Perilous
Times
Queen Elizabeth II marks 400th anniversary of King James
Bible in service at Westminster Abbey
By The Associated Press | The Canadian Press
Ancient copies of the King James bible are carried in a
procession to the alter during a service marking the 400th
anniversary of the King James Bible at Westminster Abbey, London,
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. The first edition of the King James
Bible was published in 1611
LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II attended a ceremony at London's
Westminster Abbey Wednesday to mark the 400th anniversary of the
King James Bible, often considered the most influential book ever
printed in the English language.
The translation — the Old Testament from Hebrew, the New Testament
from Greek — was assembled by 47 translators in six committees
working in London, Oxford and Cambridge.
It came about when King James I summoned a conference at Hampton
Court Palace near London in 1604, hoping to thrash out differences
between Church of England bishops and Puritans. Failing to make
progress on other issues, Puritan leader John Reynolds proposed a
new translation — which emerged in 1611.
Wednesday's service at Westminster Abbey came after lectures,
educational programs and theatre performances around the world
marked the anniversary of the Bible dubbed the "DNA of the English
language" by broadcaster Melvyn Bragg.
The queen was joined by her husband, Prince Philip, and son,
Prince Charles, in leading around 2,000 worshippers.
Early editions of the bible were presented at the altar,and the
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams paid tribute to the
"extraordinary" and "abiding importance" of the King James Bible.
Williams told the congregation that the translators would have
been "baffled and embarrassed" by the idea of a perfect
translation but had sought instead to convey the "almost
unbearable weight of divine intelligence and love" into the
English language.