Report 2017/18
(activities during the last 12 months)
1. Conferences and visits
– EELC regional conference in Belgrade, May 31 to June 3, 2018, organized by the Biblical Institute of Faculty for Orthodox Theology, State University Belgrade, about 30 particip0ants and 20 papers on “Why Does Reception Matters?” (in particular on the reception of the Book of Jonah in Ancient Judaism, New Testament, Church Fathers and in the Middle Ages); the Biblical Center in Belgrade is flourishing very impressively, with a growing scholarly library (visit: http://binst.pbf.rs/)
– preparatory visit to Bucharest in November 22-26, 2017, by Niebuhr, Karakolis, Nicklas to initialize the next EELC symposium (see below); negotiations with bishop Varlaam on behalf of the Patriarch Daniel; visiting the conference site in Caraiman monastery close to the Carpathian Mountains; workshop with doctoral students and professors in NT studies at the Faculty for Orthodox Theology, State University Bucharest
– short visit by Prof. Michael Sommer (on behalf of Nicklas who fell ill) to Lviv Ukrainian Catholic Faculty of Theology in spring 2018; talks about future cooperation
2. Publications
– Russian translation of the conference volume from Minsk 2010 published by the Belarusian State University publishing house has appeared in May 2018 and will be promoted at the next biblical conference in Moscow in September 2018 (see below)
– Biblical Institute Belgrade has published a Lexicon of Biblical Exegesis (Rodoljub Kubat / Predrag Dragutinović (Hrsg.): Leksikon biblijske Egsegese (LBE), Beograd: Pravoslavni Bogoslovski Fakultet u Beogradu, Biblijski Institut: Sluzhbeni Glasnik, 2018, 533 pp., ISBN 978-86-7405-192-4) which includes articles written by more than 100 authors, many of them leading figures of international NT and OT scholarship, but many Serbian scholars as well
– volume on the Epistle of James originating from a EELC regional conference in 2016 in Olomouc (Czech Republic) has appeared as vol. 34/2 of Annali di Storia dell’Esegesi, edited by Tobias Nicklas
– publication of the conference volume from the EELC symposium in Moscow 2016 is in preparation for Mohr Siebeck Tübingen (probably appearing early next year)
3. Preparations
– EELC regional conference on Matthew to be held in Moscow, September 24-29, 2018
– EELC regional conference on the relationship between OT and NT to be held in Sofia, October 11-14, 2018, also to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bibliotheca Biblica Sofia
– 8th EELC East-West symposium on Biblical Anthropology to be held in Caraiman Monastery, Romania, May 26-31, 2019
Jena, June
28, 2018, Prof. Dr. Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr
Supplement to ASII Report on EELC
St Petersburg Bibliotheca Biblica and Dept Biblical Studies
Library
- 5 year agreement signed May 2017 on Library
- Donated books to 15 kg but no financial documents
- 800 books added;
- proposed collection of 100+ books from Jena awaiting approval
Study – masters and bachelors degrees
- 5 full time staff and 2 part time
- Alexander Sisikov awarded PhD
- March 2018 conference Bible and Christian Literature
Anatoly Alexeev
Bibliotheca Biblica Sofia
Library:
- 20th anniversary 2018
- 527 visitations, 1417 requests for books and periodicals in past year
- Received: 233 books and 47 periodicals
- Stock: 54 digital sources, 7874 books and 2705 periodicals
Activities:
- National essay competition – October 2017
- June 2018 student conference on Christian art
- October 2018 conference on theme: “Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet, Vetus Testamentum in Novo patet“ (The New Testament is hidden in the Old, the Old Testament is revealed in the New)
Ivailo Naidenov, Director