy, the Pentecostal Evangelical Churches of the Valle del Sele and Irno, the Christian Church La Gioia, the Assembly of the Brethren of Florence, and the Italian Union of Seventh-day Adventist Christian Churches.
Presentation and Reflections
The presentation was led by Prof. Daniele Garrone, president of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy and full professor of the Old Testament at the Waldensian Faculty of Theology (where he previously served as dean). He emphasized that:
“This is one of those cases where the Scriptures must be promoted.”
As Jerome, the wise translator of the Bible, wrote 16 centuries ago in the Latin text of the Vulgate:
“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”
The first address was a video greeting from Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, who reminded the audience that walking together with this lamp illuminates our steps. The Lamp is the Word of God.
After the reading of two passages from Ephesians 4:1-6 and Luke 4:16-21, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, former president of the CEI, delivered a warm in-person greeting. He emphasized how all of us can converge on Christ and how this in-depth, meticulous work continues the aspirations of the Second Vatican Council.
The Bible is a lamp, a sword, a mirror, but above all, it is the Logos.
Representing the Sacred Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy, Bishop Dionysis Papavasileiou recalled that, in the past, Bible translations into modern languages were made so that they could be read and studied by the people. This was the intent of Luther’s German version (1534), the King James Bible in English (1611), and Giovanni Diodati’s Italian (1607) and French (1644) versions.
The Need for a New Translation
The Moderator of the Waldensian Table, Deacon Alessandra Trotta, posed the question of whether another translation was truly necessary. She affirmatively stated that this was a sign of passion!
- First and foremost, a Humble Evangelical Passion, standing against any tendency to distort the Word.
- Secondly, Ecumenicity, which rests in the hope that this text will become an official reference, born from the belief that the Holy Spirit works when we seek the truth together.
Greetings were also given by Dr. Lenart de Regt on behalf of the United Bible Societies and Prof. Don Luca Mazzinghi, president of the Italian Biblical Society.
The perfect translation does not exist. Perhaps it never will. But translating is a necessary task that is renewed in every era.
An anecdote was shared about Luther, who reportedly asked a butcher in Wittenberg for the common German names of different cuts of meat so he could accurately translate Leviticus and its sacrificial prescriptions.
A Historic Moment for the Bible in Italy
The event concluded with remarks by Dr. Mario Cignoni, General Secretary of the SBI and Coordinator of the entire translation project. He emphasized:
This is a historic moment in the history of the Bible in Italy. It is a new translation made for contemporary readers and future generations. It is ours. We are Servants of the Letter.
The written Word is like embers that ignite into a flame of light when the wind blows.
Cignoni further explained that this is a Literary Translation, meaning that it maintains the linguistic style of 2,000 years ago while being rendered in Italian.
The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, TLE Version)
We conclude this report with the passage from Matthew 6:9-13 (TLE), which contains the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, with the hope that it may always be practiced daily by every good believer:
“You, therefore, pray like this: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our necessary bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not into trial, but deliver us from Evil.”
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