Abstract
Conceived almost a century after the initial interactions of the Chicago Studies with the Greek lectionaries and Antoniades’ edition, this book was long overdue. In this work, which is the published version of his doctoral dissertation completed in 2019, Jovan Stanojević seeks to ‘expand the methodological and practical framework’ of textual studies on the Greek NT from the perspective of an Orthodox (p. 1). He reaches this goal in two parts, which are distributed across five chapters.
In the first part (Chapters 1–3), Stanojević interacts extensively with the famous GNT edition Vasileios Antoniades produced in 1904. Chapter One provides helpful background considerations regarding the edition, with fresh details about the whole enterprise, particularly about the principles behind it. In Chapter Two, the author identifies most of the sources Antoniades consulted for his edition according to the cataloging system NT scholars follow today. He also discusses to what extent these sources have featured in modern critical editions. In Chapter Three, Stanojević tests the textual coherence of Antoniades’ edition by comparing it with two editions of the GNT and the manuscripts Antoniades himself used for his production. He concludes primarily that Antoniades’ edition is textually incoherent—it is eclectic and most likely dependent on printed editions. It also appears that Antoniades followed no systematic principles while preparing his edition.
The second part (Chapter 4) represents a bridge that links this research to Western NT textual scholarship, as Stanojević compares the text of Antoniades’ edition with the text of the Editio Critica Maior in the Catholic Epistles at 268 points of variation. For this analysis, he follows two principles: ‘textual originality and pragmatism’ (pp. 153-154). This means that although the original form of the text (however ‘original’ might be defined) is important, Stanojević operates with the premise that it is legitimate to change the text in order to conform it to the needs of its users. Nonetheless, he only accepts changes that do not alter the meaning of the text ‘significantly’ (p. 171). Chapter Five ends the book with a few conclusions, and an Appendix provides a fresh English translation of the Introduction to Antoniades’ edition.
The book represents a major step in the dialogue between Orthodox NT textual scholarship and the Western scholarly community. Stanojević successfully brings Orthodox academics closer to the reach of Western readers. At the same time, the author remains sensitive to the practical needs of the Orthodox community. Any scholar and lay person interested in the Greek NT and in the history of the NT as used by the Orthodox Church will benefit greatly from this research.