Unit 1: The Scriptures (Lessons 1, 2 & 3) Reflection questions: - Who wrote the Bible?

- Which Scripture was used by Jesus and the Apostles? (1 Timothy 4:6, 13, 16)? The Holy Bible is the record of the revelation to God to man, through the prophets and Jesus Christ - Revelation of Divine Truth to man, but bounded by the language of man. Moses, the prophets and the Apostles all had Divine Inspiration, but expressed in their own language, words and persepectives - The purpose of Scripture is found in John 20:30-31 i.e., And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you have life in His name. - Every word in Scripture presupposes faith in God. The Holy Bible was never intended to be an isolated manuscript, nor the fruit of scientific or historical research. Rather, the Holy Bible is a faith document for the children of God and was intended to be read and interpreted within a Canon of Truth i.e., the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Christians must always remember that the Word (the second person of the Holy Trinity) is eternal (John 21:25). From the Nicene Creed begotten of the Father before all worlds - We know that Jesus only wrote once i.e., John 8:6 But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. Church views differ on what He wrote - some say 10 commandments, some say the name of the accusers but whatever was written will not change our understanding of Christ - So, if Jesus did not write the Bible, what did he do? He established the Church - Regarding authorship of the various texts of the Bible, there is no doubt that inspired and holy people are attributed authorship of Books. However, this does not necessarily mean that person wrote it themselves e.g., Moses wrote the first 5 Books of OT (Pentateuch), but who then wrote about Moses death? St. Pauls authorship of Hebrews is questioned, but we are comforted by the wisdom of the early Church that even if St Paul himself did not write, it was his teachings (i.e., different understanding of authorship in ancient days)

Scripture and Tradition - For the Orthodox Church, the Holy Scripture is our Tradition. It was the Church that wrote down the words of Scripture (from Moses, to the Apostles and St. Paul). It was the Chuch that preserved the words of Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). It was the Church that told us what Scripture is she chose from among several texts (Luke 1:1-4) and selected those that upheld the Canon of Truth. - It is the Church alone that correctly interprets the Scripture because she alone upheld the fullness of Christs teachings. The Canon of the Bible is closed, and no books or new teachings are added - This is different in other Christian denominations, such as the Roman Catholic where teachings are added (e.g., the Immaculate Conception or papal infallibility) or the Protestant were teachings and beliefs are taken away (Sola Scripture, or Scripture alone and the changing on Sacraments of Holy Qurbana, Baptism, priesthood and Confession).

The Holy Bible

The Holy Bible is the Divinely inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) The Holy Bible has two parts Old and New, but entire book is one message, one Word i.e., Jesus Christ Regardless of what National Geographic or Time Magazine claim, there are no lost books as all the writings that were available during the first several hundred years of the Church were known rather, the Church determined that these writings did not uphold the full revelation of Christ, and were rejected (not lost).

New Testament New Testament is 27 books, from Matthew to Revelation, that is not disputed by most Christian denominations How were these books selected? By the Church. In 367 A.D., St. Athanasius wrote a Paschal Letter where the books of the NT were listed in the order it is seen in todays Holy Gospel. However, St. Athanasius did not decide this individually, but rather these were the teachings of Christ that were being read in Churches at that time. Writings from a local council held earlier at Carthage in 318AD also made note of these books. This is a reflection of the authority and sacredness of oral teachings, which upheld the teachings of Christ to His Apostles.

Opposition to Revelation of John continued until the 10th century, and in Eastern Orthodox Lectionary the Scripture readings are not selected from Revelations as their Lectionary was set prior to the 10th century

From Athanasius' 39th Paschal Letter in the year 367: Since, however, we have spoken of the heretics as dead but of ourselves as possessors of the divine writings unto salvation, and since I am afraid that -- as Paul has written to the Corinthians [2 Cor. 11:3] -- some guileless persons may be led astray from their purity and holiness by the craftiness of certain men and begin thereafter to pay attention to other books, the so-called apocryphal writings, being deceived by their possession of the same names as the genuine books, I therefore exhort you to patience when, out of regard to the Church's need and benefit, I mention in my letter matters with which you are acquainted. It being my intention to mention these matters, I shall, for the commendation of my venture, follow the example of the evangelist Luke and say [cf. Luke 1:1-4]: Since some have taken in hand to set in order for themselves the so-called apocrypha and to mingle them with the God-inspired scripture, concerning which we have attained to a sure persuasion, according to what the original eye-witness and ministers of the word have delivered unto our fathers, I also, having been urged by true brethren and having investigated the matter from the beginning, have decided to set forth in order the writings that have been put in the canon, that have been handed down and confirmed as divine, in order that every one who has been led astray may condemn his seducers, and that every one who has remained stainless may rejoice, being again reminded of that. Athanasius now in the first place enumerates the scriptures of the Old Testament. He then proceeds: Continuing, I must without hesitation mention the scriptures of the New Testament; they are the following: the four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, after them the Acts of the Apostles and the seven so-called catholic epistles of the apostles -- namely, one of James, two of Peter, then three of John and after these one of Jude. In addition there are fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul written in the following order: the first to the Romans, then two to the Corinthians and then after these the one to the Galatians, following it the one to the Ephesians, thereafter the one to the Philippians and the one to the Colossians and two to the Thessalonians and the epistle to

the Hebrews and then immediately two to Timothy , one to Titus and lastly the one to Philemon. Yet further the Revelation of John These are the springs of salvation, in order that he who is thirsty may fully refresh himself with the words contained in them. In them alone is the doctrine of piety proclaimed. Let no one add anything to them or take anything away from them... But for the sake of greater accuracy I add, being constrained to write, that there are also other books besides these, which have not indeed been put in the canon, but have been appointed by the Fathers as reading-matter for those who have just come forward and which to be instructed in the doctrine of piety: the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobias, the so-called Teaching [Didache] of the Apostles, and the Shepherd. And although, beloved, the former are in the canon and the latter serve as reading matter, yet mention is nowhere made of the apocrypha; rather they are a fabrication of the heretics, who write them down when it pleases them and generously assign to them an early date of composition in order that they may be able to draw upon them as supposedly ancient writings and have in them occasion to deceive the guileless.

Old Testament Number of Books are disputed: - Old Testament is coined by Christians, and is the same Word that is shared by the Jewish and Christians - A Council of Jewish Rabbis held in a place called Jamnia closed the canon of Bible in A.D. 90, and this Bible had only 39 books. One reason they rejected certain known writings was if it was written in Greek, it was viewed to be perverted by Christians (e.g., Maccabes) - Early Christians used Greek as their language of communications because of the importance of Alexandria. It was just like the new generations of the Malankara Orthodox Church use English instead of Malayalam (Fr. Reji Mathew, Is there an Orthodox Bible?, St Gregorios Souvenir 2003). This Greek book is called the Septuagint (meaning 70, because of number of people involved in writing) The Years there were no Scripture how was Church guided? What was right and wrong? Centuries go buy Acts 20:35 Scripture is within Tradition Scripture and Tradition Scripture Alone Orthodox interpretation of Scripture is typological we look at the words and seek understanding of what it means. It does not have to be literal If people rejected Council it wasn't Great

The Orthodox Church is Evangelical, but not Protestant. It is Orthodox, but not Jewish. It is Catholic, but not Roman. It isn't non-denominational - it is predenominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago.

November 22, 2009 Review: OLD TESTAMENT - This is the Scripture referenced in the New Testament - The Septuagint is the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE in Alexandria. This was the Jewish Bible until the Council of Rabbis in 90A.D. at Jamnia, where their Canon was closed and books perverted by Christianity written in Greek were rejected (Maccabees, Tobit, etc), and this is why there are 39 books - Why Greek? Just like today, the Diaspora of Malayalees speak English similarly, Alexandria was a great cultural center and used Greek - How many books in Septuagint? 46 to 50 will study more. But not done at Council of Trent Review: NEW TESTAMENT - New Testament is 27 books, from Matthew to Revelation, that is not disputed by most Christian denominations - How were these books selected? By the Church. In 367 A.D., St. Athanasius wrote a Festal Letter where the books of the NT were clearly listed. - Opposition to Revelation of John continued until the 10th century, and in Eastern Orthodox Lectionary the readings are not selected from Revelations for this reason The Use of the Bible: Read book, ask if anything missing? - John 20:30-31: - Bible is a Faith document every word in Scripture is put in context and understanding of one who believes in Christ - Question: Scripture alone, Scripture and Tradition, or Scripture in Tradition? Is Scripture self-interpreting? 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God 2 Peter 1:20-21 No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for .. Acts 8:30-31 How can I, unless someone guides me? Patristic Teaching .. understanding Scripture using the guidance of the Church Fathers If someone comes up with a new way to understand the Bible .. its wrong Who wrote the Scripture? The Church Who are the holy men of God? The Church

Early Church Acts 9:3-5, Colossians 1:24, 1 Corinthians 12:12, etc. Christ and His Body, the Church, were one

Apostles: - St. Peter: 1AD 64AD - St. Andrew: early 1st centurty to mid-late 1st century (Ukraine, Russia) - St. James: 1st century - 44AD (Acts 12:1-2) - St. Thomas: 1AD 72AD - St. Paul: 5BC 67 AD - St. John: 0AD 100AD St Mark (1AD 68AD), traditional name of the author of the Gospel of Mark, companion of Saint Paul in Acts, who later is said to have become a disciple of Saint Peter. Saint James the Just (died AD 62), also known as James of Jerusalem, James the Brother of the Lord, was an important figure in Early Christianity. According to the Church Fathers, he has posthumously been described as the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and is believed to be the author of the Epistle of James in the New Testament, the first of the Seventy Apostles, and originator of the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15. Liturgy of St James St Ignatius born 35AD, died 108AD, disciple of St. John St. John Chrysostom (c. 347407), St. Basil (~ 329-1/1/379), St. Athanasius (c. 293 2 May 373), St Gregory of Nyssa ((c 335 after 394), St Gregory of Nazianzus (330 January 25 389 or 390), St. Severus the Great, Patriarch of Antioch (459-538 AD), The term "Christian" was first applied to members of the church at Antioch according to Acts 11:26 But, disagreements in early Church (goes back to interpretation) The Council of Jerusalem (or Apostolic Conference) is a name applied by historians to an Early Christian council dated to around the year 50, which is possibly described in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15 Marcion (Greek: , ca. 85-160) was an Early Christian theologian who was excommunicated by the Christian church at Rome as a heretic. His teachings were influential during the 2nd

century and a few centuries after, rivaling that of the Church taught no Old Testament (he concluded that many of the teachings of Christ are incompatible with the actions of Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament), edited Gospel of Luke and called it Gospel of Marcion

First Council of Nicaea (325) repudiated Arianism and adopted original Nicene Creed First Council of Constantinople (381) repudiated Arianism and Macedonianism, revised the Nicene Creed in regard to the Holy Spirit Council of Ephesus (431) repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos ("Birth-giver to God", "God-bearer", "Mother of God"), reaffirmed Nicene Creed. NOTE: Second Council of Ephesus (449), though originally convened as an Ecumenical council, not recognized as Ecumenical. Who did not recognize? Council of Chalcedon (451) repudiated the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism (Christological position that Christ has only one nature (human-that-evolved-into-divine), as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ maintains two natures, one divine and one human). Reinstated those deposed in 449 and deposed Dioscorus of Alexandria. Miaphysites: holds that in the one person of Jesus Christ, Divinity and Humanity are united in one "nature" ("physis"), the two being united without separation, without confusion, and without alteration. St Severious, Dioscoros .. not saints in Eastern Ortho 1054AD The Great Schism Christianity in Europe divided into Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Political, who is Christ & Salvation, language - The Catholic Church claims a Papal succession which runs unbroken back to Peter who it claims was invested with the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" (began around 400AD) - Insertion of the Filioque clause into the Nicene Creed in 1014 (talk about how) - Leavened vs unleavened bread - Later Immaculate Conception, Purgatory, etc. (Blessed Augustine was a Latin father who misinterpreted and did not use Greek writings .. original Sin) The Fall of Constantinople (1453AD) was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire which occurred after a siege laid by the Ottoman Empire, rise of Church of Rome Martin Luther (10 November 1483 18 February 1546) initiated the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he

confronted indulgence salesman John Tetzel with his The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money. Martin Luther taught that salvation is not from good works, but a free gift of God, received only by grace through faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge. Those who identify with Luther's teachings are called Lutherans. - John Calvin (10 July 1509 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. In that year, Calvin was invited by William Farel to help reform the church in Geneva Anglican is used to describe the people, institutions, and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. The Church of England understands itself to be both Catholic and Reformed. At the Reformation the Western Church became divided between those who continued to accept Papal authority and the various Protestant churches that repudiated it. The Church of England was among the churches that broke with Rome. The catalyst for this decision was the refusal of the Pope to annul the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, but underlying this was a Tudor nationalist belief that authority over the English Church properly belonged to the English monarchy. In the reign of Henrys son Edward VI the Church of England underwent further reformation, driven by the conviction that the theology being developed by the theologians of the Protestant Reformation was more faithful to the teaching of the Bible and the Early Church than the teaching of those who continued to support the Pope. Eastern Orthodox & RC together for 7 ecumenical councils, then splits occurred Council of Trent (1545-1563, with interruptions) addressed church reform and repudiated Protestantism, defined the role and canon of Scripture and the seven sacraments, and strengthened clerical discipline and education. Vatican 1 (1870; officially, 1870-1960) & Vatican 2 (1962-1965) Anabaptists (Greek (again, twice) + (baptize), thus "rebaptizers") are Christians of the Radical Reformation. Direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites. Anabaptists rejected conventional Christian practices such as wearing

wedding rings, taking oaths, and participating in civil government. They adhered to a literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount and Believer's baptism.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that John did not die, but that his body was translated so that he could "tarry" until Jesus' Second Coming. They base this belief on three passages: one in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 28:4-6), one in the Doctrine and Covenants (Section 7:1-3), and one in the New Testament (St John 21:21-24).

The Orthodox Church is Evangelical, but not Protestant. It is Orthodox, but not Jewish. It is Catholic, but not Roman. It isn't non-denominational - it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Impact on - Who was Christ? - How is man saved? What happens when we die? Saints? - Scripture and relation to Tradition? - Worship and Sacraments Christianity in India Phase 1: Arrival of St Thomas 52AD According to tradition, the Apostle Thomas arrives in India and establishes seven congregations. Phase 2: East Syrian Years c. 189 Pantaenus, a missionary from Alexandria, arrives in India. c. 200 The Syriac Chronicle of Edessa describes a "church of the Christians" in India. 345 During the Great Persecution in Persia, Thomas a Kana leads 400 Christian refugees to the Malabar coast. (Kanaya Orthodox) Phase 3: Roman Connection (late 13th century onward) c. 1293 Marco Polo stays on the Coromandel Coast, describes the tomb of St. Thomas as a place of pilgrimage, and visits Christians and Jews in Quilon. 1502 Thomas Christian leaders ask Vasco da Gama for an alliance against Muslim predators. 1490 2 Indians come to Mar Simeon (Patriarch of E. Syrians) and asked for Bishops

1542 Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier and two Tamil assistants teach the Apostles' Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments to Paravars (fisherfolk on Coromandel Coast), baptizing 10,000 in a single month. 1549 E Syrian Bishop present in Kerala 1599 Archbishop of Goa (Menezis) wants Jesuits to control Syrian Christians, comes to Kerala, Syrian Christians accepts Roman faith, Liturgy books destroyed. Archdeacon Thomas sends letters to E. Syrian, Coptic and Antiochian (Syria) 1652 Arrival of Bishop (identity unclear), disappear 1653 At Koonen Cross, some Thomas Christians declare independence from Roman Catholic authority. Archdeacon Thomas is Mar Thoma 1 Later split Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Phase 4: West Syrian 1665 Mar Gregorios, 1st Bishop of W Syria, comes to India 1685 Yeldo Mar Baselios and Mar Ivanios series of bishops, tension between Catholic and Orthodox Phase 5: British Era 1700+ British more influence 1813 Old Seminary constructed, CMS missionaries invited to instruct by English, Pullikottil Mar Joseph Dionysius II denies. But later Thirumenis allow. CMS instructed not to alter their worship, just teach pure doctrine Phase 6: Split with MarThoma Abraham Malpan, teacher of Old Seminary and vicar of Maramon Church, revised liturgy and excommunicated 1841 Abrahama Malpan sends his nephew to Patriarch of Antioch, comes back a bishop in 1843. Confusion cleared up in 1846 Phase 7: Factions 1912 Catholicate (local Patriarch) is established, rival factions in Kerala, Pathrachese 1930 Mar Ivanios joins Catholic (Syro-Malankara), Supreme Court verdicts, etc 1947 Church of South India is formed, combining formerly Anglican, Congregationalist, Reformed, and Methodist denominations; soon followed by Church of North India (CNI).