BQ 856 – 36/2025
“Make the Bible Great Again!”

2. June 2025

Franklin Graham receives the world’s smallest Bible ever printed

(Bonn, 02.06.2025) From 27 to 30 May, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) organized the European Congress on Evangelism in Berlin. Archbishop Thomas Paul Schirrmacher welcomed the American evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, on the opening evening with the words: “Welcome to my homeland and the capital of atheism, both of which need the Gospel more urgently than ever before.”

During the congress, the rector of the Bonn Biblical Seminary, Prof. Heinrich Derksen, presented the smallest Bible ever printed in the world. This so-called Thumbnail Bible was printed in Glasgow in 1911 and measures 43 x 30 mm. This means that there are 23 lines per centimeter on the Bible pages, which can be easily read with the help of a magnifying glass contained in the Bible box. Prof. Derksen thanked the American evangelist for coming and handed over the mini-Bible with the smiling invitation to “Make the Bible Great Again”. Franklin Graham thanked him for the special gift and remarked: “You need more than a magnifying glass!” This smallest printed Bible is a treasure that he will cherish.

Franklin Graham presents the “Thumbnail Bible” to the audience © BGEA/ Heinrich Derksen

The special Bible exhibit comes from the collection of the founder and director of the “Qumran and Bible Exhibition Sylt”, Alexander Schick. The internationally sought-after science journalist and author has acquired a wealth of specialist knowledge through years of close contact with leading archaeologists, museum directors and antiquities authorities and has been touring Germany with his traveling “Qumran and Bible Exhibition” for 30 years. Schick writes about the background to the Thumbnail Bible: “Technical developments from the 1870s onwards led to the production of increasingly thin paper. Photolithography was also developed. This process made it possible to print photographic originals in miniature formats. Thus, for the first time, not just excerpts but the entire text of the Bible could be printed. The first edition in 1896 consisted of 25.000 copies! The Bible presented to Franklin Graham is from 1911 and was printed for the coronation of George V (grandfather of the late Queen Elizabeth Il). Such miniature Bibles were primarily distributed to soldiers throughout the British Empire. The mini-Bible could also be purchased with a tiny metal box. A magnifying glass is built into the lid.”

The “Thumbnail Bible” © Alexander Schick

Alexander Schick is also Senior Advisor on Biblical Archaeology and History of the Bible to Archbishop Thomas Paul Schirrmacher, most recently Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance and currently President of the International Institute for Religious Freedom and Ambassador of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches to the Vatican.

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