Peter Penner
On 1 October 2016 in Kyiv, Ukraine, the EuroAsiatic Accrediting Association of Evangelical Instructional Institutions celebrated the completion of its Slavianskii bibleiskii kommentarii [Slavic Bible Commentary], under the general editorship of sociologist and theologian Sergei V. Sannikov. Published in Ukraine (6,000 copies) and Russia (3,000 copies, with the assistance of the Bible League), this 1,840-page commentary has a price of $50 in the West and $39.99 in the former Soviet Union.
Origins of the Project
Designed to provide a “contemporary Evangelical perspective” on the Bible, it was undertaken as an indigenous response to the well-known Russian translation of William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible Series, completed in 1985 (for the New Testament) and 1994 (for the Old Testament). In 2011, missionary educator Mary Raber reminded everyone of the success story of this commentary, but also included some of the questions that have been raised as the Russian Barclay Commentary has been read in a Slavic context (“Remembering the Russian Bible Commentary, A Memoir in Context” in History and Mission in Europe: Continuing the Conversation [Schwarzenfeld, Germany: Neufeld Verlag, 2011], edited by Mary Raber and Peter Penner, a festschrift in honor of Walter Sawatsky).
At the end of her article Raber (p. 325) announced the launching of the Slavic Bible Commentary project, but also highlighted a widely circulated question concerning it. Did Russian-speaking lands possess enough Bible teachers and scholars capable of writing a Bible commentary in and for the Eurasian context? At that time former Evangelical Christian-Baptist leader Alexei M. Bychkov clearly did not think so, while evangelical scholar Sergei V. Sannikov sounded more optimistic: “I can think of 15 [potential contributors] easily” (Raber, p. 325). In 2010, when Sannikov agreed to serve as general editor for this challenging project, he believed he would be able to recruit many competent Bible scholars. But would there be enough evangelical authors to actually write a solid commentary on every book of the Bible in Russian? Various reservations notwithstanding, over a span of six years of hard work, the project attracted 94 different contributors from various evangelical denominations from all over the former Soviet Union and a few from the Russian-speaking diaspora in Europe and North America.
Demographics
By nationality the editorial board consists of seven Ukrainians, two Russians, and one Russian-German. By denomination, the editorial board includes five Evangelical Christians-Baptists, three Pentecostals, and one each from Missionary Alliance and Mennonite Brethren churches.
By present country of origin (apart from the editorial board) authors include 35 from Ukraine, 29 from Russia, eight from the United States (immigrants from the former Soviet Union), three from Germany, two each from Belarus and Moldova, and one each from Kyrgyzstan, the Czech Republic, Austria, Australia, and Israel. By denomination authors include 39 Evangelical Christians-Baptists, 20 Pentecostals, 11 Evangelical Christians, six Christian Missionary Union, two Mennonite, and one each from Brethren, Anglican, Christian, New Life Charismatic, non-denominational, and Messianic Jewish churches. By gender authors include 72 men and 12 women.
The Editorial Team
The driving force behind the project has been its editorial team, including Old Testament editors Valery Alikin, Gennady Pshenichny, Alexander Geychenko, and Roman Soloviy; New Testament editor Peter Penner; and Fyodor Raychynets as editor for topical articles. Mikhaylo Mokienko served as coordinator of the commentary project, collecting and circulating various article drafts between authors and editors. Taras Dyatlik oversaw public relations activities and maintained close communications with Langham Partners (Peter Kwant), which provided funding and valuable advice. Yevgeny Ustinovich joined the editorial team halfway through the process when the project needed a competent literary editor. General Editor Sergei V. Sannikov was the soul of the editorial team from its beginning.
Before the process of writing began, the editors hammered out various guidelines and parameters for the commentary. It was the team’s meeting in Jerusalem in February 2012 that was instrumental in laying the foundations and setting the direction. After a long discussion, those assembled agreed to designate the commentary Slavic. Obviously, no group of authors could fully represent all of Europe’s Slavic populations. In addition, with each East European nation striving to consolidate its independent existence, it was decided not to designate the work as a Russian Bible commentary, as a number of contributors would not be Russian. Nevertheless, the Russian language was chosen because it is still used by many Eurasian Christian communities as a lingua franca, even beyond Russia and the former Soviet Union.
Contextual and Hermeneutical Guidelines
Internationally the commentary is not unique in its focus on contextualization, but follows the pattern set, for example, by the African Bible Commentary and the Asian Bible Commentary. A contextual commentary only draws upon sources and scholarship produced and accessible in the East European context. In addition, it is guided in its interpretations by questions engendered by its geographic setting and the particularities of an East European mentality, spirituality, piety, and church history. In contrast to the Russian-language William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible Series, which is a product of Western biblical scholarship, and Thomas Oden’s church fathers’ commentaries on the Bible, the Slavic Bible Commentary strives for relevance in its East European context. Its goal is to complement, not replace, earlier commentaries. It is an attempt to give the church another relevant commentary of the whole Bible, offering help primarily to Slavic preachers and teachers.
Editors of the Slavic Bible Commentary spelled out hermeneutical as well as contextual guidelines for its individual authors. One editorial decision was to avoid lengthy discussions of authorship, date, place of writing, and audience for Bible texts. Instead, the focus was to be on the final biblical texts as they were included in the canon and examinations of their place in the canon. Authors were instructed to interpret the Bible not verse by verse, but by paragraphs, identifying key arguments, words, and phrases, explaining main theological issues, and offering suggestions for life applications of Bible passages. Such an approach was accepted in order to assist readers in better understanding a given biblical text for the benefit of teaching small groups, working with other groups in the church, and sermon preparation.
Inter-Denominational Cooperation
The final editorial meeting took place in October 2015 in Kyiv, the city of origin for Eastern Slavic Christianity. The first (Jerusalem) and final (Kyiv) meeting locations underscore the significance of the Eastern context. As with any collection of contributions by different authors, the work of some authors will be appreciated more than others. Nevertheless, this one-volume commentary of approximately two million words, authored by more than 80 Russian-language contributors, provides concrete proof that evangelicals in Eurasia are able to work together in unity. Six years of tensions and difficulties notwithstanding, the Slavic Bible Commentary has come to fruition as a monument to the unity of God’s church. It also calls readers to overcome divisions of politics, ethnicity, and denominational affiliation in order to focus on believers’ oneness in Christ, worshiping the Trinity and continuing to be God’s sent people.
Peter Penner, Bielefeld, Germany, is Director of Advanced Studies of the Euro-Asiatic Accrediting Association.