Terminology -

PAGAN – For the early Christians, a pagan was a believer in polytheistic religion. The word originally meant “country dweller.” The rural population was slower to adopt Christianity than the city dwellers, probably because their religion was closely bound to agricultural cycles. Nowadays there are religious groups that identify themselves as Pagans. Modern paganism is… Read More

POLYTHEISM – belief in more than one god.

PROFANE – Not holy.  The word can also be used as a verb meaning “to treat something sacred with irreverence.”

SAMUEL – Books known as the historical books of the Old Testament. The two books of the Samuel (1st and 2nd Kingdoms in the Orthodox Bible) are concerned primarily with the history of Israel during the times of the Prophet Samuel, King Saul and King David. Originally one unified work, Samuel was early divided into… Read More

JOHN – (Gospel of Saint John) – This Gospel, by the Beloved Disciple, speaks of the Mystery of the Person of Jesus. He is like other men, yet quite unlike them, for He was the Son of God. He was eternally present with God, active in creating the world, and was the source of the… Read More

LUKE (Gospel of St. Luke) – Although the document is internally anonymous, the authorship of this Gospel has been traditionally ascribed to the Apostle Luke, a physician who accompanied the Apostle Paul on some of his missionary travels. The Gospel is also the longest of the four canonical Gospels. The text narrates the life of… Read More

MARK – (Gospel of St. Mark) – This Gospel is generally believed to have been the first written of the Gospels. Ancient tradition ascribes it to John Mark (Acts 12:12; 15:37), who composed it at Rome as a summary of Peter’s witness. This Gospel is primarily a collection of narratives depicting Jesus as being constantly… Read More

MATTHEW   (Gospel of St. Matthew) – Although the document is internally anonymous, the authorship of this Gospel has been traditionally ascribed to St. Matthew. The surviving testimony of the Church Fathers is unanimous in this view, and the tradition had been accepted by Christians at least as early as the 2nd century up to… Read More

ROMANS – (Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans) – The Epistles of St. Paul are arranged in the New Testament according to length, and this Epistle (or Letter) to the Romans is the longest and most weighty, theologically, thus giving it first place in the canonical order. This letter is probably the last written… Read More

PAUL (Epistles of St. Paul) – Of all the New Testament holy authors, Apostle Paul – having written some 14 Epistles – stands out as being the most prolific in expounding instructions on Christian living. Because of the significance of their contents, they are rightfully regarded as the “second Gospel,” attracting attention from both thinkers-philosophers… Read More

I CORINTHIANS (First Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians) – The Gospel was first preached in Corinth by Paul on his second missionary journey (50 A.D.). While living and working there, he preached in the synagogue until opposition arose. He was accused by the Jews before the Roman Governor, Gallic, but the charges were… Read More

II CORINTHIANS – (Second Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians) – Relations between Paul and the Corinthian Church had deteriorated, and having made a painful visit to the Church (2:1), he refrained from making a second trip, knowing that it too would be painful, for which cause he had written to that Church a… Read More

GALATIANS (Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Galatians) – This letter was written about 55 A.D. during Paul’s third missionary journey and gives many autobiographical details of the Apostle’s earlier life and missionary activity. The letter dealt with the question whether a Gentile must become a Jew before he could become a Christian; for certain… Read More

EPHESIANS (Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Ephesians) – This letter was written while Paul was a prisoner (3:1; 4:1; 6:20) at about the same time as the Epistle to the Colossians, since it shares many of the same phrases and expressions as that Epistle. Because important early manuscripts and Church Fathers make no reference… Read More

PHILIPPIANS (Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippans) – This letter, one of the most cordial and affectionate we have from Paul’s hand, was addressed to the Christians at Philippi in Macedonia, the first congregation established by him in Europe (Acts 16:11-15). Written about 61 A.D. while he was in prison, the occasion of this… Read More

COLOSSIANS (Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians) – This letter was written in the early 60’s while Paul was in prison (4:3,10,18) at about the same time as the letter to the Ephesians (with which it has many similarities). The purpose was to correct erroneous speculations which had arisen because of the activities of… Read More

I THESSALONIANS (First Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians) – This epistle is probably the first of St. Paul’s letters, written from Corinth about 51 A.D. During his second missionary journey, after being driven out of Philippi, Paul, Silas and Timothy came to Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia (Acts 17:1). Here he preached in… Read More

II THESSALONIANS (Second Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians) -This letter was sent by Paul to the Thessalonians shortly after the first letter, as a result of continued persecutions by the Jews at Thessalonica. In addition, there were some misunderstandings concerning the Second Coming of Christ and the view was held by some that… Read More

I TIMOTHY (First Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians) – The first letter to Timothy (the son of a Greek Gentile Father and a Jewish Mother, Eunice, and closely associated with Paul from the time of the second missionary journey) had a dual purpose: to provide guidance in the problems of Church administration, and… Read More

II TIMOTHY (Second Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians) – The second letter to Timothy is an earnest pastoral letter from a veteran missionary to a younger colleague, urging endurance as the main quality of a preacher of the Gospel. Here we encounter the theme of a good soldier of Christ (2:3) as well… Read More

TITUS – (Epistle of St. Paul to Titus) -This letter, sent to Titus (an oft-mentioned companion of Paul in the Acts) has three main topics, corresponding to the three chapters of this epistle: 1) sets forth what is required of elders or bishops in the face of various false teachers and local problems; 2) the… Read More

PHILEMON  (Epistle of St. Paul to Philemon) – The Epistle to Philemon is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. Philemon is generally regarded as one of the undisputed works of Paul, and it was most likely written in Rome, around 61-63 AD. It is the shortest of Paul’s extant letters, consisting of… Read More

HEBREWS – (Epistle of St. Paul to  the Hebrews) – The main theme of the letter to the Hebrews is to compare the sacrifice of Christ to the sacrifices of the priests of the Old Testament. The Old Testament priests made continual sacrifices of animals for themselves and the sins of the people, entering into… Read More

GENERAL EPISTLES – The General or Catholic Epistles are those written to the church at large (“catholic” in this sense simply means “universal”). Epistle of James, traditionally by James the Just, brother of Jesus and Jude Thomas. I Peter and II Peter, traditionally by the Apostle Simon, called Peter. I John, II John, and III… Read More