Miraculously, when a fire burned a Mississippi church to the ground in August, a 180-year-old bible survived nearly untouched, despite being right in the middle of the fire.
How the 180-Year-Old Bible Survived the Fire
Actually, no one knows the answer to this question because the fact that the 180-year-old bible survived is a miracle in itself.
On the night of August 13, 2022, a fire broke out in College Hill Presbyterian Church of Oxford, Mississippi, destroying the sanctuary in which the historic Bible sat.
Understandably, the church congregation, as well as the community was devastated to see the damage the fire caused to this historic church, which was built in 1844.
“When I came down here and saw…it was just…it’s like your best friend that you ever had in your life had passed away,” JD Frierson, one congregant interviewed by ABC told reporters. Frierson had been attending the church since she married her husband in 1970. The couple had chosen College Hill Presbyterian Church as their church because her Frierson’s husband’s family had helped build the church.
Frierson got a call on the night of the fire, and she told ABC reporters that “the news hit her like the biggest 4×4” that she’d ever seen.
College Hill Presbyterian Church wrote on their website, ““This historical building, constructed in 1844, was a significant part of our church’s rich history, and we are mourning its loss.”
Acknowledging that they would also move on from the loss, the website also said, “However, College Hill Presbyterian Church is a body of believers, not a building. While we are devastated by the loss, we will continue to gather and unite with great hope and joy as a congregation to worship the Lord who has faithfully shepherded and loved this church for so long.”
The Fire Department reported the tragedy on Facebook:
Much of the community responded with sympathy, as well as gratitude that the fire department eventually stopped the fire and kept it from reaching the education building.
One Facebook user posted, “So sad to me. I remember this beautiful and historical church. Sorry that this happened.”
Another said, “Such a tragic, historical loss!”
Many people posted that they would be praying for the congregation that lost their church.
A user addressing the fire department said, “Thank you all for everything you did for our church. You went above and beyond – thank you for saving the old pulpit Bible. That means more than you can know.”
What Was Left After the Fire?
Much of the contents of the historic church had been maintained and cared for, such as the original pulpit upon which the historic Bible sat at the time of the fire, the pews, and the stained glass.
But all of these precious historic items were destroyed in the fire, that is, except the Bible that had been used by church leaders since the founding of this historic church 180 years ago. This Bible also traditionally stayed open on the pulpit, and at the time of the fire, it remained there, as usual. Only, the Bible had been closed by someone the night before, which is one reason some of the congregation believe the 180-year-old bible survived.
While the congregation is mourning, the survival of this Bible has sent a message of hope in this difficult time.
“The first response on Sunday is heartbreak,” Doug Paul, a church elder explained. “But there is just as much as there is a heartbreak, there’s also hope and a confidence that, if God protected us for the first 180 years, there’s no reason why we’re not going to build again and be protected for another 180.”
The church community took the miracle of the Bible’s survival as a sign.
As Paul put it, “We are a Bible-believing church, and we believe that that is the word of God, and that is sustaining, and so the idea that essentially nothing in this church survived but the word of God—that’s not lost on us.”
Their belief in the Bible being God’s Word comes from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Watch an interview about the church fire with the church leaders, who share about how the 180-year-old bible survived here: