The Holy Scriptures, as received and venerated in the Orthodox Church, are not the product of a single moment of authorship, nor the work of one individual, but rather the fruit of God’s self-revelation in history. They are the written testimony of God’s acts in creation and redemption, brought together by the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the life of God’s people. The Bible, as we have it today, is not a book fallen from heaven, but the culmination of a sacred process that took centuries, shaped and preserved within the worship, memory, and authority of the Church.
Revelation Before Writing
The starting point of the Bible is not pen and ink, but God’s direct communication with humankind. In the earliest times, the knowledge of God’s works was passed on orally—from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, and through the patriarchs to their descendants. The stories of creation, the flood, God’s covenant promises, and His mighty acts were preserved in the living memory of the people. This oral tradition was not a mere chain of human recollection; it was safeguarded by divine providence, ensuring that the substance of revelation was faithfully transmitted until the time it was set down in writing.
The Formation of the Old Testament
Some of the first writings of what we now call the Old Testament emerged in the time of Moses, who recorded God’s Law and the history of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Over the centuries, additional inspired writings were produced—historical accounts, prophetic oracles, wisdom literature, psalms, and other works that bore witness to God’s dealings with His covenant people.
Significantly, the Orthodox Church does not limit the Old Testament to the thirty-nine books of the Hebrew Masoretic Text. The early Church received the Scriptures in the Greek translation known as the Septuagint (LXX), completed by Jewish scholars in Alexandria several centuries before Christ. This collection included books later rejected by rabbinic Judaism but retained by the Church, such as Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, and Maccabees. The Septuagint was one of the original Bibles of the Apostles and the first Christians, frequently quoted in the New Testament itself.
The Incarnation and the Apostolic Witness
In the fullness of time, God’s revelation reached its climax in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is Himself the living Word of God, the perfect image of the Father. The Gospels, written by the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are the inspired testimonies of His life, teachings, death, and resurrection.
The Apostles also wrote letters—pastoral, doctrinal, and exhortative—addressed to specific communities and individuals. Over time, these writings were recognized by the Church as carrying the same authority as the Old Testament, for they were composed by those who had received Christ’s commission and were guided by the Holy Spirit.
The Canon of the New Testament
In the early centuries of the Church, many Christian writings circulated—some inspired and authentic, others containing error or exaggeration. The New Testament canon emerged as the Church, under the Spirit’s guidance, discerned which writings truly bore apostolic authority. This was not the decision of a single council in isolation, but a gradual recognition within the liturgical and teaching life of the Church.
By the fourth century, under the pastoral care of bishops such as St. Athanasius of Alexandria, the Church confirmed the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as we know them today. The Church did not create the canon, but received it as part of the apostolic deposit.
The Church as the Guardian of Scripture
It is essential to understand that the Bible was born within the Church, not the other way around. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles also preserved their writings through the ministry of the Church. For centuries before the invention of the printing press, the Scriptures were copied by hand in monasteries and scriptoria. The transmission of the text was a sacred duty, carried out with reverence and care, for these writings were not viewed as private property, but as the common treasure of the faithful.
Translations and Accessibility
As the Church spread, so did the Scriptures, translated into the languages of newly evangelized peoples. The Greek Septuagint and New Testament were translated into Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and many other tongues. In every case, translation was undertaken within the authority of the Church to safeguard doctrinal purity.
It is for this reason that the Orthodox Church does not see the Bible as an independent authority divorced from the life of the Church. The Scriptures are rightly understood only within the context in which they were given—proclaimed in the Church’s worship, interpreted by the mind of the Fathers, and illuminated by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible We Hold Today
The modern Orthodox Christian receives the Bible as the fruit of this unbroken history of revelation, preservation, and interpretation. It comes to our hands not as a random compilation of ancient texts, but as the inspired record of God’s saving work, preserved in the Church that Christ founded.
We honour the Scriptures as the divinely inspired witness to Christ. We read them in the light of Holy Tradition, which is the living presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Thus, the Bible is never a closed relic, but a living word, proclaimed in the Divine Liturgy, read in the home, studied in prayer, and lived out in the lives of the faithful.