letter from Cuba
Eleven years after it began, a small network of Cuban Biblical-language teachers, taught by scholars in the UK, is thriving in Christian service.
In 2013, as part of its International Scholars Programme, Tyndale House partnered with Cuba para Cristo (translates as Cuba for Christ) to establish local Biblical-language teachers in Cuba.
Tyndale House, which is based in Cambridge, is an international centre for research that specialises in the languages, history and cultural context of the Bible.
In January 2015, Tyndale House hosted the first group of Cuban seminary professors for an intensive course in Biblical Hebrew. The focus of this project was initially Biblical Hebrew, but the success of the first visit led to a second five-week course in 2017, teaching classical Greek.
Over ten years on from when the project began, there have been many encouragements to give thanks for.
Those who received training at Tyndale House formed a group called CENALEB (translates as National Centre for Biblical Languages) in Cuba. The aim of this organisation is to teach and train others in Biblical languages to increase Biblical understanding across denominations and seminaries. It continues to work with great commitment and energy to achieve this.
Several of the members of CENALEB are teaching Biblical languages (Hebrew and Greek) in Cuban seminaries. Of the ten professors who came to study Biblical Hebrew at Tyndale House, six of them are teaching Hebrew classes in their seminary. Out of the eight scholars who studied Biblical Greek, seven are teaching the language in Cuba.
CENALEB has been able to be involved in consortiums with Cuban leaders from Overseas Council, specifically Daylanis Figueredo, who offer student scholarships for PhDs and Masters. CENALEB teachers have been able to work as thesis tutors in the field of languages.
Despite various challenges and some setbacks, God has enabled this decade-long partnership to bear fruit. Tyndale House expects to receive further visits from Cuban seminary professors in 2024 and 2025.
