Tuesday, June 30, 2026 we had a zoom session scheduled for 7:00 p.m. We discussed the small booklet from Met. Kallistos Ware: "How to Read Your Bible." I have tried to distribute this to as many of our parish inquirers as possible. Also, if you have the Orthodox Study Bible, this article can be found there in its entirety.
This session was primarily intended for those who are inquiring into the Orthodox Church, and our catechumens. However, it may also be helpful for anyone in the parish is looking to "brush up" on how we understand the Bible as Orthodox Christians within the Church.
The booklet is available at the following link for those who do not have it:
I have also added this link to Fr. Thomas Hopko's brief introduction to the Bible from his book The Orthodox Faith, Vol I:
This is AI generated, which I realize is controversial, but I thought to share this brief summary of yesterday evening's zoom class on "How to Read Your Bible." If you would like the longer version, please let me know.
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Meeting summary
Quick recap
Father Steven led a Bible study session focused on "How to Read Your Bible" by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, discussing the Orthodox understanding of scripture. The group explored key themes including reading with obedience and humility, understanding scripture through the church's lens rather than as isolated individuals, and interpreting the Bible liturgically and patristically. Participants asked questions about the relationship between the church and scripture, the role of typology in biblical interpretation, and how to approach non-canonical texts. Father Steven emphasized that while the church predates written scripture, everything practiced in the Orthodox Church is scripturally based, and he advised against engaging with popular extra-biblical texts like the Book of Enoch, suggesting they could confuse new converts.