New Issue of "Bible and Christian Antiquity" Journal Published by MThA's "Center for the Study of Patristics and Christian Antiquity"

The "Center for the Study of Patristics and Christian Antiquity" at the Moscow Theological Academy has published the second issue for 2025, the 26th overall, of its academic journal, "Bible and Christian Antiquity" (BChA). The issue includes twelve publications across six sections, covering various fields of Christian knowledge, theology, and history: 1) Critical Editions, Translations, and Commentaries; 2) Studies; 3) Notes and Bibliographical Reviews; 4) New Books; 5) Reviews; 6) Chronicle and Review of Scholarly Events and Conferences.

The main exclusive feature of this issue is A.V. Tamrazov's publication, "Previously Unpublished Quotes from Theodore of Mopsuestia’s Treatises in the Context of Intermediate Data on the 'Sixth Collection' of the Works of Isaac the Syrian: Analysis of Context, Syriac Text, and Russian Translation of Quotes". This article introduces previously unpublished quotes from the lost or partially preserved works of Theodore of Mopsuestia into academic circulation, including In Genesim (CPG 3827), In Samuel (CPG 3832), In Iob (CPG 3835), In Lucam (CPG 3842), In epistulam ad Romanos (CPG 3846), Contra defensores peccati originalis (CPG 3860), and Contra Magos (CPG 3861). Additionally, the article publishes a quote from a previously unattested treatise by Nestorius of Constantinople, "Against Apollinaris". All quotes are examined within the context of the authorship problem of the "Sixth Collection" of Isaac the Syrian. The author analyzes the features of the citations and conceptual parallels with his collections I–III and V, and proves that the second part of the Mosul 907 manuscript (treatises 3–9) should be identified as the "Sixth Collection" of Isaac the Syrian.

Continuing this section is P.V. Kuzenkov's publication, "The Epistle to Michael, Prince of Bulgaria, of St. Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople." This is a new translation of one of the most famous Orthodox spiritual and political instructions (also known as "Princely mirrors"). It is addressed to the first Bulgarian Christian ruler, Prince Boris-Michael (852–889). The author of the epistle is St. Photios, the great Byzantine church, state, and cultural figure, Patriarch of Constantinople (858–867, 877–886). This text was highly popular in both Byzantium and Kievan Rus’ and was one of the first Byzantine texts to be translated into Russian in modern times (1779). The epistle, which represents the archetype of a Christian attitude toward authority, is structured as a brief outline of church history accompanied by moral maxims of biblical, patristic, and ancient origin.

The third publication in this section is I.S. Vevyurko and E.Yu. Kolodny's "An Attempt at a Church Academic Translation of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah according to the LXX. Chapters 7–12". The reader is presented with a translation of the next six chapters of the ancient Greek text of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. In the abstract for the previous part of the translation (chapters 1–6), the authors explained the nature of their work. Their translation is distinguished by a conscious reliance on the principle of ecclesiality: according to the authors, the translation should not contain ready-made church interpretations but should be structured in a way that is maximally open to the variety and polysemy of these interpretations, so that the text appears to our mind as closely as possible to how it appeared to the fathers. Only in this case can the church's requirement to read and understand the Holy Scripture in accordance with patristic interpretation be meaningfully fulfilled. The practical aspects of achieving this ideal represent a matter of translation technique that is currently being tested. The continuation is expected in future issues of BChA.

In the "Studies" section, there are three publications. The first is F.O. Nofal's "'He is the Long-Suffering One, the Leader of Wisdom...': The Natural Theology of Munajja al-Samiri Munajja ibn Sadaqa al-Samirri". This author is one of the most influential Samaritan theologians of the 12th–13th centuries, author of the monumental Book of Differences [between Jews and Samaritans], which summarized not only legal and dogmatic controversies but also the author's own philosophical and religious concepts. The purpose of this publication is to reconstruct the natural-theological issues in the Book, to explicate Munajja's arguments about the nature of the Lord, His uniqueness, attributes, and justice, and about human free will and the necessity of divine revelation. The author conducted the study using a hermeneutical method and methods of historical-philosophical and historical-theological reconstruction. Along with the Book, the Book of Slaughtering by Abu al-Hasan al-Suri (11th century) and the Brief Statement of Creed by the Mutazilite 'Abd al-Jabbar were also used. Based on the analysis of primary sources, the author concludes that Munajja was relatively independent in adapting various concepts of Arabic-language philosophical discourse to the Samaritan worldview.

The second publication is V.M. Franzheva's "A New Subject of Historical Narrative in Eusebius of Caesarea's Church History." The article aims to clarify the genre phenomenon of Church History. The difficulty of its identification is due to the fact that it contains elements of various genres: panegyric and hagiography, apology and polemic, literary history and biography. To clarify this issue, the work is examined within the framework of Greek historiographical tradition, and the evolution of the historical genre is traced by referring to the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, and Josephus. The author uses comparative analysis and a historical-philological research method, which includes studying the genre nature and plot-semantic organization of the text. In conclusion, the author concludes that the generic heterogeneity of Church History is due, on the one hand, to the expansion of the historical sphere (starting with Herodotus, each subsequent historian introduced something new into the historical narrative) and, on the other hand, to the vast and diverse legacy of the first church historian, thanks to which elements of all the genres in which Eusebius wrote are found in his historical work.

The third publication is A.G. Nakaidze's "St. Photios — Philologist and Exegete." This publication analyzes the philological and exegetical methodology that St. Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople, uses in the "Amphilochia" to interpret biblical difficulties. Since the collection is exegetical in nature, the saint-literary scholar could not be limited to theology. The treatises also consider various issues related to the works of ancient authors. In this publication, attention is focused on those parts of the collection in which the patriarch strives to also reflect grammatical approaches in exegesis. Patriarch Photios is a continuator of the Byzantine tradition of commenting on Scripture, which is why grammatical exegesis occupies an important place in his works.

The "Notes and Bibliographical Reviews" section includes one publication by A.A. Morozov, "At the Crossroads of Cultures: A Note on the Project on the 'Octateuch of Pseudo-Clement of Rome' in the Tradition of Christian Egypt". This review offers a brief description of an international research project dedicated to the "Octateuch of Pseudo-Clement" in the Arabic and Coptic traditions. The introductory part discusses the pseudepigraphic nature of the text, its canonical composition, and its place in the Eastern Christian tradition. Special attention is paid to the Coptic versions — Sahidic and Bohairic — presented as independent stages in the history of translating and adapting Greek canonical material to the cultural context of Christian Egypt. The main goals and directions of the project are outlined, including the preparation of a critical edition, a comparative analysis of the Coptic and Arabic texts, and the development of a digital synoptic platform. The methodological approaches and the composition of the international research group implementing the project at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) are described separately.

In the "New Books" section, N.V. Kazhan presented "New Books from the Brill Publishing House for 2024–2025". In 2025, the Leiden-based publisher Brill published books on biblical studies, patristics, and church art. The author highlighted some of the most noteworthy ones in this publication. But before that, he briefly describes three books that were published in 2024: 1) Luther R., Hiob in Qumran. Der Beitrag der Hiobhandschriften aus Qumran zur Text- und Literargeschichte des Hiobbuchs. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2024. (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah; vol. 148); 2) Demiana A. St., Sahidic Coptic Leviticus: Its Manuscript Witnesses and Its Text. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2024. (Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity; vol. 30); 3) Schlichter F., Mythology, Chronology, Idolatry: Pagan Antiquity and the Biblical Text in the Scholarly World of Guillaume Bonjour (1670–1714). Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2024. (Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History; vol. 355); 4) Betz N., City of Gods: The New Jerusalem of John’s Revelation in Early Christianity. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2025. (Vigiliae Christianae Supplements; vol. 186); 5) Stadel S. M. (transl. with an introd. and notes by), The Catalogue of Books of ʿAbdishoʿ bar Brikha. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2025. (Eastern Christian Texts; vol. 2); 6) Hvalvik R., The Dominus legem dat Motif in Its Multiple Contexts: A Study in Early Christian Images and Texts. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2025. (Vigiliae Christianae Supplements; vol. 187); 7) Hein A. R., The Prophet Is the People: An Answer to “Why Elijah?” in Second Temple Jewish and Early Christian Literature. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2025. (Vetus Testamentum Supplements; vol. 199); 8) Jacobs B., Teule H., and Verheyden J. (ed. by), Dionysius bar Ṣalībī: Guardian of the Syriac Orthodox Tradition. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2025. (Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity; vol. 37).

In the "Reviews" section, two reviews were presented: A.S. Kashkin's review of Beeckman B.'s One or Two Translators? Translation Technique and Theology of LXX Proverbs and Its Relation to LXX Job. Berlin; Boston (Mass.): W. de Gruyter, 2024. (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; Bd. 549). XVIII, 368 p.; and E.A. Kropinova's review of Drawnel H. (ed. by), The Aramaic Books of Enoch and Related Literature from Qumran: Proceedings of the International Online Conference Organized by the Center for the Study of Second Temple Judaism of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, in Cooperation with Enoch Seminar, 20–22 October 2020. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2024. (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism; vol. 216). XVIII, 317 p.

The "Chronicle and Review of Scholarly Conferences and Events" section presents two overviews: A. Grunert's "Chronicle of the XIX International Conference of Patristic Studies, August 9, 2024 (Part 2)", which was held at the University of Oxford, and A.D. Ponomarev's "The Bamberg Syriological Symposium (University of Bamberg, Germany, March 13–15, 2025)".

Editor-in-Chief of the journal

"Bible and Christian Antiquity" and

"Corpus of Christian Texts and Studies", 

Associate Professor of MThA, Deacon Sergey Kozhukhov