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Vassiliadis Petros, Biblical Hermeneutical Studies, series “Biblical Library”, no 6, Pournaras Publications, Thessaloniki 2000, pp. 488.

In this volume Petros Vassiliadis presents to the Greek reading public twenty three of his biblical hermeneutics papers, fruit of academic research over the past fifteen years. The papers cover the whole spectrum of New Testament science and are classified in four sections. The first includes “biblical hermeneutics” research and refers to the position of the Holy Bible and its relation to worship in the Orthodox Church, the importance of Biblical critique for Orthodoxy, the particularities of Orthodox hermeneutics and the problem of the Holy Bible’s authenticity in proto-Christian hermeneutics.

            The second section is a collection of papers around the translation of the Holy Bible and in particular touches upon matters of Orthodox points of departure for the assessment of a Holy Bible translation, in the problems of the translational process and other technical problems of translation, as well as the role of Bible Societies and the history of Bible translations.

            The third section contains papers of “biblical critique”. Specifically it broaches issues of introduction to the New Testament, mostly though the section containing analyses of problems related to the two most ancient sources of Evangelical tradition, the Gospel of Mark and the Q. In this context he analyses Q’s initial structure and tackles the question of location, time and identity of its author.

            The fourth and last section contains papers of “Biblical theology”. These refer to the theological importance of John the Baptist as he appears in the two most ancient sources of Evangelical tradition and in the fourth evangelist, the social dimension of pauline theology, aspects of ecclesiology in the New Testament, relations between the Church and the State as they appear in the New Testament, on the issue of different approaches and views on the New Testament.

Vassiliadis  Petros, Contemporary Agiographic Issues: "Holy Bible and Eucharist”, “Biblical Library” series, no. 15, Pournaras Publications, Thessaloniki 2000, pp. 168.

For this volume Petros Vassiliadis harvested fourteen of his research papers. Thirteen of those constitute comments on specific passages of Gospels of the New Testament, under the common perspective of the Eucharist theology, but without limitations within Eucharistic theology, as they cover a wide spectrum of theological issues, including Ecclesiology, Pneumatology, Eschatology, Social Ethics, Cosmology and Mission. These are preceded by an introductory paper on the relationship between the primal word of God, the Holy Gospel, and the primal experience of the Church, the Eucharist.

            The New Testament passages are commented on in a four-part hermeneutical fashion. Initially, there is an attempt to establish the authentic writing of the passage. Then follows a determination of the context of the passage, together with necessary philological, historical and interpretational information and comments and finally there is an attempt at extrapolation into contemporary reality.

            Thus, there is an analysis of Matthew 28,19 and an approach to Orthodox mission, Mark 3,28-29 and Luke 3,16, which seek in the origination, meaning and importance of Pneumatology, John 6,56 on the correct understanding of the sacrament of Eucharist and Rom. 13,1 where the issue of State-Church relations is discussed, the A’ Cor. 12,27 where notions of Charisma in the Church are expressed, B’ Cor. 8,9 in which the dogmatic teaching constitutes the validation of the ethical teaching, Gal.5,1 and B’ Thes. 2,15 for the dynamic as opposed to static notion of tradition, Ef. 2,14 for the real meaning of peace, Kol.1,19-20 for the global and cosmic dimensions of salvation, Hebr. 13,8 which refers to the eschatological dimension and the comprehension of the mystery of the Church, Jac. 5,16 which constitutes the substance of the sacrament of repentance and finally in Rev. 1,1 and 22,6 for the relationship between history and celestial liturgy.

Vassiliadis Petros, Grace – Communion – Diaconia. The Social Character of the Pauline programme of Logia (Introduction and Interpretational memorandum to B’ Cor. 8-9), “Biblical Library” series no. 2, Pournaras publications, Thessaloniki 2002, pp. 324.

P. Vassiliadis carries studies and analyses the social dimension of the theological teaching and the multifaceted actions of Apostle Paul and in particular the Pauline program of logia (collections for the poor). 

            The book is divided in two parts. The first part, which is introductory, looks at the practice of logia. In this context initially there is an analysis of the issue of logia in the New Testament in two directions,  a presentation of the course of international research and the New Testament facts in relation to logia. Then follows an examination of parallel religious and social phenomena of Paul’s era and finally there is an examination of the unity of chapters 8 and 9 of Cor B’ in relation to Pauline correspondence with the Church of Corinth.

            The second part of the study is the most extensive, constituted by a hermeneutical paper on B’Cor. 8-9. The author then moves on with the annotation of ch. *, which is an autonomous part of the debate on logia in Cor. B’. and in effect its a letter of recommendation from Paul to the Christians of Corinth. In this part the author presents Pauline views on the ideal of equidistribution of material goods, which the Apostle developed on the basis of Jesus’ example.

            Chapter B’ Cor. 9 also constitutes an autonomous entity in the Cor. B’. Vassiliadis annotates the chapter, in which Paul attempts to convince the Corinthians not simply to participate in the program of the logia, but to behave generously and goodheartedly, since logia is considered essentially a form of worship to God.

            Through his hermeneutical study, Vassiliadis concludes that the Pauline program of logia was mainly of a social nature, that is to say it was the social response of God’s people to the new world introduced through the coming of Christ and aimed at equidistribution and communion of material goods, and claims that the thenceforth rise of Christianity was underpinned by this realistic Pauline solution.