About

The École is the oldest biblical and archaeological research center in the Holy Land. It was founded in 1890 by Father Marie-Joseph Lagrange (1855-1938) in the Dominican convent of St Stephen in Jerusalem, which had been established in 1882.

Inspired by the name of the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes, established in Paris in 1868, Father Lagrange called his foundation the École pratique d’études bibliques (Practical School of Biblical Studies), in order to emphasize its particular methodology.

Mission

The Bible School, through its work, its publications, the training of professors and researchers, has contributed to the progress of the Biblical sciences in the Church, and thus to that of theology and pastoral care, 'the the study of the Holy Scriptures being the soul of holy theology 'as of pastoral preaching' (Constitution Dei Verbum, 24). The purpose of the School is to study and make known the Bible as it is illuminated by its geographical and historical environment.

In addition to the classical disciplines of biblical exegesis and theology, it extends its field to related disciplines, such as the history and geography of the Near East, the archeology of the biblical countries, the oriental languages.
It joins to the theoretical study of these disciplines, on the one hand, the implementation of the appropriate methods, on the other hand, the exploration of the places mentioned by the Bible.