Christian books were originally written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.

After the break of

communion between what are now the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, many Orthodox
Churches, like Russian, Greek and Serbian, translated all their work into their own languages,
while Catholics insisted that those three original languages are the only sacred ones. No books of
the Bible were originally written in Latin. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew (with some
parts in Greek and Aramaic) and the New Testament in Greek. The Septuagint, still used in the
Greek Orthodox Church, is a Jewish translation of the Old Testament into Koine Greek
completed in the 1st century BC in Alexandria for Jews who spoke Greek as their normal
language. The whole Christian Bible was therefore available in popular Greek by about 100 AD,
but so were numerous apocryphal Gospels; deciding the Biblical canon by rejecting some of
these took another two centuries or so, with some differences between churches remaining to the
present day. In addition, the Septuagint included some books not in the Hebrew Bible which the
church accepted. The Vulgate is a late fourth-century Latin translation of the Bible that became,
during the 16th century, the Catholic Church's officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible,
and, for most Western Christians, it was the only version of the Bible ever encountered. Aside
from its use in prayer, liturgy and private study, the Vulgate served as inspiration for
ecclesiastical art and architecture, hymns and countless paintings. A well-known group of letters
from Pope Innocent III to the diocese of Metz is sometimes taken as evidence that Bible
translations into vernacular were forbidden by the church, especially since Innocent's first letter
was later incorporated into canon law. Another example is the ban of Wycliffite Bibles in
England. Reason for the Catholic Churchs stance on translations into vernacular is the fear that
those translations wouldnt be accurate, would use vocabulary unacceptable to the church, and
that it would also allow greater independence to those churches that did the translations.
However, after Martin Luther translated the Bible in German, which started the Protestant
Reformation, Roman Catholic Church realized the need to accept vernacular translations, and put
it onto itself to do it properly.
This is one of the earliest works to address that subject, printed only three decades after Martin
Luthers protestant reformation. It is noteworthy that a book about the Holy Scripture in Vulgar
languages was also written in Latin:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1558-De-Vulgari-Sacrae-Scripturae-Cockburn-Holy-Scriptures-LatinChurch-Bible-/400992322423?hash=item5d5d014377:g:z0YAAOSwLVZV5DFa
The other book is by Anthony of Padua, the second-most-quickly canonized saint, revered in his
time for his knowledge of the scripture. He gained notice in his time for his eloquence as a public
speaker, a preacher, and there is a story about his preaching beginnings. One day, in 1222, in the
town of Forli, on the occasion of an ordination, a number of visiting friars were present, and
there was some misunderstanding over who should preach. In this quandary, the head of the
hermitage, who had no one among his own humble friars suitable for the occasion, called upon
Anthony, whom he suspected was most qualified, and entreated him to speak whatever the Holy
Spirit should put into his mouth. Not only his rich voice and arresting manner, but the entire

theme and substance of his discourse and his moving eloquence, held the attention of his hearers.
Everyone was impressed with his knowledge of Scripture. His written word is now held in
highest of regards:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1659-Antonio-da-Padova-Patavini-Divinarum-Sententiarum-HolyOration-Padua-Saint-/400992322424?hash=item5d5d014378:g:51cAAOSwLVZV5DJo