Jesus when he chose the 12 Apostles so that they would stay with him and at the same time they would be sent to preach to the world .
The Sunday Service of Synod was held in the open air at Chanforan with its spectacular view over Val d ’ Angrogna . Here , in 1532 at Chanforan , the Waldensian Synod voted to join the Genevan Reformation , but also commissioned ( and paid 1500 gold ecus ) Calvin ’ s cousin the Hebrew scholar Olivetan to translate the Old Testament into French and revise Le Fevre ’ s New Testament . This became the official translation for Francophones , and also the ‘ pure Genevan ’, hence in its English version the Bible for ‘ Puritans ’. Meeting again at Chanforan was to celebrate the publication of a new modern translation of the New Testament this year .
It was Olivetan ’ s Bible that the Pope in the Waldensian Church in Turin accepted as a gift and kissed . It now holds a place of honour in the Vatican Library . Indeed , the Pope sent a notably friendly letter to the Synod , beginning :
Dear brothers and sisters . On the occasion of the opening of your Synod , I wish to express the closeness of the Catholic Church and my own . I salute you fraternally and with much cordiality I assure you that I remember you in my prayers …
And signing off with :
It is with fraternal affection that I thank you and ask you please to not forget to pray for me and for all of us , your brothers and sisters .
There were true debates on many controversial issues such as intercultural integration within the church , and also how to integrate the new models of being a ‘ married ’ couple and indeed a family and a nation . Synod voted that all children born in Italy should automatically be Italian nationals . Moreover they voted for the extension of the ‘ Humanitarian Corridors ’ on which a great deal of the 8 / 1000 has been spent on . Debates followed also on ‘ What is a family ?’ and ‘ What is a life ?’ and on the bounds of palliative care / euthanasia . During his speech at the end of the Synod , at which he had been re-elected as Moderator , Eugenio Bernardini reported that the 8 / 1000 tax contribution had risen to € 35 million .
Richard Newbury
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