Armodoxy for Today: Since when Bible Reading?

Social media is full of one-liners that are thrown out like bait, to either catch your attention at the least and to reel you in at the most. Recently I was reeled in, “Don’t ever say, ‘Bible-reading is for monks; am I making my child a monk?’ No! It isn’t necessary to make him a monk. Make him a Christian!” The quote was placed atop a graphic of St. John Chrysostom, a giant of the Christian Church who lived in 4^th century. (347-407AD).

Like many pronouncements made by this revered saint, the statement is simple and profound. But something bothered me about it. Of course, it is the admonishment we expect, especially parents or anyone concerned with the Christian upbringing of a child. But something was off, and it was as simple as the date of the quote.

The Bible wasn’t put together until the 5^th century. Even more, Bibles weren’t readily accessible by the common person until the advent of the printing press in the 15^th century. What did the words, “Bible-reading” mean in this case? Here is a saint of the Church, of the 4^th century, urging people to have their children read the Bible, before there was a Bible as we know it today and during a time when literacy was not common.

When I was first ordained a priest, an elderly parishioner of mine brought a hand-written letter asking that read it to her. This was 1982. I did. It was personal in nature. She thanked me and went off. She was a survivor of the 1915 Genocide and had grown up and formed a family in the Middle East. I wondered why did she bring this letter to me? I later learned that in the old-country, priests would be the learned members of a village. It was common for people to bring written documents to the priest for reading, knowing that they would have confidentiality and a fair interpretation of the words. Yes, literacy was not common a few decades ago, let alone almost two millennia ago. And so, I had to find out what was the source of the quote attributed to St. John Chrysostom? What did he mean when he said, have your children “read the Bible”?

I found an article, “Eight Quotes from St. John Chrysostom on How to Raise Children” and the original to the quote in question was this: “Never deem it an unnecessary thing that he should be a diligent hearer of the divine Scriptures.”

“Bible-reading” was a loose translation of the words, “diligent hearer of the divine Scriptures.” And while this may seem like a mere 21^st century upgrade to the words, Chrysostom’s words mean so much more than reading the Bible. Holy and Divine Scripture have a place in the Church. The Scriptures are a tool of the Church. The words of the saint are a call to attend the Body – the church – the Community, the Corporate Worship of the Church, where the “diligent hearing of divine Scriptures” becomes possible.

Historical context is essential to understanding instruction in all walks of life, especially in the spiritual instruction in the Christian Church.

In the Armenian Church, Holy Scripture is referred to as the Breath of God. It is sacred. The Church shares the Gospel through that Breath. It is in a historical context – the long history of the Christian Church – that the Scriptures come alive.

Our prayer for today is a meditation on the words from Our Lord as presented in the Sermon on the Mount and presented to us as the lectionary reading for the feast of the Holy Translators (the Translators of the Bible). Jesus instructs us, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Cover Photo: Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023