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The Orthodox Christian News Service

Published by OCABS, December 10, 2003

ORTHODOX CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF BIBLICAL STUDIES UPDATE

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father …And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

The Gospel of John

December 10, 2003

Christ is born! As the Lord brings us to the end of 2003, we at OCABS pray that you and your loved ones are well.

We would like to thank you for your support and prayers during our first year of existence. It has been a busy year, and we are grateful to God for his blessings. Allow me to update you.

OCABS Director John Barnet had his doctoral dissertation, “Not the Righteous but Sinners,” on the gospel of Matthew, published by T&T Clark International in the prestigious Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Supplement Series. Director Sergius Halvorsen is teaching homiletics at Holy Apostles Seminary and has recently been asked to teach at Drew University. He also is overseeing a portion of the OCABS website and is working on articles which will be available on our website. Director Michael Kallas has been appointed the Psychological Care Director and Program Administrator of the Department of Spiritual Formation and Counseling Services at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Several of our members have committed to writing scholarly commentaries on Old Testament and New Testament books. Others are in the midst of their Ph.D. programs, teaching classes, and preparing articles for publication.

During the past year OCABS sponsored seminars on Galatians in New Hampshire, on the Scriptural Canon in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the University of St. Thomas, and on the Body of Christ in Connecticut. We have created a website, http://www.ocabs.org/. While still in a fledgling state, during the coming months additions to our website will include practical aids for priests in the area of homiletics and for religious education teachers in the area of Christian education.

We are fully committed to the development and support of biblical publications. We continue to support regional, national and international seminars on biblical exegesis. We also continue our work on the publication of scholarly and practical articles in the area of biblical studies – many of which will be added to our website.

So as you can see, we have been working diligently to promote Orthodox biblical scholarship. Much of our work is made possible through your support and prayers, and for this we are most grateful. We as the Lord’s blessing on all of you as we celebrate this glorious entrance into our world. May the coming year bring you good health and peace.

V. Rev. Timothy Lowe, M.Div. Rev. Paul Monkowski, Ph.D.

about us...

The Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical studies began as an informal gathering of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary and St. Vladimir’s Seminary alumni in 1999 to pursue advanced biblical studies through annual meetings. The members recognized that additional resources were necessary to augment their seminary education and enhance their various ministries in the Orthodox Church. With this in mind, a pan-Orthodox non-profit organization was established to develop, promote and publish research in the areas of biblical studies, homiletics and religious education in the Orthodox Christian Faith.

Our work includes:

Promoting the awareness of the centrality of the gospel in the Christian life.
Providing resources for those who teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ on the parish level.
Conducting seminars in the area of advanced biblical studies.
Developing a foundation to provide material support for those pursuing advanced degrees and for special research and publishing projects.

Board of Directors:
Rana Baladi, MBA
John Barnet, Ph.D.
Sergius Halvorsen, Ph.D.
Michael Kallas, LFMT
Timothy Lowe, M.Div.
Paul Monkowski, Ph.D.

The Orthodox Center For The Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS) is an IRS approved 501 © non-profit corporation established in the State of CT.

Contact: OCABS, PO Box 1606, Meriden, CT 06450 Tel. 203-237-4539 Website: www.ocabs.org