ST. PAUL’S MAGISTERIAL LETTER TO THE ROMANS: A 16-PART BIBLE STUDY PROGRAM CONCLUDES

On Wednesday, February 4, the Prelacy’s 16-part Bible study on St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans concluded. The program was led by Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian, Director of Christian Education for the Eastern Prelacy.

The program began on October 1 and was held on Wednesdays, including a Q&A session. Approximately 90 people participated, with about 55 attending regularly. Participants joined from across the East Coast (MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DC, VA, and FL), as well as from MI, IL, TX, AZ, and CA—including a participant from Australia.

The central thesis of the Letter to the Romans is encapsulated in chapter 1, verses 16–17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’” In sixteen powerful chapters of his magisterial Letter to the Romans, St. Paul, the Apostle of Christ, unpacks every phrase of this thesis, offering one of the most profound presentations of the Gospel in all of Scripture.

Concluding the series, Dn. Shant said, “If we truly desire to understand the Gospel of Christ, it behooves us to commit time, effort, and energy to studying this letter—not just once.” He added, “Granted, not everyone has the facility to undertake such an endeavor. That’s why the Church must provide such opportunities to the faithful.” He continued, “We owe it to our own spiritual formation and renewal to study St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans several times in our lifetime. It should be a required course of study for all who take the Gospel of Christ seriously.”