The Bible Society has announced that one more nation has been able to receive the New Testament in its own native language. More than 300,000 Christians are said to be rejoicing in deep Urals Kreshen after the delivery of the precious new volume.

Just one in seven of the world’s languages has the entire New Testament translated, which is just 1,000 of the world’s 6,900 languages, according to the Bible Society.

The Kreshen Christians of Tatarstan, which is a Turkic region speaking a Tatar dialect, have waited 140 years for the arrival of the New Testament as work could not commence on the edition until Communist rule was overturned.

Throughout their history, the small community of Christians in Tatarstan have faced often severe persecution by both the Communist and extremist Muslim leaderships in the country.

However, in December 2005, a nine-year project was finally completed, and hundreds of Kreshen Christians gathered at the Church of Tikhvin Icon of the Holy Virgin in Kazan, Tatarstan, to celebrate.