Start Date
“How Readest Thou?” (Lk 10.26):
Orthodox Biblical Scholarship
Between Church and Academy
Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) will hold its Fourth Annual Academic Symposium on October 16–18, 2025.
Orthodox interpreters are relative latecomers to the field of biblical studies. When the discipline came into its modern form in the mid- to late-eighteenth century, it received its shape largely from Protestant scholars. Among Jewish and Roman Catholic scholars, there were some pioneers and “early adopters” in the beginning stages, but it was not until the twentieth century that these two groups fully entered the discourse. As we enter the middle part of the twenty-first century, Orthodox biblical scholars, when compared with these groups, hardly seem visible at all within the wider academy, and “Orthodox biblical scholarship” is poorly known, if known at all, outside Orthodox countries.
What would it mean to do scholarly work from an Orthodox perspective today? Is there or could there be a distinctively Orthodox mode of biblical scholarship? In many places, Orthodox Scriptural interpretation has and will no doubt continue to proceed without regard for the concerns and methods of the academy (e.g. sermons, talks, podcasts, videos, etc.). On the reverse side, it is certainly possible for Orthodox biblical scholars to do their work entirely within critical frameworks, bracketing or ignoring Tradition. But what would it mean for Orthodox scholars to pursue a kind of via media, to do scholarly work that is, one the one hand, shaped by and responsive to disciplinary questions and methods and, on the other hand, guided and informed by Tradition?
The aim of this symposium is to gather biblical scholars to explore this question. We will consider whether or under what conditions an “Orthodox biblical scholarship” might be possible and what, if anything, makes Orthodox biblical scholarship distinct from other kinds of biblical scholarship.
The first part of the symposium will consist of a keynote address on Thursday, October 16, at 7 p.m. (EDT), in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium. A reception will follow.
“Orthodox Biblical Scholarship: Possibilities and Prospects”
The keynote address is open to the public and will be published on the SVOTS YouTube channel after the conclusion of the event.
Please register to attend the keynote address (in person or online) by clicking below.
Register Now
The second part of the symposium (Friday and Saturday, October 17–18) will consist of scholarly presentations by:
- The Rev. Dr. Michael Azar (University of Scranton)
- The Very Rev. Dr. Silviu N. Bunta (University of Dayton)
- Dr. Lydia Gore-Jones (St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College)
- Dr. Michael Legaspi (St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary)
- Dr. Rebecca Luft (St Herman Theological Seminary)
- The Rev. Dr. George Parsenios (Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
- The Rev. Dr. Eugen Pentiuc (Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology)
- The Rev. Dr. Cosmin Pricop (University of Bucharest)
- Dr. James Wallace (Christian Brothers University)
- The Rev. Dr. Daniel York (Orthodox Church in America, Diocese of the West)
This portion of the Symposium is open by invitation only. Scholars and students interested in attending the presentations and discussion on October 17 & 18 are asked to email the organizers at symposium@svots.edu.
For more information on the presentations and the schedule, click the links below.
Read Academic Symposium Abstracts
View Symposium Schedule
