Pope Benedict VI and the chief rabbi of Rome will take part in a marathon live televised reading of the Bible.
The pope will kick off the weeklong, round-the-clock “Bible Day and Night” event Oct. 5, reading in Italian the beginning of Genesis, Italy’s state-owned broadcaster RAI reported.
Roman Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni will follow, reading the same passage in Hebrew. Protestant and Orthodox Christian leaders also will read.
In all, about 1,200 people from all walks of life will continue reading all 73 books of the Catholic edition of the Old and New Testaments. Most of the marathon reading will be broadcast on RAI’s educational satellite channel.
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