Spanish to English Art/Literary Religion

I know what is being said in the following phrase, but I´m having a hard time putting it into English that reads properly. This phrase is found in the following context (in a project proposal):

"Para la institución de acogida el proyecto supondrá, por un lado, la continuación de los estudios de filología y crítica textual bíblica, de larga tradición pero *abocados a la desaparición* debido a la avanzada edad de sus miembros, todos ellos próximos a la jubilación".

Is the study of biblical textual criticism and philology "tending to disappear"; "diminishing"; etc., etc.?? I should be able to phrase this in an easy manner, but my tired mind is simply not finding the words. Any help to that end would be greatly appreciated!