Bhopal (AsiaNews) In Bhopal, capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, local Catholic Sunil Joseph transcribed the Bible by hand in just four months. "I did it in 123 days," he said. "I wrote 7,957 verses by hand. It may be the biggest modern Bible in the world."
Mr Joseph, who is a public servant with India's central government, began transcribing the text on August 16, 2005, and finished on December 25.
His Bible weighs 61 kilograms (135 pounds) and is probably the quickest handwritten copy of the holy scriptures of the last few years.
Mr Joseph hopes that it set a new world record. "A similar attempt has not yet been entered in the Guinness Book of World Records."
Joseph's Bible has been on display in a local church. "Here, we can show it to everyone," said Fr Prabhu Das, the parish priest, who hopes the handwritten Bible would encourage people to read the sacred book.
Sunil Joseph received congratulations from all over the world. Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), told AsiaNews that he, too, extended "his heartfelt congratulations to Sunil Joseph."
"Copying the entire Bible in just four months is a praiseworthy deed," he noted. "Sunil deserves our appreciation and encouragement for his love for the Scriptures, which led him to accomplish this arduous task".
"I hope," the CBCI spokesman said, "that he may realise other important goals and achieve success".