Norway's primary Bible translation, production and distribution society recently elected a Seventh-day Adventist pastor to serve as chair of the nearly 200 year-old institution.

Tor Tjeransen, elected last month, is the first non-Norwegian State Church member to hold the position. Tjeransen said he is honored by the appointment and that he takes the responsibility of sharing the Bible seriously.

The historically state-church led Norwegian Bible Society was founded within the Church of Norway in 1816 and is supported by many Christian denominations, Norwegian church leaders said.

Tjeransen is the first member of a free church in Norway to fill the position. Previously, bishops of the Norwegian State Church held the position.

"The election of a chairman from one of the free churches signals the level of trust and respect that has been established over the years among church leaders," Tjeransen said.

The society also promotes Bible reading at home and raises funds for Bible work abroad.

Tjeransen said some of his responsibilities include overseeing a new translation of the Bible into Norwegian. The new translation is aiming at "preserving as much as possible the original imagery of the biblical languages" and is scheduled for publication at the end of 2011.

The Norwegian Bible Society cooperates closely with the United Bible Societies and with national sister societies in many countries. The society has spearheaded Bible work in Madagascar, Israel and in Latin American countries, and in Eastern Europe in cooperation with national churches.

"The Bible is the source of our faith and one of the major foundations of western culture," Tjeransen said. "If people stop reading the Bible we are in danger of loosing our culture. And, more importantly, the Bible teaches us the way to salvation."