37 mm diameter, 31.103 g, 99.9% silver, reeded edge Obverse: ROMANIA, face value 10 LEI, year 2021, coat of arms of Romania, an image of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Cluj-Napoca	Reverse: bust of the metropolitan, inscription "MITROPOLITUL BARTOLOMEU ANANIA" meaning "METROPOLITAN BARTOLOMEU ANANIA" and years 1921-2011 Issuing date: 8th of March 2021 Maximum mintage: 5000 coins

The life's work for Metropolitan Bartolomeu Anania is the new translation of the Bible into Romanian, published in 2001.

For the translation of the Old Testament Bartolomeu Anania has used as basis Septuagint, joint endeavour of 72 Jewish scholars who operated in Alexandria under the supposed patronage of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Hellenistic Pharaoh of Egypt (3rd century BC).

The translation from Hebrew to Greek was necessary for an important number of Jews living in Egypt and who no longer understood their old tongue. According to tradition, six translators were chosen from each tribe of Israel, therefore 72 in total, hence the Latin name Septuaginta (representing the numeral 70 - difference over to 72 is not clear, being probably a shortening from septuaginta et duo). Septuagint is the oldest extant conjoined corpus of the Old Testament.

The work of Bartolomeu Anania restores the Romanian biblical tradition instituted by the first Bible printed in Romanian, namely the "Bucharest Bible" (1688) of Şerban Cantacuzino which was grounded in the Septuagint. Subsequently to the editions of Buzău (1854-1856), Sibiu (Şaguna) and Blaj (1795, Bob), the last edition which had appeared in the great filiation was the 1914 issue at Bucharest (Synodal edition).

From 1936 over to 2001, all Romanian editions have used the Galaction variant, a translation (jointly belonging to Gala Galaction, Radu Preda and Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu) of the Masoretic text, a Hebrew canonical version dating approximately from the beginning of the 10th century AD.

The Galaction version broke with existing tradition, featuring as hypothetical advantage and justification a tighter closeness to the original of the translation, in the sense that the Greek language was no longer, as in the case of the Septuagint, an intermediary between Hebrew and Romanian, however, on the other hand, the big disadvantage of the eleven centuries lapsed between the sources! The study of the Dead Sea manuscripts, that were discovered in the 40's of the 20th century in the Qumran caves, indicated Septuagint as superior in originality to the newer, Masoretic text.

The Anania translation is a work of rare Biblical erudition in which linguistics, philology and theology are concerned, exploiting beside the Septuagint the Masoretic text as well, together with numerous Romanian and foreign editions: King James, Osty, Revised Standard Version, Today's English Version, Traduction Oecumenique de la Bible. Bartolomeu Anania excels in his striving to bring to life the original sense and expressivity of the original, without hindering the accessibility of the larger public. Original footnotes (eight thousands!) offer to the reader an engaging and spectacular information namely through the huge number of Hebrew and Greek etymologies, historical and socio-cultural incursions, thus enlivening even the driest paragraphs. The translator gives a rich interpretation to anthroponyms and toponyms, nuancing own interpretations in report to the ones of earlier translations, often bringing up allusive, symbolic and humorous senses of the words, potential alternate senses when the case.

The reading is a new and captivating experience to all Bible readers and generally to all people of culture.

By the Synodal decision no. 255/2001 this valuable translation received the title of "Jubilee Edition of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church”, thus becoming not only the youngest Romanian version but also the official one.