My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE
By the Right Reverend KALLISTOS, Bishop of Diokleia of
blessed memory.
“ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD” [2 Timothy 3:16].
“If an earthly king, our emperor” says Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783), “wrote you a letter, would you not read it with joy? Certainly, with great rejoicing and careful attention.” But what, he asks, is our attitude towards the letter that has been addressed to us by no one less than God Himself? “You have been sent a letter not by any earthly emperor, but by the King of Heaven. And yet you almost despise such a gift, so priceless a treasure.” To open and read this letter, Saint Tikhon adds, is to enter into a personal conversation face to face with the Living God. “Whenever you read the Gospel, Christ Himself IS SPEAKING TO YOU. And while you read, YOU ARE PRAYING AND TALKING TO HIM.”
Such exactly is our Orthodox attitude to the reading of Holy Scripture. I am to see the the Holy Bible as God’s personal letter sent specifically to myself. The words are not intended merely for others, far away and long ago, but they are written particularly and directly to me, here and now. Whenever WE OPEN OUR HOLY BIBLE, WE ARE ENGAGING IN A CREATIVE DIALOGUE WITH THE SAVIOR. In listening, we also respond, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears,” we reply to God as we read (1 Kings 3:10); “Here am I” (Isaiah 6:8).
The Moscow Conference stated the following: “The Scriptures constitute a coherent whole. They are at once Divinely Inspired and humanly expressed. They bear authoritative witness to God’s revelation of Himself in creation, in the Incarnation of the Logos/Word, and in the whole history of salvation, and as such express the word of God in human language. We know, receive, and interpret THE FOUR CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MARK THE ORTHODOX SCRIPTURAL MIND.” First, our reading of Scripture is OBEDIENT. Second, it is ECCLESIAL, in union with the Church. Third, it is CHRIST-CENTERED. Fourth, it is PERSONAL.
Reading the Holy Bible with Obedience
First of all, then, we see Holy Scripture as INSPIRED BY GOD, and so we approach it IN A SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE. The Divine inspiration of the Holy Bible is emphasized alike by Saint Tikhon. Holy Scripture is “A LETTER” from “the King of Heaven,” says Saint Tikhon; “Christ Himself is speaking to you.” The Holy Bible, states the Conference, IS GOD’S “AUTHORITATIVE WITNESS” of Himself, expressing “THE WORD OF GOD IN HUMAN LANGUAGE.” Our response to this Divine word is rightly one of obedient receptivity. As we read, WE WAIT ON THE SPIRIT.
Since it is Divine inspired, the Holy Bible possesses A FUNDAMENTAL UNITY, A TOTAL COHERENCE, for it is the same Spirit that speaks on every page. We do NOT refer to it as “the books” in the plural, ta vivlia {ta biblia), but we call it “the Bible,” “the Book,” in the singular. It is ONE BOOK, ONE HOLY SCRIPTURE, with the same message throughout–one composite and yet single story from Genesis to Revelation (Apocalypse)…
“One of the primary requirements, if we are to acquire a “Scriptural mind,” is to stop talking and to start listening. When we enter an Orthodox Church, decorated in the traditional way, and look up towards the sanctuary, we see there in the apse the figure of the Mother of God with her hands RAISED TO HEAVEN–the ancient Scriptural manner of praying that many still use today. Such is also our attitude to Holy Scri;pture–an attitude of openness and attentive receptivity, our hands invisibly outstretched to heaven. As we read our Holy Bible, then, we are to model ourselves in this way on the Blessed Virgin Mary, for she is supremely the one who listens. At the Annunciation, listening to the Angel she responds obediently, “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38)…
Understanding the Holy Bible through the Church
In the second place, as the Moscow Conference affirms, “We know, receive, and INTERPRET SCRIPTURE THROUGH THE CHURCH and IN THE CHURCH.” One approach to the Holy Bible is not only obedient but ecclesial. The words of Scripture, while addressed to us personally, are at the same ADDRESSED TO US AS MEMBERS OF A COMMUNITY: Book and Church ARE NOT TO BE SEPARATED.
The INTERDEPENDENCE of Church and Bible is evident in at least two ways. (1) First, we RECEIVE Scripture THROUGH AND IN THE CHURCH. It is the Church THAT TELLS US WHAT IS SCRIPTURE. In the first thee centuries of Christian history, a lengthy process of sifting and testing was needed, in order to distinguish BETWEEN THAT WHICH IS AUTHENTICALLY “CANONICAL” Scripture, bearing authoritative witness to Christ’s Person and message, and that which is “apocryphal” –useful perhaps for teaching, but NOT a normative source of doctrine. It is thus the Church that has decided WHICH BOOKS FORM THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. A book is not a part of Holy Scripture because of any particular theory about its date and authorship, but BECAUSE THE CHURCH TREATS IT AS CANONICAL. Suppose, for example, that it could be proved that the Fourth Gospel was not actually written by Saint John the beloved disciple of Christ–in my view, there are in fact strong reasons for continuing
to accept John’s authorship–yet, even so, this would not alter the fact that we regard the Fourth Gospel as Scripture. Why? Because the Fourth Gospel, whoever the author may be, is accepted by the Church and in the Church.
(2) Secondly, we INTERPRET Holy Scripture THROUGH and IN the Church. If it is the Church that tells what is Scripture, equally IT IS THE CHURCH THAT TELLS US HOW SCRIPTURE IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD. Coming upon the Ethiopian as he read the Old Testament in his chariot, Philip the Apostle asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” “How can I,” answered the Ethiopian, “UNLESS SOMEONE GUIDES ME?” (Acts 8:30-31). His difficulty is also ours. The words of Scripture are not always self-explanatory. The Holy Bible has a marvelous underlying simplicity, but when studied in detail it can prove a difficult book. God does indeed speak directly to the heart of each one of us during our Scripture reading–as Saint Tikhon says, our reading is a personal dialogue between each one and Christ Himself–but WE ALSO NEED GUIDANCE. And OUR GUIDE IS THE CHURCH. We make full use of our private understanding, illuminated by the Spirit; we make full use of biblical individual opinions, whether our own or those of the scholars, TO THE JUDGMENT OF THE CHURCH.
We read the Holy Bible personally, but NOT AS ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS. We say not “I” but “we.” We read AS THE MEMBERS OF A FAMILY, THE FAMILY OF THE Orthodox Catholic Church. We read in communion with all the other members of the Body of Christ in all parts of the world and in all generations of time. This COMMUNAL or CATHOLIC approach to the Holy Bible is underlined in one of the questions asked of a convert at the reception service used in the Russian Church: “Do you acknowledge that the Holy Scripture MUST BE ACCEPTED AND INTERPRETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BELIEF WHICH HAS BEEN HANDED DOWN BY THE HoLY Fathers, and which the Holy Orthodox Church, our Mother, had always held and still does hold?” the DECISIVE CRITERION OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT SCRIPTURE MEANS IS THE MIND OF THE CHURCH. The Holy Bible IS THE BOOK OF THE CHURCH.
To discover this “mind of the Church,” where do we begin? A first step is to see how Holy Scripture is used in worship. How, in particular, are biblical lessons chosen for reading at the different feasts? A second step is to consult the writings of the Church Fathers, especially Saint John Chrysostom. How do they analyze and apply the text of Scripture? An ecclesial manner of reading the Holy Bible is in this way both LITURGICAL and PATRISTIC…
“In the words of Father Alexander Schmemann, “A Christian is the one who, wherever he looks, finds everywhere Christ, and rejoices in Him.” This is true in particular of the Biblical Christian. Wherever he looks, one every page, he finds everywhere CHRIST. [Source: The Orthodox Study Bible]
________________
“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God