Safeliz Publishing House (Editorial Safeliz)

The Safeliz Publishing House is an international publishing organization of the Inter-European Division of Seventh-day Adventists located in Madrid, Spain.

History

Seventh-day Adventist publications in Spain started with the printing of pamphlets in 1904 by the missionaries Frank and Walter Bond. Soon after their arriving, the Bond brothers took advantage of their experience in the United States as canvassers and started to sell literature and trained the first Adventists in Spain to become canvassers. By 1907, there was a small team of literature evangelists already working in Spain. John L. Brown arrived from Mexico in 1911 to lead the colporteurs’ work, and the publishing ministry started to flourish as the group of canvassers and the demand for literature grew. At the very beginning, some publications were imported while some were printed by a firm in Barcelona, where the headquarters of the Spanish Mission was located.

In 1915, the Spanish Publishing House was formally organized under the name “Sociedad Internacional de Tratados y Libros” (International Tract and Book Society). It was transferred to Madrid in 1929, where it operated as “Editorial Española” (Editorial Spanish). With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the publishing house was closed. In the post-war era and with very limited liberty, after 1939, it operated underground in the form of a bookstore. An authentic reestablishment of the publishing enterprise started in 1951 in Barcelona, where the name “Editorial Salud y Felicidad” (Editorial Life and Happiness) was incorporated. In the following year, the headquarters was transferred back to Madrid, and in 1955, the name “Safeliz,” which is the abbreviated junction of the Spanish words “salud” (health) and “felicidad” (happiness), was finally adopted. Due to the expansion of its operations in 2000, the publishing house relocated its headquarters to the city of Colmenar Viejo on the outskirts of Madrid, where it is currently situated.

Among the first works printed in Spain were Steps to Christ, The Coming King, Patriarchs and Prophets, and the Signs of the Times magazine. In addition to religious literature, Safeliz began to produce books on health for literature evangelists. The first ones were “Guía practica de la salud” (A Practical Guide to Health), which was sold with great success for many years, and “Epidemias – cómo combatirlas ” (Pandemics – How to face them). With the growth of the canvassing work and the post-war era perspective, other important works were made available, such as “Moderna medicina natural” (Modern Natural Medicine); “El Consejero medico del hogar” (Home’s Medical Counselor), and “La madre y el niño” (The Mother and the Child) to mention a few.

As a result of the commitment to the canvassing ministry, Safeliz published magazines and major encyclopedias that provided literature evangelists with state-of-the-art publications and made an impact in the market. Among them are the Encyclopedia of Health and Education for the Family (four volumes), Encyclopedia of Foods and their Healing Power (three volumes), and Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants (two volumes). In more recent years, the publishing house launched the “Life and Health” series with best-selling books such as Positive Mind, Healthy Body, Healthy and Strong, Enjoy Life, The Power of Physical Exercise, Healthy Juices, Cancer, Flavors of the World, and others.

The Present

Safeliz entered into the North American market in the 1970s, initially with some of its books in Spanish. Due to high demand, some were translated into English and French and distributed in Central and South Americas. As a result of important agreements with sister publishing houses and territories, more products were gradually translated into other languages in the ’80s and ’90s to be supplied to other countries, especially in Africa, Europe, and Asia. Some of the books are currently printed in more than 30 languages and distributed in more than 120 countries worldwide. In 2011, due to the international scope of the organization, Safeliz became a Division institution under the Inter European Division (EUD).

Considering the developments in the market and the opportunities created by the distribution channels, in 2014, the publishing house started two product lines: textbooks (to be supplied to Adventist schools) and Bibles (to be offered to the different segments and age groups of the church). Some of them are very popular, including the Pathfinder Bible, Women’s Bible, Elders’ Bible, Youth Bible, Couples’ Bible, Disciples’ Bible, Illustrated Bible, and the Archaeology Bible. Safeliz also produces a variety of children’s, doctrinal, inspirational, and Ellen White books, making them available in print, audio, and electronic formats.

Leaders and Managers

Frank and Walter Bond (1904–1911); Eduardo Forja (1911–1915); Luis E. Borle (1915–1922); Domingo Santafé (1940–1946); Enrique Abenia (1946–1951); Angel Codejón (1951–1954); Juan Caparrós (1954–1958); Félix Pagés (1958–1963); Isaías Sanguesa (1963–1969); Fernando Gomez (1969–1973); Andrés Tejel (1973–1990); José Rodriguez (1990–2002); Jonathan Valls (2002–2006); César Maya (2006–2008); Carlos Puyol (2008–2011); Mario Martinelli (2011–present).

Sources

Websites: www.safeliz.com; www.safelizbibles.com; www.publicacionesadventistas.com