Wycliffe Global Alliance is an alliance of organizations that have objective of
translating
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
into every language. The organisation is named after
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...
, who was responsible for
the first complete English translation of the whole Bible into
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
.
Wycliffe is most often associated with the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
section of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. There are currently over 100 Wycliffe member organisations from over 60 countries.
Wycliffe Global Alliance is also a member of the
Forum of Bible Agencies International.
, translations of either portions of the Bible, the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
, or the whole Bible exist in over 3,350 of the 7,350
languages used on Earth, including 245 sign languages.
History
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA was founded in 1942 by
William Cameron Townsend
William Cameron Townsend (July 9, 1896 – April 23, 1982) was an American Christian missionary-linguist who founded Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (now SIL International), both of which emphasized transla ...
. When other
Wycliffe organisations were founded around the world, they initially operated as its divisions in those countries. A new organisation, Wycliffe Bible Translators International, was started in May 1980 to provide this international leadership.
In 1991 Wycliffe International was restructured so that the Wycliffe organisations in each country became fully independent, causing Wycliffe International to become an association of organisations. In February 2011, Wycliffe International took on a new "
doing business as
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
" name, Wycliffe Global Alliance.
Philosophy and methods
Wycliffe bases its philosophy on Townsend's
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
which regards the intercultural and multilinguistic spread of Christianity as a divine command. The organization adheres to the principle of ''
sola scriptura
, meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of aut ...
'' and regards Biblical texts as the authoritative and infallible word of God.
Wycliffe states its focus is participating with and encouraging Christian churches to minister to minority languages, so that every language community can have access to the Bible.
Wycliffe Global Alliance emphasizes its international nature. It describes itself as "multicultural, multinational, creative and facilitative." Wycliffe Global Alliance has its headquarters in Singapore. The Global Leadership Team is a virtual team and is spread across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
Associated organisations
* Finland:
* Germany:
Allianz-Mission,
* Ghana:
GILLBT
* Indonesia:
Kartidaya,
Gereja Protestan Indonesia Donggala
The Indonesian Protestant Church in Donggala is a Protestant church in the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It has more than 40,000 members and is part of the Protestant Church in Indonesia The Protestant Church in Indonesia is a Reformed church; i ...
,
Protestant Church of Maluku
The Protestant Church of Maluku is a Reformed church in Indonesia. It is known locally as: Gereja Protestan Maluku or simply GPM. It was formed on September 6, 1935 when it was separated from the Protestant Church in Indonesia.
The Protestant C ...
* Netherlands:
* Norway:
* United Kingdom:
Wycliffe Bible Translators (UK & Ireland)
Wycliffe Bible Translators is a Christian mission agency with a primary focus on Bible translation for people worldwide. It is the UK's largest Bible translation organisation. It is part of the Wycliffe Global Alliance.
History
Wycliffe Bibl ...
* United States:
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA,
Seed Company
Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruits and vegetables to commercial growers and amateur gardeners. The production of seed is a multibillion-dollar business, which uses growing facilities and growing locations worldwide. While ...
,
Faith Comes By Hearing
Faith Comes By Hearing is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that records and freely provides the Bible in the languages of the world. It provides Audio Bibles in 1,759 languages. The organization is a member of the Forum of Bibl ...
See also
*
Bible translations by language
The United Bible Societies reported that the Bible, in whole or part, has been translated in more than 3,324 languages (including an increasing number of sign languages), including complete Old or New Testaments in 2,189 languages, and the c ...
*
Joshua Project
The Joshua Project is a Christian organization based in Colorado Springs, United States, which seeks to coordinate the work of missionary organizations to track the ethnic groups of the world with the fewest followers of evangelical Christianity ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Bible societies
Christian missions
Christian organizations established in 1980
Bible translators
International Christian organizations