I specified monks and some pious laymen. I certainly did not mean to imply that this is or was common practice.
For most of the history of the Church, manuscripts of the Scripture were precious hand-copied items. The phenomenon of having the people read readily available Scriptures for themselves at home was one that never existed until the invention of the printing press. This is something that Protestants forget -- everyone certainly didn't have a Gideon's bible in his cloak. The Scriptures were, in those early days, and for centuries thereafter, primarily something that was read publically in church settings.
That said, I am relating what Orthodox spiritual fathers are known to have instilled in their spiritual children in Russia, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the combination of readily available Bibles and a spiritual awakening was present.
The writings of and about the Optina elders talk about this emphasis on reading the Scriptures, as does St. Ignaty (Brianchaninov), and as does The Way of the Pilgrim. In Greece, the most prominent thing in Photios Kontoglou's private study was an analogion with a Gospel on it -- his knowledge of Scripture was legendary (he was a layman all his life.) Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) was affectionately known as "a walking concordance" when he taught in pre-revolutionary Russian seminaries, and inculcated that emphasis in those he taught.
St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco was trained in Serbian seminaries during the exile and was influenced by Metropolitan Anthony and by the great Serbian bishop Nikolai of Zhicha. One famous story about St. John is that there was a service with a very long reading from the Scriptures. The reader, feeling the service was going on too long, decided to quietly turn two pages at once, thinking no-one would notice that two pages were skipped. St. John stopped him in mid-sentence, and from where he stood, recited from memory the entire missing two pages.
At an Orthodox parish here in America, a visiting deacon from Russia about 20 years ago was invited to read the Gospel (not a short one). Too late, they realized that they only had an English Gospel, and that the deacon's English was quite poor. The deacon calmly took the Gospel, put it on the analogion, and proceeded to chant the entire Gospel passage in Slavonic from memory -- those in the congregation who knew Slavonic said he didn't miss a word.
I did not claim that these things are or were the rule in Orthodox countries -- if it came across that way, I did not mean it to, and I appreciate the correction. I simply was conveying that for those seriously pursuing the spiritual life in Orthodox countries (ones that were free from the Turkish yoke during the time of the printing press, that is), the personal reading of the Scriptures was encouraged, and it is strongly encouraged today to read, meditate on, and memorize the Scriptures.
It goes without saying that for every Orthodox Christian, one's understanding of the Scriptures is shaped by the liturgical services and the guidance of one's spiritual father. If one had a choice between attending the services every day and hearing the Scripture passages there vs. having the whole Bible in one's hands only to be turned loose without any guidance on how to understand it (as the Ethiopian eunuch noted, how can one understand unless someone explains?) -- well, I personally think that any Orthodox Christian would be wise to choose attending the services and going to confession, just as did the people in Kosta's account of life in the place where he grew up.
I didn't mean it as a correction, Agriarian, rather as a clarification. You are absolutely right about the Orthodox Church relying on the Scriptures. Anything written by Elder Cleopa, for example, is full of biblical references; the same is found in Philokalia and even in ordinary homilies on Sundays.
It sort of goes without saying that the clergy, especially the monastics, would "know" the Bible — and by that it is understood by rote, from having read it countless numbers of times.
The simple Orthodox folk, the people of God, do not presume that they can just open the Bible and "understand" the depths of it, let alone teach it. What I wirte is what I believe at the moment, but I never presume it's the truth. Despite my objections, in the final anlysis I always defer to those who are supposed "know the Bible," and follow a paraphrased Taoist adage: Orthodoxy is the way it is even if I don't understand it. I go to my confessions, and experience faith through Divine Liturgy, leaving my opinions and (mis)conceptions behind.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.