Christopher Sauer

Christopher Sauer (Saur, Sower), Senior was the son of a Reformed Church pastor born in Germany in 1695. In 1724 Sauer was among the religious refugees who came to Pennsylvania from Germany and eventually settled in Germantown, near Philadelphia. A man of many talents, he was known as a mechanical genius and inventor, he was best known for his printing establishment.

Sauer was a rival of Ben Franklin in Philadelphia, establishing his printing establishment in 1738. He published a widely read newspaper, almanac, and hundreds of books and pamphlets. Today he is best known for the Sauer Bible which in 1943 became the first Bible in a European language printed in the colonies.

More information about the Sauer Bible may be found at www.biblevisit.com.

Christopher Sauer, Junior worked in the printing shop with his father and eventually took over the shop in 1758 following his father's death. He also became a leader of the Brethren church movement in Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, the printing business and enlarged and expanded until it was one of the most active in the colonies. He later printed a 2nd and 3rd edition of the Sauer Bible.

A motto hanging in the Germantown Sauer Printing Shop expressed the commitment of both father and son: For the Glory of God and my neighbor's good.

We would do well today to allow that motto to guide our living along the journey. Living our lives For the Glory of God and my neighbor's good.