More than Half a million join a Bible Quiz in an Indian State

It’s just awesome! 537,427 are the participants this year for Logos Mega Bible Quiz in Kerala the great and ancient centre of Christianity in India.

The Event

The Logos Bible Quiz, which is organized by Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council’s Bible Commission, provides people opportunity to read and study the Holy Bible carefully. "Our aim is to promote interest in Bible reading and to cultivate a culture of systematic study of the Bible", says Rev. Dr. Joshy Mayyattil the chief coordinator of Logos Mega Quiz. He is the secretary of KCBC Bible Commission and Kerala Catholic Bible Society.

The participants, in the quiz conducted by Bible Commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, are divided into five age groups. People of all walks of life can participate in this popular Bible quiz. Many religious and priests too participate in it.

The preliminary round of the Logos Quiz, conducted in parishes under the auspice of Diocesan Bible Apostolate directors, lasts for one and half hours in which the participants will answer multiple answer questions. Three toppers from each age category will participate in the written quiz is conducted in KCBC headquarters at Kochi. Top ten from each age category from this round will be eligible for the final round which includes audio, video, written, oral and Bible verse recitation tests. Once the final round gets over, the winners in each category is awarded with gold medals and cash prizes. And the champion of the Logos Quiz (Logos Prathibha) will be declared.

Last year the Logos Prathibha (i.e., Logos Champion) was Miss Reshma Pius a 16-year old S.S.L.C. student hailing from an economically poor family. This Bible lover has proved that her family’s richness consists in their love for the Scripture.

A Logos History

The Logos Quiz, in Kerala was started in the millennium year by Rev. Dr. Philip Thayyil, the then KCBC Bible Commission Secretary. As a prologue to the Logos Quiz, efforts like Biblos had been introduced. The bishops in Kerala were impressed by the idea and they gave permission to conduct this in State level every year.

In the following years, the quiz, which is organized with the help and support of diocesan apostolate directors and Bible Society Executive Committee, became more popular among the Bible enthusiasts and young people. Rev. Dr. Cyrus Velamparambil, who served as the Commission secretary from 2001 to 2009 played a key role in making the Logos Quiz popular among the populace.

The interest in the Quiz has gone up steadily since it was initiated in 2000 the Great Jubilee Year. The contest had only 125,000 participants in the first year, and the number of participants is increasing every year. This year saw an increase of 54000 compared to last year’s registration (483172).

A Home Affair

People prepare themselves well in advance for the quiz. The syllabus of almost 35 chapters from the Old and New Testaments for the quiz is announced a year in advance so that the contestants can get ample time to prepare. Often people carry their personal Bibles during travels in order to read the portions. In many cases parents and children get ready for the Logos making collective study and preparing notes in the family. It is not a rare thing in Kerala to see members of the same family, especially children, competing among themselves to learn biblical verses by-heart. In some places, the participants of the Logos Quiz sit together after the Sunday Catechesis and revise the topics. Study guides are also available. Last year more than 10 various guides were available in the bookshops.

In various dioceses, the participants, under the supervision of the diocesan Bible apostolate department, prepare for the Quiz by adopting their own study tools. This year the diocesan Bible apostolate of the Archdiocese of Trichur conducted Logos Family test in which 400 families participated. Similarly they organised a Bible Phrase Writing Competition, in which more than 2500 people took part. Fr. Lijo Chittilappilly, the diocesan apostolate director said that in this competition some participants wrote about more than 200 Bible verses in two hours.

Logos Quiz 2011

On-line registration facility was introduced this year (visit: www.logosquiz.org). The diocesan level Logos quiz will be conducted on the 25th of September and the state level final written exam falls on the 27th of November. The winners of the state-level written quiz will appear for the final round of Logos Quiz on the 4th of December. The final round will be broadcasted through TV channels. The syllabus for this year is as follows: Exodus 16-24; Mathew 15-28; I Peter. 32 dioceses, including one from Tamilnadu and one from Karnataka, participate in the Logos Quiz 2011.

In Future

"Logos Quiz has become a Herculean task for the conducting team. However it is also a pleasant task", says Bishop George Punnakkottil the Chairman of KCBC Bible Commission. "To reduce the preparatory work load, this year we are introducing on-line registration. In a few years we will be able to conduct on-line exam also. Thus the desire of numerous Keralites abroad to participate in the Logos Quiz would be realized". The KCBC Bible Commission has plans to make this Bible Quiz popular in other parts of the world too. For this purpose, the Bible Quiz, which is currently conducted in Malayalam and English, will be made available in other languages, added Bishop Punnakkottil.

To make the Logos Quiz more effective the Bible Commission intends to introduce full-fledged bible quiz using modern equipments and technology. The possibility of introducing scholarship for Bible study for the Logos winners is under consideration.

The e-mails that the organizers of the Logos Bible Quiz receive are evidences for the desire of the people around the globe for such methods and tools for Bible study. The great success of this Bible contest in Kerala could be a pointer for the universal Church – Bible Quiz, if culturally adapted, may be one of the best means for the new evangelization.

(For further details, visit: www.keralabiblesociety.com;

E-mail id: secretary@keralabiblesociety.com)