Date: November 18, 2021
Last night, for the first time in two hundred years, the Seminary honored two students who had published four books together. Never before had there been a book launch for books written by seminarians. Molly Jane Layton and Garrett Ayers worked together on the four-volume A Student’s Companion to the Daily Office in Greek and Hebrew. It was an amazing and difficult project. The task was to track down the Hebrew and Greek (and one Latin) extract of the daily reading so that a student can stay fresh with their reading of Scripture in the original languages in the Daily Office. Then around these extracts, Layton and Ayers were required to write a thoughtful introduction to the relevant books of the Bible that explicated the linguistic significant themes.
The launch had many moments of laughter. The complexity of copyright law, the challenges of COVID, commentaries on Numbers “just sitting there and staring at me,” and the discovery of a Latin passage were all part of the evening. The dinner was outstanding. Family and friends were present; it was a special evening.Â
Naturally, you can buy the books here. The hope is that as seminarians learn a Biblical language, they will be invited to continue living with that language by following along (if someone else is doing the reading) or, for personal use, reading the relevant passage in the original language. The secret of language learning is to use the language. These four volumes make that possible.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President