The Old Testament. The Bible is customarily divided into two books: The Old Testament and the New Testament. We should note, however, that the word testament is not totally appropriate to designate the character of these two books, but rather the designations New Covenant and Old Covenant. (Some Bibles, such as the Slavonic and Russian, [...]
Matthew. This Gospel presents Christ as the Fulfiller and Fulfillment of God's will disclosed in the Old Testament. Jesus is set forth as Israel's Messiah, by whose words and life His followers, the True Israel, may gain divine forgiveness and fellowship. Matthew presents Christ's deeds and words in a generally biographical order: Birth of Jesus [...]
Genesis. Genesis, meaning beginning, covers the time from the Creation (i.e., the beginning of history) to the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, the book falls naturally into two main sections: Chapters 1-11 deal primarily with primeval history; Chapters 12-50 treat the history of the Fathers of Israel (or the Patriarchs). The first section speaks of the [...]
Greek Additions to the Old Testament (Apocrypha). The Orthodox Bible contains certain other Scriptures besides that normally found in the Hebrew bible and most English language Bibles. The word Apocrypha means things that are hidden, although why so is not positively known. Sometimes these books are given the title Deutero-canonicalas contrasted to Proto-canonical to distinguish [...]
Scripture Readings Throughout the Year. Epistle Gospel Sunday of Holy Pascha Acts 1:1-8 John 1:1-17 2nd Sunday after Pascha Acts 5:12-20 John 20:19-31 3rd Sunday after Pascha Acts 6:1-7 Mark 15:43-16:8 4th Sunday after Pascha Acts 9:32-42 John 5:1-15 5th Sunday after Pascha Acts 11:19-26, 29-30 John 4:5-42 6th Sunday after Pascha Acts 16:16-34 John [...]
Psalms for Special Needs. The following Psalms are especially appropriate for times of special need: When Afraid: Ps. 27; Ps. 56 When Anxious: Ps. 46 When Disaster Threatens: Ps. 34; Ps. 91; Ps. 121 When Discouraged: Ps. 23; Ps. 37; Ps. 42; Ps. 55; Ps. 90 When Facing a Crisis: Ps. 34; Ps. 46; Ps. [...]
