The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity PDF
Preview The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity
the Oxford Handbook of THE BIBLE IN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY THE Oxford Handbook of THE BIBLE IN ORTHOD OX CHRISTIANIT Y Edited by EUGEN J. PENTIUC Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2022 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Pentiuc, Eugen J., 1955- editor. Title: The Oxford handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity / [edited by Eugen J. Pentiuc]. Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021057622 (print) | LCCN 2021057623 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190948658 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190948672 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Bible—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Orthodox Eastern Church—Doctrines. Classification: LCC BS511.3 .O95 2022 (print) | LCC BS511.3 (ebook) | DDC 220.6—dc23/eng/20220210 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021057622 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021057623 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190948658.001.0001 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Marquis, Canada Contents Foreword by Elpidophoros, Archbishop of America ix Acknowledgments xi List of Contributors xiii Introduction: The Bible in Orthodox Christianity: Balancing Tradition with Modernity 1 Eugen J. Pentiuc PART I. TEXT 1. Th e Place of the Hebrew Old Testament Text in the Eastern Church 23 Miltiadis Konstantinou 2. Th e Old Greek, Hebrew, and Other Text Witnesses in Eastern Orthodoxy 36 Alexandru Mihăilă 3. F rom Suspicion to Appreciation: The Change of Perception Regarding Theodotion’s Version of Daniel in Patristic Literature 52 Daniel Olariu 4. S yriac Versions of the Bible 69 George A. Kiraz 5. Th e Coptic Bible 81 Hany N. Takla 6. T ranslation of the Bible into Armenian 96 Garegin Hambardzumyan 7. B yzantine Lectionary Manuscripts and Their Significance for Biblical Textual Criticism 112 Gregory S. Paulson vi Contents 8. P ast and Current Trends in New Testament Textual Criticism 133 Simon Crisp PART II. CANON 9. Th e Emergence of Biblical Canons in Orthodox Christianity 149 Lee Martin McDonald 10. “ Splendid Brilliancy”: Orthodox Perspectives on Biblical Inspiration 164 Edith M. Humphrey 11. Th e Special Status of the Anagignoskomena in Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy 179 Ioan Chirilă 12. L iturgical Use and Biblical Canonicity 197 Petros Vassiliadis 13. Th e Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawāhǝdo Church (EOTC) 211 Daniel Assefa PART III. SCRIPTURE WITHIN TRADITION 14. T radition: Generated by or Generating Scripture? 229 Silviu N. Bunta 15. Th e Use of the Bible in Byzantine Liturgical Texts and Services 243 Stefanos Alexopoulos 16. R eading Scripture with the Church Fathers 261 Alexis Torrance 17. Th eology, Philosophy, and Confessionalization: Eastern Orthodox Biblical Interpretation after the Fall of Constantinople up to the Late Seventeenth Century 275 Athanasios Despotis 18. Th e New Testament in the Orthodox Church: Liturgical and Pedagogical Aspects 288 Konstantin Nikolakopoulos Contents vii PART IV. TOWARD AN ORTHODOX HERMENEUTICS 19. T oward an Orthodox Hermeneutic 303 Theodore G. Stylianopoulos 20. Orthodox Christianity, Patristic Exegesis, and Historical Criticism of the Bible 322 John Fotopoulos 21. Th e Modern Search for the Literal Sense: Forerunners of the Challenge at Antioch 334 Christopher R. Seitz 22. A ntiochene Theoria and the Theological Interpretation of Scripture 347 Bradley Nassif 23. E astern and Oriental Orthodoxy: A Brief Survey 363 Anthony G. Roeber 24. Biblical Exegesis in the Syriac Churches 378 Sebastian P. Brock 25. B iblical Interpretation in Ethiopian Patristic Literature 396 Mersha Alehegne 26. The Bible and the Armenian Church 411 Vahan Hovhanessian 27. S criptural Interpretation in the Late Antique Coptic Tradition 427 Mary K. Farag 28. Pastoral Use of the Bible in the Orthodox Church 445 Harry Pappas 29. Eastern Orthodox Views on Ancient Jewish Biblical Interpretation 463 Bruce N. Beck 30. Anti- Jewish Sentiments in Liturgical and Patristic Biblical Interpretations 484 Bogdan G. Bucur viii Contents 31. Bible and Archaeology: An Orthodox Perspective 501 Nicolae Roddy PART V. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE 32. Reading from the End, Looking Forward 519 John Behr 33. Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament? Tough Texts for Rough Times 539 Brent A. Strawn 34. The Bible in Orthodox Christian– Jewish Dialogue 556 Michael G. Azar 35. Bible, Theology, and Science: Learning from the Past and Looking to the Future 575 David A. Wilkinson 36. Theology– Science Dialogue: An Orthodox Perspective 589 Nikolaos Chatzinikolaou 37. How Orthodox Women Read and Teach the Bible 605 Ashley M. Purpura 38. B.E.S.T.: Bridging Synchronic and Diachronic Modes of Interpretation 619 Olivier- Thomas Venard 39. Reception History: A Paradigmatic Turn in Contemporary Biblical Scholarship 635 Justin A. Mihoc 40. Modern Orthodox Biblical Interpretation 647 James Buchanan Wallace 41. Toward an Integrative Reading of the Bible 668 R. W. L. (Walter) Moberly Index 683 Foreword At first glance, the Orthodox Church might not appear to place as much emphasis on the Bible relative to other Christian denominations, but, to the contrary, everything in the spir- ituality of the Eastern Church springs from Holy Scripture. The Church Fathers possessed an organic relationship with the sacred texts. They were very quickly translated into other languages as a means for Christian expansion and mission throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. The Bible is the wellspring of the liturgy. It is inseparable from the sacraments. It is the source of iconography. The Bible is the life of the Church at the intersection of com- munion and salvation. Therefore, I am delighted to commend Fr. Eugen J. Pentiuc’s present work: Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity. As editor of the present volume, he has al- most four decades of pastoral experience in Romania, Israel, and the United States, and is a prolific theologian and biblical scholar. He is in a unique position to take on this signifi- cant project with the collaboration of many Orthodox and non-O rthodox biblical scholars, in order to celebrate the fascinating development of the Bible in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity. Regarding the text of Scripture, Orthodoxy has never “canonized” a specific textual tradi- tion (e.g., Old Greek—S eptuagint over Hebrew—M asoretic Text). While always breathing through the Septuagint, the Orthodox Church has not closed the door on other textual traditions, Origen’s Hexapla being a monumental example of textual fluidity. Moreover, the Slavic, Arabic, and Romanian translations, as well as Oriental Orthodox translations (Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian), speak volumes about Orthodox Christianity’s flexi- bility with respect to the biblical text and its transmission. A brief survey of the canonical lists in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox traditions shows a wide variety of views. If the New Testament canon remains relatively well configured at twenty- seven books, the Old Testament canon is quite elastic in its remote boundaries. While all thirty- nine canonical books of the Hebrew Bible are to be found in any Bible of Byzantine and Oriental churches, the number of the ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα (“readable,” St. Athanasius’s coinage) differs from one community to another: forty-n ine Old Testament books in Byzantine Orthodoxy, and the broadest canon in the Ethiopian tradition. Another conundrum is the status of these ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα: Are they considered canonical as are the thirty- nine or noncanonical (οὐ κανονιζόμενα, St. Athanasius)? Put differently, is it the ongoing liturgical use of these ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα that makes them canonical? All Orthodox traditions insist on the “centrality of Scripture within tradition.” While Scripture as God’s word vested in human words remains central, tradition, as the matrix and living context of the Church, is in a continuous symbiosis with Scripture. Note that tra- dition from an Orthodox perspective is more than a mere deposit of faith; it is the Church’s life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit approaching the eschaton.
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