Of Orthodox Bibles and Roman Ccatholics

[ZDHayden]

Hello all!

I have recently found a rather fascinating project to translate the Septuagint and Greek New Testament into English based upon Orthodox translating traditions. It can be found here: orthodoxanswers.org/eob/index.asp

It is not yet complete, obviously, although I am considering purchasing it once it is completed for a few reasons: 1) I have recently began looking for a Bible that is acceptable for devotional and literary use by a Roman Catholic with the books of the Greek canon. 2) I am beginning to think that it is a shame that Western Catholics do not have regular access to those books not in the Roman canon - if only as a connection to our Eastern brethren. Of course, if there were a translation available in the Roman tradition, that would be preferable, to a degree.

That being said, does anyone have an opinion on this in regards to it’s suitability for a “Romanist’s” devotional use? If anyone has any Roman translations or knows of any translations of the Greek canon according to Western traditions, I would appreciate such greatly. Also, if anyone is knowledgeable of both Roman and Greek traditions in translation, I would be very interested in a comparison of the two. I placed this in the Eastern Catholic forums as, unless I am mistaken, Eastern Catholics maintain the canon of their Orthodox counterparts, and so would, I assumed, have a greater knowledge of such than the average Westerner. Thank you.

 

[SonCatcher]

I was just listening to my old pastor’s talk about the formation of the scriptural canon. He suggested that the canon of the Bible you read is much less important than the tradition of your background.

 

[SGWessells]

I own a copy of the Orthodox Study Bible, published by the Academic Community of St. Athanasius Academy. It translates the Septuagint, uses the Orthodox Canon (which includes the Catholic plus 3 Maccabbees, 2 Esdras, Psalm 151, and the Prayer of the Three Young Men in Daniel. Where there is no difference between the Septuagint and Hebrew, it prints the New King James version (why I don’t know). It contains interesting notes, strongly devotional and, well, orthodox, with allegorical and spiritual as well as literal interpretations, and frequent citations from the Fathers, such as Augustine, Basil, St. John Chrysostom, and others. It’s an interesting perspective rarely seen in the Western churches. However, it does argue against Roman interpretations such as the Papacy, so be warned. Nevertheless, I think it a useful supplement to your Roman versions. The books are in a different order, so I bought the Catholic version of those Bible Tabs with the names of the books on them, so I could find them easily.

 

[Alexander_Roman]

I have a Ukrainian-language Bible based on the complete Orthodox Canon (Ethiopian Orthodox include eight more books in the NT, and at least two more books that I am aware of - there could be others - in the OT).

It has the Imprimatur of the Ukrainian Roman Catholic primate as well as of the Eastern Catholic Patriarch.

I think all Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants should read the “Lost books of the Bible” which are perfectly orthodox, but didn’t make it into the canon. I’ve a book on the Church Fathers written by a Baptist theologian that recommends precisely this. He particularly praises the Psalms and Odes of Solomon. The Odes of Solomon are said to have been used by early Christians as pre-Communion prayers and are very beautiful.

Alex