# 4(7) 1995

SUMMARY

     Psalm 136 presented in several versions opens the 7th issue (the 4th in 1995) of the journal "Alpha and Omega". We print its Church Slavonic text and the standard Synodal Russian translation followed by translations and versifications of the Psalm made by Russian poets N. Jazykov, F. Glinka, L. Mey, A. Sergeev and Fr. Roman (Matyushin).
     The section "Biblical Studies" contains papers by Fr. Sergij CHETVERIKOV "On Inward Obstacles on one's Way to the Gospel" and "Two Biblical Sermons (on Is 6:8, and on Heb 11:30)" by Archimandrite LEV (Gillet) translated into Russian for the first time. A paper by Thomas KAUT "Who were the three Holy Kings? Where did they come from? What Star lead them to Bethlehem?" addresses the Nativity narrative in the Gospel of Matthew (2:1-18). A further selection of Introductions to Biblical books from the Jerusalem Bible, this time on the Books Tobit, Judith, Esther, Maccabees, Wisdom and Job concludes the section.
     The next section "Patristic Exegesis" contains "Treatises" by St. John DAMASCENE and "The Oration on Asceticism" by STEPHEN of Thebaide both translated into Russian for the first time. Here we print also a paper by Fr. Mikhail DRONOV "St. John Chrisostom, the Archbishop of Constantinople".
     The section "Church in History" includes the first part of Fr. John MEYENDORFF's article "Byzantine Views of Islam", a paper by Archimandrite MAKARIJ (Veretennikov) "From the life of Makarij, Methropolitan of Moscow and the whole Russia", and a paper by Fr. Deacon Andrej KURAEV "On our Defeat".
     St. PATRICK of IRELAND's "Confessions" translated into Russian for the first time belong to the section "Church in Eternity".
     In the next section, "Baptising All Nations", we print a paper by Yelena MILKOVA "The Baptism of Ireland and the Irish Church in the V-IX centuries".
     The section "Problems of Bible Translation" includes the "Letter LVII to Pammachius on the best Way of Translation" by St. JEROME of STRIDO, which represents the views of the most outstanding Bible translator of the Patristic age.
     The reference materials in the end of the issue include the second, and last, part of Sergej GLUSHENKOV's account "I was in the 'Moscow Church of Christ' " followed by an editorial afterword, and the complete list of our journal's contents in years 1994-1995.