The Biblical Exegesis from Eastern Orthodox Perspectives Unit will offer four sessions at the 2025 Annual Meeting:

1. Fresh Perspectives on John 13–17 and Its Patristic Reception – This session invites papers exploring new exegetical insights into the farewell discourses in the Gospel of John (chapters 13–17), with particular attention to their interpretation in the patristic tradition.
2. Joint Session with AAR’s Middle Eastern Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Studies Units – This session will address the theme “Minorities and Freedom in the Middle East: Biblical, Theological, and Socio-Political Perspectives.” Papers may explore how scriptural, doctrinal, and historical perspectives inform contemporary discussions on religious minorities and freedom in the region.
3. The Psalms in Orthodox Tradition and Liturgy – We welcome papers on the role, interpretation, and theological significance of the Psalms in Eastern Orthodox worship, exegesis, and spiritual practice.
4. Invited Panel on Leslie Baynes’ Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible (Eerdmans, June 2025) – This session will feature invited responses to Baynes’ forthcoming work, examining Lewis’ approach to Scripture from various scholarly perspectives.

Proposals for the first three sessions are welcome. Please submit abstracts through the SBL system up to March 25 here https://www.xcdsystem.com/sbl/abstract/index.cfm?ID=k8w8DSh.

For more information, please visit our official webpage: https://orthodoxbiblical.org/. We also encourage scholars to consider submitting a book proposal (monograph or edited volume) for our new series at Brill: https://brill.com/display/serial/BEOP.

We look forward to your contributions.

Warm wishes

Leslie Baynes and Michael Azar