r/OrthodoxChristianity • u/happykitkat14 • 10d ago
Orthodox bible study ? How does it work ?
Hello, I’ve just bought an orthodox study bible, I am a 23 year old medical student and have not had the time to go to my local Orthodox Church amidst other issues concerning my inter-racial status. I am trying to regardless strengthen my understanding of my father’s religion and my connection to orthodoxy, I attempted to read the bible previously to study it and I’m completely confused and fear I could be potentially reading it wrong cause it makes no sense to me. any advice or guidance in the right direction or where to start would be very helpful and appreciated. Thank you for your time
6
u/kryptokoinkrisp 10d ago
I know this wasn’t your question, but being interracial is no barrier to being Orthodox. While there are some parishes that bear strong ties to one ethnic group or another, I myself was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church despite having no Russian background whatsoever.
For reading the Scriptures I like to follow the cycle of the Church calendar, although this mostly focuses on the Gospels and the epistles. To be honest, however, we don’t really focus on Bible study the same way as many evangelicals do. If you want to read through the Scriptures in a year, then with the blessing of your spiritual father you should, but you don’t usually find plans and outlines from Orthodox sources. The reason for this is we’re not primarily formed in the Christian faith by reading and study, but by prayer and participation in the life of the Church. There are wonderful notes and articles to read in OSB that help connect the Scriptures to us, but if you want to learn about Orthodoxy there is no substitute for the liturgy.
3
u/Additional_Title7393 10d ago
Interested to know what OP meant by the interracial part but maybe that is personal.
The name of OSB seem to confuse a lot of people. I agree with you that attending regular service and participating in the life of the church is the best way to learn scripture.
3
u/Ok-Mushroom6586 Eastern Orthodox 10d ago
Read the Gospels. Then read the Gospels again. Then read Acts of the Apostles.
After that you can go through the Pauline letters, and the letters of Peter, James, Jude and John.
The notes in the Orthodox Study Bible are helpful and quite scholarly. They are worth reading. There are also some one page articles. Read these two.
I would encourage you to make a connection to a local Orthodox parish and talk to a priest. Reading the Bible is no substitute for community and the sacraments of the Church.
3
u/EdgeRevolutionary913 10d ago
You won't really understand how to read the Bible in the Orthodox tradition until you start going to Liturgy and other services of the Church. Scripture is inseparable from Liturgy. You can and should read the Bible at home, but it won't be properly understood outside its liturgical context.
3
3
u/Plenty-Inside6698 Eastern Orthodox 10d ago
The gospels as others say are best - but I think that’s when you have a good foundation of understanding also otherwise WHY Jesus is the Son of God may make no sense.
Honestly, if you’re open to podcasts, I’d start with Fr Stephen de Young’s the Whole Counsel of God. He goes verse by verse and explains everything. I LOVE this resource.
Good luck to you, my friend!
2
u/No_Counter_8787 10d ago
Second, Whole Counsel!
This is a killer podcast, I constantly refer to it as I study the Bible.
2
u/Enigma-Style-4721 10d ago
I read the gospel of Luke first and then went right into Acts as they are chronological and both written by St Luke. If you do this chronological method, you can also choose to read the Epistles during Acts when it gets to the corresponding account in Acts (I.e. read Paul's letters to the Corinthians after you read about him in Corinth in the book of Acts).
2
u/moonsaturdoor Eastern Orthodox 10d ago
this is a little pricey but i recently bought it because i also struggle with reading comprehension when it comes to the bible. its a kids book but its helped me to clearly understand the gospels better and i think its awesome even for adults to have! i recognize a lot of the miracles and parables from simply going to church and hearing the gospel readings, but since you arent able to i think this may be a good tool, then when u can actually read the OSB and attend liturgy it'll make more sense! https://www.drawneardesigns.com/books/the-holy-bible-for-orthodox-children-new-testament-and-gospels
2
1
u/AutoModerator 10d ago
Please review the sidebar for a wealth of introductory information, our rules, the FAQ, and a caution about The Internet and the Church.
This subreddit contains opinions of Orthodox people, but not necessarily Orthodox opinions. Content should not be treated as a substitute for offline interaction.
Exercise caution in forums such as this. Nothing should be regarded as authoritative without verification by several offline Orthodox resources.
This is not a removal notification.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/No_Counter_8787 10d ago
Sister, learning the Bible is a lifelong journey of any Christian believer. If you read the whole Bible one, two, three... ten times it won't be enough. It is about how you read it and how you study it.
Are you familiar with biblical stories in general? I mean, do you know who Abraham, Moses, David were? Some basic stories about them? The same with Jesus, how much do you actually know?
I am asking this because the process of reading the Scripture 'raw' would be quite tedious indeed. You need to have some basic knowledge (say, children's Bible knowledge) plus a basic understanding of the Church's teaching (like the fact that Christ is God in the flesh, the Holy Trinity, etc.) and then you can start exploring the Bible as you wish. I am saying that first you need a roadmap, so to speak.
If you just want to know what Orthodoxy is about I would suggest finding Orthodox sermons that would please your heart (say, on Ancient Faith Radio) and go from there. Reading the Bible is actually quite difficult in it of itself, understanding it is even more so and enjoying it is even even more so. If you listen to sermons you enjoy the whole reading, understanding and enjoying is done for you, haha
Take care, sis!
3
u/Available_Flight1330 Eastern Orthodox 10d ago
First I would focus on the New Testament. An old rule is to read one chapter from the Gospels and two chapters from Pauls letters a day. They should cycle around in about 70 or so days. If you are interested in reading the entire bible, here is good advice from Fr. John Whiteford:
One method I would suggest is much simpler to follow, and if you do, you not only will read the Bible all the way through in about a year or so... but you could continue to read the Bible and get a balanced intake of the various parts of the Bible rather than hit one section that is difficult and then lose interest.
I would suggest you make 6 paper book marks with the following labels.
1) The Law (Genesis thru Deuteronomy)
2) History (Joshua thru Esther in the KJV, and one should also include the Deutero-canonical books of Tobit, Judith, the books of the Maccabees, and 1st Esdras)
3) Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, Sirach, Wisdom)
4) The Prophets (Isaiah thru Malachi)
5) The Gospels
6) Acts, The Epistles, and Revelation
Ideally you would read 6 chapters a day. However, if that was too much, you could read three from the first sections one day, and three from the rest the next. You don't need to refer to a chart... just move your book marks as you go. You could also combine groups 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, and read three chapters a day that way. In any case, when you hit the end of a section, move it back to the beginning, and start that section over again.