September-October 2024

“For from this it is that our countless evils have arisen—from ignorance of the Scriptures; from this it is that the plague of heresies has broken out; from this that there are negligent lives; from this labors without advantage” (St. John Chrysostom – Argument about his homilies on Romans).

There is nothing new under the sun, or so the saying goes. This would seem to be the case when it comes to knowledge of the Scriptures, or, for that matter, of the teachings of our faith. A priest I know once lamented that the youth were able to write down more names of Greek dances than of apostles. Judging by St. John’s words above, the situation was not much better in his time. One possible reaction to this seeming lack of change over sixteen centuries is to say something like “it is what it is.” That was not St. John’s reaction, however: he came to be known as Chrysostom (golden-mouthed) because he saw the problem and used the gift of oratory that had been bestowed on him by God to explain the Scriptures to the faithful in his church.

I mention these two possible reactions because they are relevant to our own lives. In the quote at the beginning of this article, St. John emphasized the importance of knowing Scripture. Given that importance, the question for each of us is: do I know Scripture well enough? And, as an extension, do I know the faith (including how the Church interprets the Scriptures) well enough? For most of us, myself included, the answer, whether we like it or not, is no. Which brings up the question: what are we going to do about it? We can shrug, go about our lives as if the question had not come up, and ignore the consequences that St. John says arise from lack of knowledge. Or, we can call to mind St. Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:11 to “never flag in zeal” and direct part of that zeal towards the study of the faith.

As with most things, there are several ways in which to accomplish this.

The first is the daily reading of Scripture. There are many resources which provide the daily readings through the church year, or we can make a plan to read through the entire Bible in a certain period of time (e.g., one year). One thing that we need to be careful of in taking up this practice is that this reading should not be the same as the reading of a news article or a fantasy novel. The Bible is God’s word and reading it needs to be done with prayer and meditation in order to discern how the practicalities of Christian life apply to us and not live the “negligent lives” that St. John mentions.

The next way to study the faith is to participate in educational opportunities. Our parish offers educational series in fall, spring, and during Lent, as well as a book club during summer. The metropolis offers a series of educational videos at https://chicago.goarch.org/living-water/. Trisagion Films offers videos on a variety of topics, including icons and lives or the saints, at https://www.trisagionfilms.com/videos. If you would like more resources along these lines, please let me know.

An intermediate way between the first two, if I may put it that way, is to ask me questions about the faith. I will do my best to either answer your question or find an answer if I do not know it.

Finally, there are more time-intensive ways, some of which potentially also involve a financial commitment. There are commentaries of the saints on various parts of Scripture. Some are available for free at places like ccel.org/fathers. Others are available in printed from from publishers like Holy Cross, Ancient Faith, or St. Vladimir Press. There are also online classes available from places like St. Vladimir’s seminary (https://www.online.svots.edu/) or St. Athanasius college (https://stacollege.org/coffee-cup-courses/). These allow you to explore a particular topic at a greater depth than the previous options and may be particularly attractive if you can find either a book or a course on a topic that has sparked your interest.

Whatever option we choose, may we continue to grow in the knowledge of our faith and apply that knowledge to our everyday lives.