Wayne Bornholdt the of the Theological Book Network, Inc. receives a donation of books from Nina Chapman of St. Vladimir's Seminary Press at the AAR trade show in Chicago.

At the 2008 American Academy of Religion (AAR) conference in Chicago, IL in November, SVS Press was able to donate sixty of its well-respected titles on iconography, patristics, church history, and spirituality to the Theological Book Network, Inc. This charitable organization donates theological books and print journals  to institutes and schools around the world that do not have the funding necessary to stock their own libraries.

SVS Press participates each year in the trade show held in conjunction with the annual AAR conference, at which scholars from around the world lecture and network with their academic peers. Theological Book Network, Inc. takes advantage of the presence at AAR of publishers of works on religion to promote their charitable ministry: the donation of books to religious institutions in the “Majority World,” i.e. the developing world and the Global South.

Because the Christian faith in these regions is growing rapidly, there is a shortage of trained theologians and religious leadership. Institutions are struggling to develop enough theologically-trained clergy, church leaders, and academics (for both teaching and research) to serve their flocks. Schools are frequently undercapitalized and are working with undercapitalized students as well.

Books are welcome gifts to the people of these areas, which lack the electrical power and technology for Web-based research and reading. A poor infrastructure, among other things, limits the role of technology in many parts of the Majority World. But, a student can depend on natural light, not electricity, to read a book, and the printed text is portable in a way computers are not.

Moreover, books in the English language are particularly welcome. In earlier periods Latin was the universal language for theological education; now nearly half of all church-related colleges and universities in the world use English as at least one of the languages of classroom instruction. Because it is the language of commerce, it has also become the language of scholarship. The Theological Book Network, Inc. recognizes that vast theological and historical resources of the Christian communities are currently available to much of the world only through Western languages (principally English) and Western publishers.

St. Vladimir's Seminary Press is happy to see quality Orthodox Christian thought included among the texts being offered in these regions, and hopes to donate more books in the future. Both SVS Press, as a new contributor, and SVS Library, as a prior contributor, have been added to the donor listing on the Theological Book Network, Inc. Web site. Details of the organization can be found at www.theologicalbooknetwork.org.