There is a tendency in the Orthodox Church: Very few of the total number of the faithful read and know the Holy Scriptures, and only a handful of Orthodox Christians read the Bible regularly. Unfortunately, some people don't even have a Bible at home. During the Divine Liturgy, the most frequently celebrated Orthodox service, only two sections of the Bible are read: one from the Epistles and one from the Gospels. Nevertheless, all three parts of the Divine Liturgy are Biblically inspired in their entirety: the proskomedia (preparation of the Holy Gifts for their consecration), the Liturgy of the catechumens and the Liturgy of the faithful (the Eucharist in the true sense).
The Orthodox Liturgy is the Bible in hymns and prayers, the Holy Scriptures in images and symbols. Because in the form of prayers and hymns the Word of God enters the human heart more easily than when it is read aloud. But the Divine Liturgy (the Eucharist) is never celebrated alone, but according to the Holy Psalmist, is always framed by daily prayers: Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments (Ps. 118:164). These prayers include Vespers, Compline, Midnight Service, Matins and Hours. These services consist of Biblical texts, especially psalms, as well as troparia and prayers inspired by the Bible.
Over the Church year the entire New Testament and almost the whole of the Old Testament are read at the services of the Orthodox Church. But of all the texts of the Bible, the Psalms are read the most. All 150 psalms are read and sung at least once a week in the daily liturgical cycle, but only at monasteries. The ancient monastic motto “ora et labora” (from the Latin: “pray and labor”) should inspire every Orthodox monk and nun even now. We must pray even while working. Of course, the Apostle Paul’s instruction, Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17), applies to all Christians, not just monastics. But monks and nuns are the first to be called on to pray unceasingly for the whole world and for all mankind. Monastics are Christians who have renounced the world. But they did not renounce it out of hatred for people, but in order to help them in a different way than if they had remained in the world—that is, through their prayer. They pray first of all at the liturgical services of the Church, as well as in their monastic cells, reciting the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”, which was inspired by the Bible as well. Every monk and nun strives to say this prayer as often as possible and in any situation.
In the Orthodox tradition, the Holy Fathers insist that believers read and study the Holy Scriptures. The Paterikon, a collection of quotations from the Holy Fathers, especially loved by monastics, reads: “Whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures” (Abba Anthony). It means that it is vital not only to know the Holy Scriptures, but also to apply them in your daily life and conform your life to the Word of God. That is why reading the Holy Scriptures should not be limited to a merely intellectual reading or meditation, but should be done in the spirit of prayer so that the Word of God can penetrate deeply into your soul and gradually help you become like God: But we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16); Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:5).
From the moment of His Ascension, the Lord Jesus Christ has been present in our world in the Eucharistic Bread, which is His Body, as well as through the words and teachings of His disciples. However, for Orthodox believers the Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper, is of particular importance. It gathers the faithful so that the presence of the Lord may become real among them. At the Eucharist they partake of the Body and Blood of Christ in order to have eternal life: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever (Jn. 6:51). This is where the following Patristic saying comes from: “The Eucharist is the medicine of immortality.” At the same time, the Eucharist is an excellent opportunity for believers to remember the words of the Lord, through which His presence in this world continues until the end of time. For us Orthodox Christians, Christ our Lord is also present in icons. The icon is a witness to the incarnation of the Word in this world. Through it we contemplate Christ and His redemptive mission, entering into a living dialogue with Him in prayer. Therefore, in the Orthodox Church the Word is written, read, sung, heard, pronounced, contemplated in icons, and partaken of in the Eucharist.
Orthodox tradition has always regarded the Holy Scriptures as the “Book of books”, which is interpreted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the framework of the liturgical celebration of the holy Sacraments. In the sacraments of the Church, not the least in the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit communicates with us, helping us penetrate into all the depths of the Word of God. The apostles themselves did not understand the Lord’s words until as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him (Lk. 24:30–31). At the same time, the Holy Scriptures should also be the most important book of every believer—not as an individual, but as part of a living church community. If a person is out of touch with the Church and does not participate in its common prayer, he is unable to understand the Holy Scriptures properly, but most likely only in fragments, and it will not be conducive to his salvation. Why is that? Because salvation is not something individual, and no one is saved separately as an individual, but only as part of a community of other people—that is, in the Church. The meaning of all of the Holy Scriptures is mainly to strengthen the community and unity of people among themselves for their common salvation.
When we read the Word of God in the spirit of prayer, with reverence and humility, we enter into a living and personal dialogue with God. For the Bible is not just a book, but a continuation and expansion of the Person Who inspired it—that is, the Logos, or the eternal Word of God. Thus, the dialogue of the faithful with God in common prayer in the church is further transformed into an individual believer’s personal communion with God at home through reading the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, there is a grace-filled interdependence between church prayer, in which we experience communion with our neighbor, and the private reading of the Scriptures, which even more clearly reveals to us the will of God concerning our salvation. When someone’s link with the Church weakens, his understanding of the meaning in the Bible wanes.
Despite this, it is critical to note that Orthodox believers in general do not know how to read the Holy Scriptures properly. And I don't think that most monks are an exception to this rule. Monastic life is especially related to the spirit of the Holy Scriptures, particularly to the spirit of the Psalms and the Gospels—the sacred texts that are most often present in the daily liturgical cycle. The prayer rule in a monastic cell usually includes daily reading of at least one kathisma from the Psalter. More zealous monks and nuns read several kathismas a day, and some rare ascetics read the entire Psalter daily. The Holy Fathers of the Church say that the Psalms are a summary of the entire Holy Scriptures. The Book of Psalms, more than any other book of the Bible, is a concentration of praise, thanksgiving and petition to God. But despite the fact that Orthodox services contain or are inspired by Biblical texts, they can never substitute for our private reading of the Word of God. For it is an immeasurable treasury, just like God Himself.
Regular reading of the Holy Scriptures gradually redirects our lives, enlightens our minds, transforms our thinking and ignites our hearts to serve God and our neighbor. That is why the Holy Psalmist says: The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple (Ps. 118:130), and, Order my steps according to Thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me (Ps. 118:133). Finally, I would like to emphasize that the very idea of monastic life is deeply Evangelical. The monastic vows of chastity, poverty and obedience are the principal Gospel truths in their following after Christ. On their way to Christ, they gaze at those who have already become like Him: the Mother of God, St. John the Baptist, the holy apostles, and the saints whose lives are a model for them. Monks do not consider themselves to be any better than other Christians in their way of life or in the level of their knowledge, realizing that salvation and all the virtues are exclusively gifts of the grace of God. However, they try to live up to the Gospel maximum, which Christ established: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Mt. 5:48), setting an example for all of us in this.
