Tiny church finds original King James Bible

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN

Hilmarton, England (CNN) - A little English village church has just made a remarkable discovery.
The ornate old Bible that had been sitting in plain view on a table near the last row of pews for longer than anyone could remember is an original King James Bible - one of perhaps 200 surviving 400-year-old original editions of arguably the most important book ever printed in English.

In fact, the Bible at St. Laurence Church in Hilmarton, England, was sitting right under a hand-lettered sign saying it was an original.

The sign said it had been found in "the parish chest" in 1857, that the cover had been added, and that it was the second of the two impressions published in 1611 - the year of first publication.
But no one knew whether to believe it, parish council member Geoff Procter said. As the anniversary of publication in 1611 approached, they decided it was worth investigating.

"We had no way of knowing whether it really was a 1611 Bible so we had to get it verified somehow," he said.
He and two other church members took it to a specialist, the Rev. David Smith at the Museum of the Book in London.

Smith knew immediately what he was looking at, Procter said.
"We put it on his table and he opened it and immediately he said, 'Yes, this is a 1611 Bible,'" Procter remembered.

Read the rest here

The Feast of St. Matthias

Thursday was the Feast of St. Matthias.  Matthias, you might remember, was the one selected to take the place of Judas Iscariot amongst the Apostles.

I find it interesting that Matthias receives little attention.  Although we don’t know much about him from the New Testament (or any other historical sources, for that matter) I believe the circumstances surrounding his selection are very telling.

First, he became an Apostle because of the tragic apostasy of Judas.  This is a chilling reminder to all of us that none of us are irreplaceable. 

Second, Christ’s Church will continue and advance despite the failings and apostasy of some of its leaders.  Judas was one of the Twelve—one of the “inner circle.”  It is easy to imagine that some of the early followers of Jesus may well have been scandalized or discouraged by  Judas’ betrayal of our Lord.  And yet, the Church continued on despite the falling away of its leaders.

Third, the Church must confront apostasy and replace apostate leaders.  The failure to do this has caused much damage to the cause of Christ.

The Collect for the Feast of St. Matthias:

O ALMIGHTY God, who into the place of the traitor Judas didst choose thy faithful servant Matthias to be of the number of the twelve Apostles; Grant that thy Church, being always preserved from false Apostles, may be ordered and guided by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.