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Blackburn Cathedral will be displaying an original 1535 edition of the Tyndale's English New Testament, the first Bible to be printed in English, in the North Transept as part of an exhibition marking 500 years since the first complete edition was printed in 1526. The Tyndale 500 Exhibition will run from the 3rd September to the 18th November and include the story of the translation, the times it was written in, and the impact of the early printing press, as well as displays of other notable Bibles.
The translation will be displayed in a sealed conservation case, set within interpretive panels tracing the English Bible's descent from Tyndale to the present. Alongside the exhibition we are running a four-day continuous public reading of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, with parishes, schools, and community partners reading in shifts, and a conference for teachers hosted in partnership with the Diocesan Board of Education.
There is a textual lineage running from Tyndale to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The Authorised Version, from which the Epistles and Gospels of 1662 Holy Communion are set, is approximately 84% Tyndale word-for-word in the New Testament, and the Coverdale Psalter we still pray in the daily offices is the work of Tyndale's closest collaborator, who completed the unfinished Old Testament after Tyndale's martyrdom. When the 1662 Book is opened and read aloud, it is Tyndale's voice the congregation is praying. For a Prayer Book Society member, the volume in our case is the wellspring of the prose they pray every Sunday.
For more information about the exhibition please visit the Blackburn Cathedral website.
There is no charge to visit the exhibition, but donations are appreciated to support this event and allow us continue hosting important events in the future.
