Church of England short on Bibles

Posted: 2/29/08

Church of England short on Bibles

By Al Webb

Religion News Service

LONDON (RNS)—The Church of England has discovered a shortage of a basic piece of equipment it really cannot afford to do without—an adequate supply of Bibles for its churches.

The church’s General Synod recently voted to ensure that everyone visiting a church should have “easy and unfettered access” to a Bible, after delegates complained many churches were failing to make them available.

No exact figures were available. But one briefing paper, presented to the synod by delegate Tim Cox, said some churches keep Bibles under lock and key, and that one had removed them on grounds that “they were too difficult to dust.”

While the Church of England was hiding away its Bibles, organizations including hotels, schools, hospitals and even prisons were providing the Scriptures to their clients, visitors and inmates, Cox said.

One organization, Gideon International, was credited with distributing nearly a million copies of the Bible across England in 2007, many of which went into schools.

In 1536, King Henry VIII, whose six marriages had landed him in trouble with religious authorities of the day, ordered that an English version of the Bible be placed in every church. The Bibles often had to be shackled to the pulpit to guard them against violators of the Eighth Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”

Although the 16th century Bibles had to be chained down, Archbishop of Malmesbury Alan Hawker told the Synod, at least it was there in a place where it was “critically important” that it was available for use.