The evangelical church of the Spanish city of Segovia is commemorating its 50th anniversary this year and is hosting an event that includes two exhibitions on the Protestant history of the city.

The first exhibition is called Mud of the Firstfruits and is about the religious pottery made by different cultures throughout history, which has been reproduced by the Spanish craftswoman Ana Jiménez Díaz.

The second exhibition, titled Bibles of the exile, is made up of historical editions of the biblical text from the Audelino González collection, one of the most important in Spain.

The two exhibitions have arrived in Segovia this April, after passing through the cities of Valladolid, Salamanca and Seville, to honor the half-century of the local evangelical church.

Cultural and informative character

The pottery exhibition aims to show in a didactic and reflective way how human beings have left the imprint of their thoughts, beliefs and feelings on such humble materials as clay, stone or paper, giving them a spiritual value with their shapes and inscriptions.

The exhibition of the Bibles aims to present historical copies of the Scriptures, such as the Bear Bible and the Reina-Valera Bible, in their first printed editions.

It also has the first editions of the main Roman Catholic Bibles from the 18th to the 20th century, as well as some materials commemorating the 50th anniversary of the creation of the evangelical church in Segovia.

Three conferences

In addition to the exhibitions, there will also be three conferences. The first, on 20 April, will be given by the writer and historian Mario Escobar, who will speak on The importance of identity and the knowledge of the past.

The second conference will take place on 27 April, given by Ana Jiménez Díaz, under the title When the stones speak.

Finally, Ricardo Moraleja and Luis Fajardo, of the Spanish Bible Society, will close the series of conferences on 4 May with one on Castilian Bibles.

All the activities recall the celebration of Evana Week in 1973, which was a seven-day series of activities, including films, conferences and a children's programme, 50 years ago, from which emerged the first group of people who founded the evangelical church of Segovia, the first in the whole province.