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Major changes to Orthodox Bible Study, newest first.

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2026

  • Design

    The site now carries the original Orthodox Bible Study logo: a parchment banner across the top by day, a charcoal one with the gold logo by night, and a maroon footer on every page. The browser tab shows the gold cross and book. Every podcast season cover now has the logo at the top, and the show's description lists all 81 seasons, one per book, each with a fixed season number.

    The top of the John 1:1-18 study in light mode: a parchment banner with the maroon Orthodox Bible Study logo and the navigation in Roman capitals, above the study's title.
  • Feature

    Choose your listening speed

    Every narrated study now has speed buttons under its audio player: 0.75×, 1×, 1.2×, 1.5×, 2×, and 3×. Beside them you can see how long the rest of the study takes at that speed. Your choice is remembered on every page, including the listening list on the home page.

    The John Overview's audio player at 4:12 of 28:19, with the 1.5× speed button selected and a note that about 16 minutes are left at that speed.
  • Feature

    Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

    The narrated studies are now a podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, with each book of the Bible as its own season. Every narrated study page has links beside its audio player, and the new Podcast page gathers them in one place.

    A John study's audio player with Apple Podcasts and Spotify icons beside the Audio narration heading.
  • New Content

    Revised 1 Kings studies

    The 1 Kings studies now follow the passages more closely, with renewed attention to the Septuagint, worship, and spiritual application. Existing audio remains available but narrates the earlier text until new recordings are made.

  • New Content

    Ephesians studies now have audio narration

    All 13 Ephesians studies and the book overview can now be listened to from their study pages and in the podcast feed.

  • Fix

    Study pages show reliable dates

    Study pages no longer show a creation date taken from the latest site build. When a lesson has an authored publication date, earlier draft edits no longer appear as an update after it was published.

  • Feature

    Click to enlarge illustrations, maps, and diagrams

    Teaching schematics, biblical maps, timeline charts, and historical illustrations across the site can now be clicked or tapped to open in a full-size popup viewer with a dimmed glass backdrop. Clicking anywhere or pressing Escape returns you directly to reading.

  • New Content

    Complete audio narration for Galatians

    Every Galatians study now has audio narration: the overview and all 16 chapter studies, about five hours in total, from Paul's warning against any other gospel through freedom in Christ and the fruit of the Spirit to boasting only in the Cross and the new creation.

  • Fix

    Shelf and reading buttons look the same everywhere

    The Old Testament and New Testament buttons at the top of the Bible Studies shelves showed as plain underlined text next to a proper Deuterocanon button. They are all buttons now. The View full day button under today's readings on the homepage and the buttons on the page-not-found screen also match the rest of the site.

    Before and after: the Old Testament and New Testament links on the Bible Studies shelf showed as plain underlined text beside a Deuterocanon button; now all three are matching buttons.
  • New Content

    Complete audio narration for 2 Corinthians

    Every 2 Corinthians study now has audio narration: the overview and all 22 chapter studies, about six and a half hours in total, from the God of all comfort through grace made perfect in weakness to Paul's closing call to examine yourselves.

  • Design

    Daniel's additions get their own place on the shelf

    The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon now appear on the Old Testament shelf with their own covers, right after Daniel, instead of being reachable only from Daniel's page. Deuterocanonical books are also easier to spot: their cards carry a red accent and a filled Deuterocanon label.

  • Fix

    Missing maps and illustrations restored

    Twenty maps, icons, and paintings were not loading on 18 pages, including the Nehemiah, Tobit, Esther, Malachi, Prayer of Manasseh, and Letter of Jeremiah studies and two Church Feasts lessons. They all display again.

  • Fix

    Homepage and Daily Readings no longer freeze for Reading Journey readers

    If you use My Journey, the homepage and Daily Readings page could stop responding on days when a reading linked to a narrated study. Both pages load normally again, and the Read, Saved, and Audio labels on reading links still appear.

  • New Content

    Complete audio narration for Romans and 1 Corinthians

    Every Romans and 1 Corinthians study now has audio narration: all 37 Romans studies (about 11 hours) and all 32 studies in 1 Corinthians (about 9 hours), from the call into fellowship with the Son through the victory over death.

  • Feature

    One Bible Studies tree to browse by testament and book

    The Bible Studies shelf, the Old and New Testament shelves, each book's page, and every chapter study now sit in a single tree, so the sidebar explorer, breadcrumbs, and pages all agree. Books are in canonical order everywhere, and each testament has its own shelf with cover art.

  • New Content

    Complete audio narration for Jeremiah

    All 32 Jeremiah studies now have audio narration, from the prophet's call through Jerusalem's fall and the hope of the new covenant.

  • New Content

    Complete audio narration for Ezekiel

    All 31 Ezekiel studies now have verified audio narration, including a newly dramatized reading of the valley of dry bones in chapter 37.

  • Feature

    Poetry and songs are easier to read in New Testament studies

    Seventy-three selected quotations and song segments across 41 studies now use aligned verse gutters and hanging wraps, without changing the Scripture text.

  • Fix

    Tag pages now have proper headings

    Every tag archive page renders a real heading instead of showing the raw URL slug as its only title.

  • Feature

    Daily Readings now shows today's church calendar context

    The Daily Readings page now surfaces today's liturgical day and Synaxarium commemoration alongside the readings, backed by new calendar-accuracy checks.

  • Design

    New cover artwork for every Bible study book

    Every book in the Bible study library now has approved, consistent cover artwork.

  • New Content

    Philippians chapter study added

    A new chapter-by-chapter Bible study for Philippians is live, with cover art and navigation.

  • Feature

    Homepage now shows today's church season live

    The homepage hero surfaces today's Coptic lectionary occasion, with streamlined Today's Readings and Browse the Books actions.

  • New Content

    Audio narration for Isaiah begins

    The first ten Isaiah studies now have audio narration, almost four hours of listening, starting with the vision of sinful Judah.

  • Feature

    See which studies are narrated

    A new Narration coverage page shows how much of the library has audio, grouped by Bible section with progress for each. Chapter cards on book pages now also mark which studies are narrated.

  • Feature

    Print a discussion guide for your class

    Studies that include discussion questions or teaching notes now have a Print discussion guide button. It prints only the title, passage, lesson guide, questions, and teaching notes, ready for servants to use in class. Any other page also prints cleanly, without menus or the audio player.

  • Feature

    Scripture references now link to their studies

    References to other passages inside a study now link straight to the study for that chapter, so you can follow a cross-reference without searching.

  • New Content

    A curated page of Orthodox resources

    The new Resources page is a short, Coptic-first set of helps for reading Scripture, praying with the Church, and going deeper in the Orthodox faith.

  • Feature

    A new Contact page

    One Contact page now handles joining The Lamp, sending feedback about the site, or asking a question. It works without JavaScript, and the footer links to it from every page.

  • New Content

    The Blessed Life: a series on the Beatitudes

    A new ten-lesson series works through the Beatitudes, from the poor in spirit to those persecuted for righteousness, and asks what it means to be truly blessed.

  • New Content

    Updated John studies with audio

    The opening studies in the Gospel of John, chapters 1 through 4, have been revised and now include audio narration.

  • New Content

    Original articles added to the library

    Standalone articles, including "Why does God allow evil?" and "Is the Bible a science book?", are now in the Lessons library.

  • Feature

    Orthodox Bible Study has a new home

    The site now lives at orthodoxbiblestudy.com. Old links and the podcast feed redirect automatically, so there is nothing to change.

  • Feature

    Verse numbers in New Testament studies

    Scripture passages in New Testament studies now show verified verse numbers, so they are easier to follow and cite.