Re-Establishment of the Christian Church in Mongolia: The Mongolian Standard Version Translation by National Christians

Abstract

Abstract: This paper has two main parts: the history of Christianity in Mongolia and the history of Bible translation in the Mongolian language. The history of Christianity in Mongolia and among the Mongols, especially before and during the Mongol Empire, is largely understudied and unknown. I will attempt to show that four tribes, the Kerait, the Naiman, the Onguud, and the Uyghur, who were important parts of the Mongol Empire, had already become Christian, with their own church structures and tradition, by the thirteenth century. Giving the history of Christianity up until the present time, I briefly outline the seven-hundred-year history of Bible translation into the Mongolian language. At the end, I describe the Mongolian Standard Version project, an ongoing activity of Bible translation from the original languages by national Christians.