In a message occasioned by the Bible Day observed by the Romanian Orthodox Church on November 13, Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj, Maramureș and Sălaj urged the faithful to read at least a Bible chapter a day for a healthy spirituality.
‘We have at hand prayer, the participation in the Divine Liturgy and at church services, but also the daily reading of the Holy Scriptures, for our spiritual life,” said the Metropolitan.
‘It is the Book of books; no other book can be compared to the Sacred and Divine Scripture.’
The Metropolitan of Cluj explained that ‘for Christians, the day of November 13th is of great importance, both as regards our devotion to the Holy Scripture, to the word of God, but also the honour we give to St. John Chrysostom, a great lover of the Scriptures, who passed on to us the text of the Divine Liturgy that we celebrate almost daily.’
The Metropolitan cited from the Gospel of John noting that ‘You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.’
‘The Scriptures testify about the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole Old Testament prepares us for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole New Testament is the word of salvation preached by our Saviour,’ he added.
Bible Day was established in 2006 by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The purpose of the Bible Day is to remind everyone of their moral and conscientious duty to read the Holy Scripture, given its role in the liturgical life and spiritual formation of believers.
SOURCE: basilica.ro