The Epistle to the Hebrews: High Priest in Heaven

by Lawrence R. Farley

The Hebrew Christians of apostolic-era Palestine were tempted to fall back into Jewish ways because of persecution and a lack of understanding of the true uniqueness and significance of Christ. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews exhorts them to stand fast, finish the race, and attain the promises awaiting the faithful.

Genres: Reference

184 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2014

About the author

Father Lawrence, born in 1954, completed his M. Div. at Wycliffe College, Toronto School of Theology in 1979. After 6 years in pastoral ministry with the Anglican Church of Canada, he entered the Orthodox Church and completed a Certificate program at St. Tikhon’s Seminary in Pennsylvania and was ordained to the priesthood in 1986. Since 1987 he has served as the pastor St. Herman of Alaska Church in Langley BC, a missionary parish of the OCA (Archdiocese of Canada) founded by local laity, which has since grown to attain regular parish status and purchased its own building. Several priests, deacons, and lay members of new missions have emerged from the membership of St. Herman’s. Fr. Lawrence is the author of the Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series from Conciliar Press, and of a number of other books and articles, and appears in regular weekday podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio. He lives in Surrey B.C. with his family.

Reviews

[Willie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Father Farley's commentaries. They are easy reading and accessible to most any reader. They remind me of the William Barclay commentary series I used to read when I visited my grandparents. I have one constructive criticism. I picked this series up because there is a shortage of translated patristic complete commentaries on the Orthodox Bible. I hoped that there would be more inclusions from the patristic commentaries, but I sometimes come away questioning if Father Lawrence read them before commenting. I'm fairly certain that he has, however, because I can say that he does agree with the earlier Church commentaries, but maybe he just doesn't think including some of their interpretations in his own commentary is necessary for his readers to understand the Biblical author's message. I'm ok with that, but this means it is not a one-stop resource for the Orthodox Christian who wants a really full commentary.
As an example, in Hebrew 6 there is no mention of the controversy regarding a second Christian Baptism. Well, this means we have to go back to St Chrysostom for "the rest of the story!"

I also enjoy that Father Farley includes word studies and other academic interests in his fresh commentary.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Epistle to the Hebrews is the latest and perhaps last volume of The Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series. The format stays true to previous volumes in that it includes both Biblical text and commentary from Fr. Lawrence Farley. I have been awaiting this volume for a while, because this epistle was always a bit confusing to me for two reasons. Number One, people often misattribute its authorship to St. Paul, and it bugged me that we didn't know who wrote it. Secondly, it was written to a Jewish audience of that time, and since I am not Jewish some of the finer details of this epistle puzzled me.

Fr. Farley however masterfully works his way through this epistle, which explains to us the importance of Jesus. We (and the Hebrew people back then) learn that Jesus is superior to the angels; greater than Moses; like Melchizedek; that He is High Priest of all of Heaven and Earth; and that we must continue to follow Him, even in times of persecution. My favorite part in these books is always the excurses (detailed side notes). Here, Fr. Farley talks about subjects such as the sacrifice of Christ and the Eucharist. Abolition of the Old Covenant, and the Wrath of God. This volume did not disappoint. I feel more knowledgeable having read it, and am glad I received it to complete my collection of this series. I hope that Fr. Farley will consider a new series for the Old Testament, but understand if he will not. A great book and a perfect commentary for anyone, not just the scholarly. Five stars.