I don't think the synod of Jerusalem is necessarily dogmatic on their questions. That being said, I do think it is a witness to the teaching of the Church. The first catechetical question is whether all Christians should read scripture in the common tongue.
I think a person would be hard pressed to come up with some kind of authoritative rule from the Fathers that laymen ought not read the scriptures. St John Chrysostom repeatedly encouraged his parishioners to read the scriptures, saying things like "I also always entreat you, and do not cease entreating you, not only to pay attention here to what I say, but also when you are at home, to persevere continually in reading the divine Scriptures. When I have been with each of you in private, I have not stopped giving you the same advice." Later in that same passage he says "For it is not possible -
not possible - for anyone to be saved without continually taking advantage of spiritual reading."
Even so, he also notes "If a man should come here with earnestness - even though he does not read the Scriptures at home - and if he pays attention to what is said here, within the space of even one year he will be able to obtain a considerable acquaintance with them. For we do not read these Scriptures today, and tomorrow others that are quite different, but always the same section and consecutively."
So we should say perhaps what is the council of Jerusalem saying? It says - should everyone read? No. But the elaboration on that answer comes in two parts: who should read, and who should not.
Who should read:
- those who with fitting research have inquired into the deep things of the Spirit
- who know in what manner the Divine Scriptures ought to be searched, and taught, and finally read
Who should not read:
- those who are not so disciplined
- who cannot distinguish
- who understand only literally
- who understand in any other way contrary to Orthodoxy
How can we then learn, or move from one category to the other? They elaborate: "Indeed, it is permitted to every Orthodox to hear the Scriptures, that he may believe with the heart unto righteousness, and confess with the mouth unto salvation." We should remember The Orthodox Church has always made it a practice to translate the scriptures into the local vernacular, and argued against the trilingual heresy (Sts Cyril and Methodius lead this one). So it good for every Christian to
hear the scriptures [in Church]...which has been the historical guideline for what even is scripture anyway (those books which are
read in the Church).
And why should those not read? Because "the Church knows by experience the damage it can cause." St John says as much - "[From ignorance of the Scriptures] it is that the plague of heresies has broken out."
The idea isn't to say, hey, laymen, you can't read scripture. But instead, if you're not going to come to Church, to be taught in the Church, to grow in the Faith, then there is no profit whatsoever in reading the scriptures by yourself anyway - and there is the risk of considerable damage.
