The Bible Society in Poland

The Bible Society in Poland, previously known as the British and Foreign Bible Society in Warsaw, has been operating since October 1816 and aims to disseminate the Holy Scriptures among believers of various denominations. It is a member of the Polish Ecumenical Council and the United Bible Societies, which brings together 146 national organizations worldwide. Its motto, taken from the Gospel of Matthew 24:35, emphasizes the enduring nature of God's words. The history of the Society has its roots in the British and Foreign Bible Society, which was founded in England in 1804. In 1810, the Bible Society in Berlin published the Bible in Polish, which served as the starting point for the establishment of a Polish branch. After obtaining the consent of the Russian emperor, the Society was founded in Warsaw by Rev. Robert Pinkerton, and its first president was Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski. In its first year of operation, approximately 18,000 copies of the Bible were published, and in the 19th century, the publication of various translations continued, including the Gdańsk Bible for Protestants and the Wujek Bible for Catholics. After World War II, the Society resumed its activities in 1947, and in 1990 it transformed into an independent organization. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the most important publications are the Warsaw Bible, the New Testament in contemporary language, and the Ecumenical Bible. The Society is also the initiator of Ecumenical Bible Days. Between 1816 and 2016, the Society distributed nearly 16 million copies of the Holy Scriptures. The headquarters of the Society has changed over the years, starting from the Czartoryski Palace in Warsaw, and is currently located at Marszałkowska 15A. An interesting fact is that after World War II, the Society offered support to all Churches, and in the 1970s it published the most popular Protestant translation of the Bible in Poland. The Catholic Church and various Protestant denominations are today members of the organization, which highlights its ecumenical character. The president of the Society since 2022 is Presbyter Leszek Wakuła.