The first Orthodox translation of the New Testament into German has been published in Germany, marking a significant milestone for German-speaking Orthodox Christians and scholars of the Orthodox biblical tradition.

The new volume, titled "The New Testament, the Psalter, and the Biblical Odes of Orthodoxy," was prepared by the Orthodox Monastery of the Annunciation—St. Justin of Ćelije Monastery in Unterufhausen, Hesse, a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In addition to the New Testament, the nearly 800-page publication includes the Orthodox Psalter with its traditional division into 20 kathismata, Psalm 151, and the nine biblical odes used in Orthodox liturgical worship.

According to the publishers, this is the first German-language Orthodox edition based not on modern critical reconstructions of ancient biblical manuscripts but on the Greek Patriarchal Text of the Church of Constantinople (1904/1912), which remains the liturgical New Testament text in the Orthodox Church. The editors say this approach preserves the translation's close connection to the Byzantine liturgical tradition and the writings of the Church Fathers.

The translation project took several years to complete. The New Testament was translated by Schema-Archimandrite Justin (Rauer), Hieromonk Nil (Lazarenko), and theologian Johannes Klimmek. The translation of the Psalter and the biblical odes was prepared with contributions from Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany, Bishop Job of Stuttgart, Archpriest Nikolai Artemov, and Archpriest Martinos Petzold.

The book was published by the German Orthodox publishing house Hagia Sophia and is intended both for Orthodox Christians in German-speaking countries and for readers interested in the Orthodox tradition and the study of Holy Scripture.

The publishers describe the edition as an effort to provide a German translation that faithfully reflects the biblical text as it has been preserved and proclaimed in the Orthodox Church's liturgical life for generations.