Blackburn Cathedral Marks Centenary With Non-Stop Bible Reading
Hundreds of volunteer readers took their turn at the lectern as Blackburn Cathedral hosted a non-stop reading of the Bible over four days.
As part of the Cathedral’s centenary celebrations, and in recognition of the life of William Tyndale who first published the Bible in English exactly 500 years ago, the entire Bible was read aloud from start to finish.
Individual voices from across the diocese each delivered a 15 minute passage during the reading marathon which was livestreamed on the Cathedral’s website and on YouTube – attracting thousands of viewers from all over the world.
Teams of people from all walks of life were involved – many took time out of their working day, stayed late into the evening or arrived early in the morning ready to take their turn – whilst some groups even slept in the Cathedral overnight to ensure the reading didn’t stop.
Volunteer participants came from across the county and included members of many individual parishes, staff from the Cathedral and Diocese of Blackburn, along with Christians in the free-churches through partnerships with Churches Together Blackburn.
Speaking as the reading came to a close, organiser the Revd. Canon James Lawrence, Canon Missioner at Blackburn Cathedral, said:
We want to say a massive thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who helped ensure this mammoth undertaking was such a success. It simply couldn’t have happened without the people of Blackburn and Lancashire coming together.
It has also been a particular joy to have welcomed hundreds of people to the Cathedral who visited to simply sit and listen to passages of the Bible being read aloud over the last 76 hours.
Reading the Bible from cover to cover has been an amazing project. It has been months in the planning, involving hundreds of friends from across the county, and it has been a wonderful opportunity to listen to God’s word and allowing him to speak to our hearts.
Our prayer for Blackburn and Lancashire is that we continue to be shaped by the words and message of the Bible.
Learn more about the Tyndale 500 Exhibition currently on display at the Cathedral until 18th November 2026.
To rewatch the Bible being read, please visit the Cathedral’s YouTube Channel.
