On November 12, 2021, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who was in the USA with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ and at the invitation of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, took part in the plenary sessions of the scholarly theological conference “Search the Scriptures,” held at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York.
The conference brought together leading American New Testament scholars, including Professor Emeritus Carl Holladay of Emory University’s Candler School of Theology; Craig Keener, Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary; Gregory Sterling, Professor of New Testament at Yale University; Edith Humphrey, Professor Emerita at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; Professor Garwood Anderson, Dean of Nashotah House Theological Seminary; John Barnet, Assistant Professor of New Testament at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary; Bruce Beck, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts; and James Wallace, Dean and Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee.
Each of the scholars who came to St. Vladimir’s Seminary presented a paper. Many speakers noted the importance of dialogue between the Orthodox Church and representatives of modern biblical scholarship, which for the most part ignores the patristic tradition of interpreting Holy Scripture, whereas in Orthodoxy it is precisely this tradition that is considered normative.
Summing up the conference, Metropolitan Hilarion noted that the four canonical Gospels are the principal and only source from which information about the life and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ should be drawn. Neither the apocryphal gospels nor any other “alternative” sources can be regarded as containing reliable information about Him. And the most authoritative interpretation of the Gospels is that which has developed within the Church and been approved by it. At the same time, Orthodox theologians should not ignore the achievements of modern biblical studies in those aspects that do not contradict Orthodox doctrine. Dialogue between representatives of the Orthodox Church and modern biblical scholarship is important for both sides, Metropolitan Hilarion emphasized.