The church controversy of those days involved an ecumenical fiasco, political meddling in church life, certain worldliness on the part of the institutional church, and - over against all of this - a powerful reactionary, schismatic movement. This movement is called the [[Arsenite Schism]]. It preyed upon real grievances arising from the false Union of Lyons and the manipulation of church offices by the imperial government in violation of canon law. The Arsenites suggested that real Orthodoxy was not to be found in churches and liturgical life and the sacramental ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. Instead, it was to be found a personal rule of prayer – discipleship - under the guidance holy ascetic elders. The Arsenites called on Christians to break communion with their bishops, reject the counsel of priests, to stop attending their parish churches. Families were divided. The followers of the movement were not to eat or drink, or to pray with or marry those in the communion of the Church.

There is a sense in which our encounter with scripture is sacramental, awakening us to the presence of God. One and the same Word of God gives Himself to the faithful in the Holy Mysteries and reveals Himself in scripture. The inspiration of one and the same Spirit jumps like an electric spark between the faithful in whom He dwells and the words full of His power. An early biblical commentator wrote: “we are said to drink the blood of Christ not only when we receive it according to the rite of the mysteries, but also when we receive his words, in which life dwells, as he said himself: ‘the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life’life’�? ([[Gospel of John|John]] 6:63). We receive extraordinary blessings, enlivening grace, through reading the scripture. Well – for all these reasons - I hope that you will agree with me that there is a need to cultivate a loving and attentive study of scripture in our parishes and among our people. In doing so we will be faithful to the tradition of love for scripture, scriptural reflection and application of scripture to life that is a hallmark of Orthodoxy – a love that we find not only in the easy biblical fluency of the writings of the Fathers, but in the time-honoured manner of thinking and speaking among pious people down through ages. Who treasured their Psalters, and knew many of the psalms by heart. Whose knowledge of the Gospels was direct and intimate. Who reflected on the Epistles, who wondered at the mysteries of prophecy. Who incorporate biblical turns of phrase into every day speech. In whose homes the Bible had an honoured place – yes, even in the homes of our parents and grandparents who placed the ‘good book’ in a prominent place as a blessing on the family… In the special respect with which the faithful approached the sacred words… venerated the Gospel at Matins, kissed it at molebens… We encounter scripture in a number of ways in the life of the Church. For example, all of our services are largely arrangements of scripture - and of course those texts that are not directly taken from scripture are influenced – shaped - by it. These passages have been chosen for their edification – and by listening closely to them we may, in fact, be edified. How scripture passages are arranged and how they relate to one another serve as a sort of fundamental commentary on scripture, showing the inner continuities and relationships, foreshadowings and pefigurings, types and antitypes, prophecies and fulfillments. Our hymns and prayers weave together the scriptures and church history into a coherent pattern, testifying to Christ and the way of discipleship. Therefore the most basic way in which a parish hears scripture is in its liturgical life. Attending to the words of worship, hearing the story, praying the prayers, allowing the sacred words to speak to the mind and heart - in the worship of the Church the Christian comes to know the ways of God and to desire godliness. Perhaps the first thing to do in awakening the parish to the scriptures is to find ways to draw attention to the scriptures we are already reading, chanting, singing. We need to listen very carefully to what is right at hand – to make sure that one can hear the scripture in the chanting and music and movement of Liturgy. If the psalmody, the scripture readings, and the hymnody are to be of value in shaping Christian life, an attentive, intelligent participation is called for. The listener must make an effort, be vigilant, attentive, open. Distractions should be minimised. Those giving voice in the services should also do so with full attention. A father says concerning the singers – but it is also true for those listening, “the task of singing the psalms requires the mind to focus its attention on the saving words… When you are singing psalms and hymns, do not give your attention to the melody you are chanting with the tongue, nor consider how many verses there are, nor look forward to the end of the hymns, quickly rushing through as if your were laying aside some kind of burden. If that is your disposition, you do not know what you are saying and you are unaware of the Lord, who is accompanying you and conversing with you through the recital of the divine scriptures…�? All these words, according to the Fathers, can become spiritual food and drink – hearing and meditating on the Word of God proclaimed in the churches grants life and illumination to the soul. Therefore I think that the first, fruitful step in our encounter with scripture is the task advocated by Theoleptos - to strive to enable an attentive, receptive, intelligent listening to what is given to us in the liturgical and sacramental life of the parish. Of course, the lectionary -and preaching and teaching based on the lectionary – is an important way of hearing the scripture in the parish. All preaching ought to have an expository dimension, to have biblical references and cross references, to be drenched in scripture – the preacher and teacher should seek to share an enthusiasm and love for scripture. Perhaps even our diction – our turns of phrase, our typical figures of speech, our rhetoric – in our sermons ought to be informed by scriptural imagery and memorable biblical texts. So often today sermons are delivered as a very informal conversation with nice, but somewhat dim people – far indeed from the beauty and electricity of biblical language – and the challenging character of biblical teaching. Yesterday, Fr Thomas called for ‘well-prepared evangelical and exegetical sermons’, and ‘well-prepared doctrinal and catechetical sessions’. This preparation will certainly involve close attention to scripture. Leaving aside personal, devotional reading of scripture – something so intuitively Orthodox and so deeply part of our tradition – it is bible study that most people will thin if they think at all about the theme The Bible and Parish Life. And it is true – bible study - will be an important part of a parish’s engagement with scripture. It ought to be at the centre of parish education. Church school ought to be a form of bible study – passing on to our children the great stories of scripture. Even, a dinosaur like me hopes, having them memorize key verses from the bible. Youth bible studies might well take the form reflections on issues – as long as these are actually grounded in reading and applying the scripture and not just talk about feelings… The same holds true for adult bible studies. And there are so many possibilities here. Parish wide studies, small group studies; studies based on the readings from the liturgical cycles; thematic studies, doctrinal studies; studies based on individual books; word studies; studies involving difficult passages; studies making use of patristic homilies and commentaries…. The possibilities are almost endless. There are many resources available. With a bit of imagination and energy – and of course, grace - the thoughtful pastor can develop a study just right for his parish or groups within his parish. The real issue is to get people to participate in bible studies. I imagine that in many of the parishes that even have a bible study it is usually the same faithful few who show up. There must be ways of encouraging the faithful, of cultivating a love of scripture and desire for learning. The contemporary Romanian elder Cleopa says that each Christian has the need to read holy scripture - but not every Christian has the authority or ability to teach and interpret the scripture.  Those with the authority and ability – the clergy and those trained and blessed to use their talents in this way – must meet the need of the faithful to have scripture explained. Guidance in understanding and applying scripture is a pastoral task, an essential element of pastoral ministry. It is, in fact, the responsibility of the parish priests to see to it that his parish encounters scripture in every way possible – it comes with the job, so to speak - and he himself must be devoted to bible study as an example and inspiration to the faithful. A priest who does not somehow instruct the faithful in the scriptures is simply not doing the task the Church expects of him. The fact that there is a need for authoritative guidance in the study of scripture arises at some point in parish bible study because while some passages of scripture speak in a simple and direct way, others are puzzling. The Bible is multifaceted and multi-levelled. We find history, poetry, prophecy, apocalyptic and so on, various strands of tradition and theological vision. Sometimes the meaning of a text is obvious, but sometimes it may be obscure, sometimes specialized knowledge or skills are necessary to assist our understanding.  The interpretation of scripture is part of the tradition. It has a certain objective content. Its roots are in the teaching of the Lord and the commentary of the apostles and developed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The interpretation of scripture is something given and received, transmitted in the life of the community of faith. According to the Church’s tradition, bible study will often involve discerning the following levels of meaning in the sacred texts - literal or historical- prophetic or typological- moral or spiritual- eschatological The literal or historical meaning is the basic sense of the text. It is the foundation for the other levels of reflection. It is always important to first of all understand the literal meaning or historical context of scripture. The prophetic or typological sense of scripture involves discerning how persons and events in the Old Testament scriptures foreshadow those of the New. The moral or spiritual sense of scripture connects bible stories and biblical teaching with aspects of our own lives. The eschatological sense understands the biblical texts to anticipate or point towards the Kingdom of God.  St Gregory the Great says, “Reading one and the same word of Scripture, one man is nourished by history only, another looks for the figure or type of Christ, another by means of this same meaning reaches towards the contemplative meaning. Most often, these three dimensions are found there at the same time… in this way the words of God advance at the pace of the reader�? All of these levels are important and contribute to the edification of the faithful, but above all, in the parish there is a pressing need to focus on the spiritual sense – as Fr John Breck writes, to the significance of the biblical text as a Word of God for the salvation of those who receive it in faith, as something that speaks directly to the life-situation of the reader. The application of scripture to life is the challenge we face. With this in mind, perhaps we can pass from my rambling remarks to a quick look at an actual scriptural text – something that can be read in a rather straightforward manner – it doesn’t require any particular exegetical expertise – and has immediate application to every one of our parishes – to St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. -------------Copyright © Andrew Morbey. All Rights Reserved. '''Used by Permission.''' [[Category:Church Life]][[Category:Contributed Articles]][[Category:Scripture]]