This book offers an overview of how the Church Fathers used and intepretated biblical texts. It brings together a range of different Christian confessional and social perspectives to explore the biblical basis and impact of their thinking. The contributors cover different ages and traditions, with each chapter focusing on a specific individual and theme. The book takes an ecumenical approach to the relationship between the Church Fathers and Holy Scripture and fosters a better understanding of the relationship between Christian tradition and the Bible. It will be of interest to scholars of Christian theology, the history of Christianity, biblical studies and patristics.
Preface
Nicu Dumitrașcu
1 St. Athanasius of Alexandria on the Interpretation of the Psalms
John Anthony McGuckin
2 Psalmody in the Hesychastic Tradition
Krzysztof Lesniewski
3 How the Latin Christians Started to Read the Book of Isaiah
Anni Maria Laato
4 The Fathers on the Third Temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:8-11
Hector Scerry
5 Defending the Scriptural Legitimacy of Ousia Language: St. Athanasius and Basil of Ancyra
Gheorghe Ovidiu Sferlea
6 Questioning St. Gregory of Nyssa's Anthropology and Theory of Sexuality in On the Making of Man
Florin Toader Tomoioagă
7 Philo and Ambrose on Genesis 25 as Slavery in Passions
Victor Yudin
8 Wealth and Power: A Personal Meditation on Luke 18:18-25 {With Short Pastoral and Patristic Comments}
Nicu Dumitrașcu
9 "Love Whoever Hates You and Persecutes You" The Reception of the Mount Sermon in a Fourth-Century Anonymous Work
Pablo Argárate
10 Theological Principles in the Formation of the Biblical Canon According to Athanasius' Thirty Ninth Paschal Letter
Gunnar af Hällström
11 Augustine’s Approach to Scriptural Interpretation
Carl Séan O’Brien
12 The Doctrine of Love in Saint’s Gregory the Great Commentaries on the Song of Songs
Adina Voichița Rosu
13 The Configuration of Ethos in Gregory of Nazianzus's First Theological Oration
Anca Tomoioagă
14 The Contribution of St. John Chrysostom to the Understanding of Pauline Hamartiology
Ștefan Florea
15 Between Sacrament and Vocation: Augustine’s Biblical Teaching on Marriage and Its Influence on Luther’s Theology
Piotr Kopiec
Biography
Nicu Dumitraşcu is Professor of Patristics, Mission and Ecumenism in the Faculty of Orthodox Theology "Episcop Dr. Vasile Coman" at the University of Oradea, Romania. His previous book with Routledge is Basil the Great: Faith, Mission and Diplomacy in the Shaping of Christian Doctrine (2018).
"The statement that « The Fathers of the Church belong to us all » is widely known, and implies that no one is excluded from studying the Fathers, be it Christians from different churches or faiths, or even researchers who may not altogether believe in Christ the Savior. Professor Nicu Dumitraşcu demonstrates this in excellent fashion in his collective work, gathering together researchers in various countries and communities in the world. The Fathers lived in a physical and cultural environment closely resembling that of the New Testament, and when they examined biblical texts and messages, they did not have to make the effort - as we do today - to acclimatize themselves to the world in which the first messengers of the Bible existed. Actually, they ease the transition between today’s world and theirs, helping us better understand the latter, with a view to making Biblical revelation – if we wish it to be – integral to our lives".
Benoît Gain, Professor Emeritus, Grenoble University
"This admirable collection intersects historical periods and confessional perspectives in an effort to rediscover the roots of our scriptural and patristic past through a process of scholarly translation and communication of its teachings and treasures".
Rev. Dr. John Chryssagis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Honorary professor: Sydney College of Divinity
"The Fathers on the Bible brings together fifteen articles by Eastern and Western European theologians to reflect on the way the Church Fathers read and interpreted the Scripture. This collective volume is an important addition to our understanding of the use of biblical texts during the first Christian millennium. It will have a special appeal to systematic theologians, biblical and patristic scholars, church historians, and ecumenists, as well as to a wider public interested in the enduring relevance of the Church Fathers’ approach to the Scripture".
Peter De Mey, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
"A vast and comprehensive work on the Church Fathers’ Biblical hermeneutics written by scholars of different Christian denominations. A curated collection of in-depth essays on the writings of Eastern and Western Fathers and their contribution to today’s interpretation of Scripture".
Daniel Ayuch, University of Balamand in Lebanon
"Christian thought and practice would have never been the same had the Fathers in the ancient Church not consumed the Word of God. This work evokes a rich patristic theology that moves heads and hearts."
John Anthony Berry, University of Malta
