Holy Cross Dean Fr. Eugen J. Pentiuc, Co-Editor of The Ancient Christian Study Bible

In the summer of 2024, Oxford University Press (OUP) issued a contract for  a new study Bible entitled The Ancient Christian Study Bible (ACSB), with the following Editorial Board:  

Editors-in-Chief: 

Fr. Eugen J. Pentiuc, Archbishop Demetrios Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian  Origins and Dean of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA Paul M. Blowers, Dean E. Walker Professor of Church History, Emmanuel Christian Seminary, Milligan  University, TN 

Associate Editors: 

Athanasios Despotis (Bonn University: New Testament), Mary Farag (Princeton Theological Seminary: Early  Christian Studies), David Stark (Faulkner University: Hermeneutics), Agnethe Siquans (University of Vienna:  Old Testament), Samuel Pomeroy (University of Tennessee: Patristics) 

Fifty-three leading international scholars will contribute their expertise to the ACSB project to prepare a  new authoritative study Bible, which will stand alongside the other three others already published by OUP:  

• The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB) edited by Michael D. Coogan 
• The Catholic Study Bible (CSB) edited by John J. Collins, et al. 
• The Jewish Study Bible (JSB) edited by Marc Zvi Brettler, et al. 

And now the fourth study Bible to be published by OUP: The Ancient Christian Study Bible: The Bible of the  First Millennium AD. 

“A study Bible is a book of consummate scholarship that distills the best of current research and knowledge  for contemporary readers and their posterity. This new Ancient Christian Study Bible will capture the  insights of the modern academy and the wisdom of the ancient Church to lead readers deeper into the  meaning of Scripture and the contemplation of God’s Word, Jesus Christ,” said HCHC President Dr. Demetrios Katos. “It is the brainchild of the Dean of our Theological School, Fr. Pentiuc and there is nothing  more gratifying than knowing one of our own conceived this project and will lead it to completion.” 

With an ecumenical focus, evidenced through its scope and contributors, the ACSB will appeal to a broad  audience seeking excellence in scholarship deeply rooted in ancient Christian biblical interpretations, as  penned by the Church fathers and ecclesiastical writers of the first millennium of church history. 

The ACSB will use as textual bases the Septuagint text (Vaticanus Codex) for the Old Testament, and the Byzantine Textform (Patriarchal Text, Constantinople, 1904) for the New Testament. 

In addition to the translation initiative, what makes the ACSB unique among other OUP Study Bibles, and  other similar products on a global scale, is the inclusion of synthetic patristic notes. These notes are focused  on pericopes and are not a line-by-line commentary. They are scholarly, but accessible, summaries of  dominant strands of early Christian understandings of the biblical text. The synthetic patristic notes  represent 80 percent of all annotations. It can be further understood in the following breakdown: 

(1) Textual Notes, showing the major theological differences between the Septuagint and Hebrew Text,  Peshitta (Syriac), Vulgate (Latin), and later Jewish Greek translations such as Aquila, Symmachus, and  Theodotion, emphasizing variant differences within the Septuagint textual transmission among various  codices (Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Alexandrinus) and Greek manuscript fragments, with respect to the  Old Testament, and the variety of Greek readings, regarding the New Testament; 

(2) Exegetical Notes, assisting the reader to more accurately understand the plain-historical meaning by reconstructing the historical, cultural, and literary context of each biblical pericope; and 

(3) Patristic Notes, showing the reader how the Scriptures were interpreted by the Church fathers and  ecclesiastical writers in the first millennium. Hermeneutical creativity and Nachleben (i.e., the use of the  ancient interpretations in supporting the Church’s teachings) will be used as the criteria for selecting  patristic interpretations. 

Building on earlier efforts (e.g., Orthodox Study Bible, Thomas Nelson, 2008, for which Fr. Pentiuc was a  General Editor), ACSB will offer a brand-new English Bible translation from the Greek Old Testament  (Vaticanus) and the New Testament Patriarchal Text accompanied by copious patristic annotations – all contained in a single volume. 

This landmark project will also integrate other supplementary material borrowed from the latest NOAB  edition, such as, essays, maps, diagrams, and tables, and a substantive selection of new essays fitting for a  patristic annotated Bible, thus enabling the reader to more fully understand Scripture in its original context  as well as in the tradition of the ancient church. 

The stated goal of the ACSB is to “connect the Greek text of the Bible with patristic annotations for a  modern English-speaking educated public.” In addition, the ACSB will be the premier patristic Study Bible  for use by Orthodox clergy, scholars, students and faithful, as well as those interested in ancient Christian  interpretation of Scripture. 

The ACSB project is now on phase two: translating the Greek Bible into English and writing the annotations. 

Contributors
(Translators/Annotators) Book(s) 

Valentin Andronache 1 John
Athanasios Antonopoulos Acts 
Daniel Ayuch Luke 
Michael Azar Hebrews 
Dan Batovici 1, 2 Peter 
Leslie Baynes Revelation 
Adam Bean Ecclesiastes 
Bruce Beck Jonah 
Anthony Bibawy 1, 2 Chronicles 
Paul M. Blowers Genesis 1–12 
Nenad Božovič 2 Maccabees 
James Wallace Buchanan 2 Corinthians 
Jeff Childers Tobit 
Sara Contini Leviticus 
Evangelia Dafni Sirach 
Miriam DeCock James 
Athanasios Despotis John 
Sotirios Despotis 1, 2 Timothy, Titus 
Michael Dormandy 2, 3 John 
John Anthony Dunne Esther 
Oliver Dyma Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Malachi
Laura Locke Estes Genesis 12–37, Jude 
Mary Farag Coptic, Arabic annotations for Matthew, Luke, Revelation
Alberto Ferreiro, Micah, Haggai, Zechariah
Justin Gohl Psalms, Song of Songs, Psalms of Solomon
Michael Graves Exodus 
Najeeb T. Haddad 1 Maccabees, Colossians 
Jordan Henderson 4 Maccabees 
Samuel Johnson Matthew 
Christos Karagiannis 1, 2 Kings 
Christos Karakolis 1, 2 Thessalonians 
David Kiger 1, 2 Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah 
Matthew Kraus Numbers 
Michael Legaspi Proverbs, Job, Wisdom  
Aashu Alexander Mattackal Ephesians 
Brian Matz 1 Esdras 
Martin Meiser Galatians 
Alex Mihaila Joshua 
So Miyagawa Deuteronomy 
Jeremiah Coogan Mark 
Porfyrios Ntalianis Amos 
Daniel Olariu Daniel (Additions to Daniel: Bel and the Dragon, Susanna) 
Athanasios Paparnakis
Jeremiah (Epistle of Jeremiah), Baruch, Lamentations
Maria Pazarski 3 Maccabees 
Eugen J. Pentiuc Hosea 
Constantin Pogor Judges 
Samuel Pomeroy Genesis 38–50 
Mark Reasoner Romans, Philippians 
Agnethe Siquans Ruth, Judith
David Stark Philemon  
Laurence Vianès Ezekiel 
Clifton Ward Isaiah 
Chris L. de Wett 1 Corinthians 

Essays Writers  

Paul M. Blowers: Greek Patristic Interpretation of the Bible 

Athanasios Despotis: Ancient Greek Philosophy’s Impact on Ancient Christian Biblical Interpretation

Mary Farag: Biblical Interpretation in Oriental Churches (Coptic, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Armenian)

Eugen J. Pentiuc: The Biblical Canon in Eastern Byzantine Church 

Samuel Pomeroy: Christian Reading, Studying, and Praying the Greek Psalter; and Latin Church Fathers and  Biblical Interpretation 

Agnethe Siquans: Hermeneutics and Methods of Patristic Biblical Interpretation 

David Stark: Reading Scripture through the Tradition in the Twenty-First Century

An accessible one-volume, ACSB is expected to be published by the end of 2027.