Study
Scripture Studies
“Wherefore to search the Scriptures is a work most fair and most profitable for souls. For just as the tree planted by the channels of waters, so also the soul watered by the divine Scripture is enriched and gives fruit in its season, viz. orthodox belief, and is adorned with evergreen leafage, I mean, actions pleasing to God. For through the Holy Scriptures we are trained to action that is pleasing to God, and untroubled contemplation. For in these we find both exhortation to every virtue and dissuasion from every vice…. But let us not knock carelessly but rather zealously and constantly: lest knocking we grow weary. For thus it will be opened to us. If we read once or twice and do not understand what we read, let us not grow weary, but let us persist, let us talk much, let us inquire.”
Saint John of Damascus in his seventeenth chapter of “An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith” clearly states the importance of Scripture in our lives. The Bible – both the Old Testament and the New Testament - is the book of the Orthodox Christian Church, which we are called to read (and live!) not as isolated individuals, but as members of the Body of Christ.
In the spirit of our early church fathers and mothers who dedicated their whole lives to the study, teaching, and preaching of Scripture, our Scripture Studies were established
…to educate
…to inspire
…and to challenge the faithful to recognize the centrality of sound biblical interpretation for life in Christ.
Currently, two Scripture Studies are offered:
New Testament Study, Tuesdays (10:30am - noon in Founder’s Hall). This course is currently studying the Gospel of St. John.
New Testament Study, Thursdays (6:30 – 8:30pm in Lake of the Pines). This course is currently studying the Epistles of St. Paul.
A third course will resume in the winter.
The preferred Bible for these courses is the Orthodox Study Bible. The Orthodox Study Bible, created by The Orthodox Study Bible Old Testament Project and published by Thomas Nelson, uses the New King James Version of the Bible as the basis for a fresh translation of the Septuagint text (the Septuagint is the Greek version of the Bible used by Christ, the Apostles, and the early church). Comprehensive study guides and teachings bring to our modern world the mind of the ancient Christian Church.
