The Orthodox Study Bible and Orthodox Identity in America

An interesting (and lengthy) read on the current discussion. The writer presents a fairly objective/neutral perspective on this Study Bible, treating it not so much for its pros or cons (though he mentions both), but more for its significant status as a sort of sign of maturation of the “American Orthodox Church,” seeing it as a step towards a more entrenched Orthodoxy (in spite of its shortcomings). An interesting take that I had not really considered to date.

Click here

A brief excerpt:

The role of Scripture in the life of the Orthodox Church is often
assumed to be one of balancing competing elements, most often seen
as Scripture and tradition. Such a dichotomy; however, is foreign to
Orthodoxy itself, which sees no sharp distinction between these two
essential agents in the life of the faith. Rather, Scripture is understood
to be an essential and pre-eminent facet of the comprehensive Holy
Tradition. This understanding of Tradition was perhaps best described
in the twentieth century by Father Georges Florovsky as:

“…the paradosis, the handing down of what God chose to disclose and
communicate to men. It is not a particular “source” of truth or
doctrine. Revelation is adequately recorded in Scripture. But
Scripture is, as it were, “stored” or “deposited” in the Church. On
the other hand, tradition is equated with the mind and continuous
memory of the Church. And in this sense it is the guiding principle
and criterion of scriptural interpretation. Accordingly, tradition does
not and cannot add anything to Scripture, but only elicits what is
contained in Holy Writ and puts it in the right perspective. The
Scriptures “belong” to the Church, are committed to her and not to
individual believers. A faithful guide is required for true exegesis.
The Church catholic is that guide. Or in other words, Scripture is given and preserved in tradition. Tradition and Scripture are inseparable.”

Certain general characteristics, therefore, can be outlined that
sketch the way that Orthodox Christians in North America have and
have not typically engaged or experienced the Bible. Traditionally
Orthodox Christians experience the Scriptures not so much through
private reading and study, but visually, through tactile sense, orally,
and aurally through the ritual, Biblical readings and hymnody that
compose Orthodox liturgical worship. Let me explain: the richly
ornamented Gospel Book lies or stands alone as the only text on the
altar during the Divine Liturgy, and is carried and venerated with great
reverence by the faithful before it is read, at the midpoint of the
service.

While the Fathers of the Church encouraged lay study of the
Scriptures, rarely has it shifted the main emphasis on communal
reading in the context of worship. Such study, therefore, has almost
always gone hand in glove, in Orthodox circles, with a comprehensive
approach to liturgical theology and the sacramental nature of the
Church. It was not only for reasons of pre-modern illiteracy or the
scarcity or cost of printed Bibles that Orthodox parishes have not been
typified by a focus on Bible ‘study.’ Rather, it is the fact that for
centuries, the services have been saturated with the language of the
Scriptures, breeding a certain kind of innate familiarity with at least
major portions of the Gospels and the Epistles.