The Central and Eastern European Bible Commentary (CEEBC) is at a very early stage – the seed of the idea has been planted, an editorial team chosen, and contributors found.
The process of putting together this one-volume Bible commentary (plus 100 articles on regional issues) includes many meetings, conference calls, drafts, edits and gruelling hard work.
The theological editors of the CEEBC meeting for a writers’ seminar in Poland last year.
The CEEBC’s theological editors met for a few days in November last year in Poland, for a writers’ seminar. Editors brought along their first written pieces, (commentaries and articles), for discussion by the editorial team. Langham Partnership editor Isobel Stevenson trained them in the process of critiquing and editing their own and each other’s writings.
United despite diversity
It was a very useful exercise in developing a common approach to Bible interpretation. It is vital for this commentary to be cohesive and for there to be unity, as the region has tremendous cultural and church diversity.
Langham Partnership editor Isobel Stevenson showed the editors show to edit and critique each other’s work.
Samples of commentaries and articles will now be used for promotion and also for guiding the many authors from different countries when they start writing their contributions.
Corneliu Constantineanu, the General Editor for the CEEBC, comes from Romania and teaches at the University of Arad. He was interviewed at the writers’ seminar by fellow theological editor Marcel Macelaru about his involvement with the project.
Interview
Marcel Macelaru: As the General Editor, what prompted you to start this project, what’s exciting to you about this project?
Corneliu Constantineanu: Well it is really a unique project indeed because this is… we don’t have, in our part of the world, we do not have a Bible commentary, a one volume Bible commentary written by people from this region. But what really excites me the most is that we think by the end of this project, we’ll put a one-volume Bible commentary in the hands of pastors, lay leaders who preach, in the hands of students who are doing ministry in the church. So they will have a contextual interpretation of the Bible in their own language, it’s very exciting. I’m looking forward to having it done!
Marcel Macelaru: As General Editor, I imagine that you will do a lot of editing, however do you do any particular book, do you comment on a particular book?
Corneliu Constantineanu: I do the commentary on Romans, and I think as I start thinking about this, quite a few things that are very very important for our context. Romans deals with issues of Good News – our regions need to hear afresh the Good News of the Gospel. Romans deals with issues of peace, reconciliation, deals with the issue of justice, extremely important issues, for people living in this part of the world. So really in Romans we will deal with these issues and I’m sure it will be very helpful for believers.
