Bernard Orchard - Biblical Scholar

Biblical Scholar

After completing his biblical commentary in 1951, and in addition to his headmaster’s duties, Orchard embarked with Reginald C. Fuller, his erstwhile fellow Ealing Priory pupil, on producing a new translation of the Bible, suitable for both liturgical and academic use, which was published in 1967. At the age of 60, and finally free from stewardship of the school, Orchard resumed his career as a biblical scholar in earnest. He participated in the establishment in 1969 and was the second General Secretary (1970–1972) of the World Catholic Federation and, displaying the same vigour evident in his revival of St Benedict's School, organised and financed a series of international conferences on the Gospels. During the 1970s he spent four years as spiritual director of the Beda College in Rome and took up the position of Visiting Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Dallas (Dallas, Texas) before returning to the community at Ealing for the remainder of his life.

Following in the footsteps of his mentor Christopher Butler, Orchard promulgated, in the face of general scholarly scepticism, the Griesbach hypothesis, which he renamed the Two-Gospel Hypothesis, which maintained that the Gospel of Matthew was the first and the Gospel of Mark the last, being a synthesis of Matthew's Gospel and the Gospel of Luke. Into his old age he remained a familiar face in biblical circles, lecturing worldwide in support of his hypothesis. Aged 95, he publicly declined the invitation of Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster to attend a lecture which would support the priority of Mark's Gospel.