Bible theft shocks Hungary

Post-communist Hungary has seen a Christian revival

By the BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest

A rare and extremely valuable copy of the bible has been stolen from a church in northern Hungary.

Known as the Vizsoly Bible - after the village in which it was first printed in 1590 and from which it has now been stolen - it was the first full translation to be published in Hungarian.

The police and border guards have launched a search and the authorities have offered a reward of three million forints ($12,630) for information helping to recover the bible.

Only 20 copies of the Vizsoly Bible exist around the world, several of them in Hungary.

Impact on language

Translated by Karoli Gaspar, the bible has had a vast influence on the development of the Hungarian language.

Another original copy was sold for close to $100,000 at an auction in London last November - perhaps alerting the thieves to the value of the book.

The stolen copy was kept in a glass case in the Protestant church in the small village of Vizsoly in northern Hungary, close to the border with Slovakia.

The lock on the church door was broken with an axe and the bible removed at about 0230 (0130 GMT) on Sunday morning, triggering an alarm.

The police arrived soon afterwards and checks were introduced on main roads and border crossings, so far to no avail.

A Reformed Church bishop described the theft as a loss to the whole of Hungarian culture.