Transfiguration

The Eastern Church’s perspective on biblical inspiration is that the bible is, first and foremost ecclesial, that is closely connected to the fact that it is the sacred scriptures of the Church, the People of God. The “eucharistic and trinitarian” approach to all aspects of theology is the approach most widely used by the Eastern Church. Eucharistic theology, as we might guess, gives preeminence to the local communities and the contextual character of Christian life. Trinitarian theology, on the other hand, points to the fact that God is, in God’s own self, a life of communion and that God’s involvement in history aims at drawing humanity and creation in general into this communion with His very life. The implications of these affirmations for the proper way of dealing with the Bible are extremely important: the Bible is not primarily read and studied in order to appropriate theological truths or doctrinal convictions, or to follow moral commands and social or ethical norms, but in order to experience a life of communion that exists in God. And historically this was the way the Bible was approached by certain groups of religious persons, namely as an inspiring means for personal spiritual edification; as a companion to achieve holistic personal growth, to reach theosis in other words; to share the communion that exists in God. This tradition of Divine Reading or lectio divina, is, of course, by no means a characteristic of the Eastern Church alone. It belongs to the entire Christian tradition. All this means is that the traditional attitude to the reading of Scripture is personal. The faithful consider the Bible as God’s personal and inspiring letter sent specifically to each person as a means of helping the person reading it grow in their experience and relationship with God. The words of Scripture, while addressed to us personally, are at the same time addressed to us as members of a community. Bible and Church are not to be separated. In the East, the task of interpreting the Bible was entrusted not just to biblical scholars or clergy but to people who the community recognized as being spiritual people (i.e. starets) – people who others respected as leading truly spiritual lives. Why? Because they realize that personal change only really takes place when a person internalizes the Way of Jesus and adopts, especially, His way of thinking – when they acquire the mind of Christ or PUT ON CHRIST. (Important to note, our Divine Liturgy is heavily Scriptural).

Holy Scripture is but one vehicle that God uses to draw us into communion with Him.