The Fathers on the Bible This book offers an overview of how the Church Fathers used and inter- preted biblical texts. It brings together a range of different Christian con- fessional 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 schol- ars of Christian theology, the history of Christianity, biblical studies and patristics. Nicu Dumitras¸cu is Professor of Patristics, Mission and Ecumenism in the Faculty of Orthodox Theology “Episcop Dr. Vasile Coman” at the Univer- sity of Oradea, Romania. His previous book with Routledge is Basil the Great: Faith, Mission and Diplomacy in the Shaping of Christian Doctrine (2018). Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies The Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Bibli- cal Studies series brings high quality research monograph publishing back into focus for authors, international libraries, and student, academic and research readers. This open-ended monograph series presents cutting-edge research from both established and new authors in the field. With specialist focus yet clear contextual presentation of contemporary research, books in the series take research into important new directions and open the field to new critical debate within the discipline, in areas of related study, and in key areas for contemporary society. God After the Church Lost Control Sociological Analysis and Critical-Constructive Theology Jan-Olav Henriksen and Pål Repstad Religion and Intersex Perspectives from Science, Law, Culture, and Theology Stephanie A. Budwey Exploring Theological Paradoxes Cyril Orji African Churches Ministering ‘to and with’ Persons with Disabilities Perspectives from Zimbabwe Nomatter Sande The Fathers on the Bible Edited by Nicu Dumitraşcu The Theological Imperative to Authenticity Christy M. Capper For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/ religion/series/RCRITREL The Fathers on the Bible Edited by Nicu Dumitras¸cu First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Nicu Dumitras¸cu; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Nicu Dumitras¸cu to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the author for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 9781032209562 (hbk) ISBN: 9781032226613 (pbk) ISBN: 9781003273592 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003273592 Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra Contents List of contributors vii Preface ix NICU DUMITRAȘCU 1 St. Athanasius of Alexandria on the Interpretation of the Psalms 1 JOHN ANTHONY MCGUCKIN 2 Psalmody in the Hesychastic Tradition 13 KRZYSZTOF LEŚNIEWSKI 3 How the Latin Christians Started to Read the Book of Isaiah 34 ANNI MARIA LAATO 4 The Fathers on the Third Temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:8–11 48 HECTOR SCERRI 5 Defending the Scriptural Legitimacy of Ousia Language: St. Athanasius and Basil of Ancyra 60 GHEORGHE OVIDIU SFERLEA 6 Questioning St. Gregory of Nyssa’s Anthropology and Theory of Sexuality in On the Making of Man 75 FLORIN TOADER TOMOIOAGĂ 7 Philo and Ambrose on Genesis 25 as Slavery in Passions 93 VICTOR YUDIN 8 Wealth and Power: A Personal Meditation on Luke 18:18–25 {With Short Pastoral and Patristic Comments} 110 NICU DUMITRAȘCU vi Contents 9 “Love Whoever Hates You and Persecutes You” The Reception of the Mount Sermon in a Fourth-Century Anonymous Work 124 PABLO ARGÁRATE 10 Theological Principles in the Formation of the Biblical Canon According to Athanasius’ Thirty Ninth Paschal Letter 141 GUNNAR AF HÄLLSTRÖM 11 Augustine’s Approach to Scriptural Interpretation 153 CARL SÉAN O’BRIEN 12 The Doctrine of Love in Saint’s Gregory the Great Commentaries on the Song of Songs 172 ADINA VOICHIȚA ROȘU 13 The Configuration of Ethos in Gregory Nazianzus’s First Theological Oration 185 ANCA TOMOIOAGĂ 14 The Contribution of St. John Chrysostom to the Understanding of Pauline Hamartiology 217 ȘTEFAN FLOREA 15 Between Sacrament and Vocation: Augustine’s Biblical Teaching on Marriage and Its Influence on Luther’s Theology 232 PIOTR KOPIEC Index 247 Contributors Pablo Argárate is Professor and Head of Department at the Institute for Ecumenical Theology, Eastern Orthodoxy and Patristics at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Graz (Austria). Nicu Dumitras¸cu is Professor in Patristics, Mission and Ecumenism of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology “Episcop Dr. Vasile Coman”, University of Oradea (Romania). He currently directs the Ecumenical Patristic So- ciety, a formal Research Association for Patristics, History and Chris- tian Spirituality. Ștefan Florea is Professor of Systematic Theology at the Faculty of Ortho- dox Theology and Educational Science, “Valahia” University of Târgo- viste (Romania). Gunnar af Hällström is a retired Professor of Systematic Theology and Pa- tristics at the Åbo Akademi University in Turku (Finland). Piotr Kopiec is Professor of Ecumenical Theology in the Ecumenical Insti- tute and Lecturer of Sociology in the Institute of Family Studies at the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin (Poland). He also is President of the Theological Commission of the International Ecumenical Fellow- ship and Secretary of the Editorial Board of “Roczniki Teologiczne” (Annals of Theology). Anni Maria Laato is Adjunct Professor in Dogmatics at the Åbo Akademi University, and in Patristic Studies at the University of Helsinki. She is also the chair of the Finnish Patristic Society. Krzysztof Leśniewski is Professor of Orthodox Theology at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland). John Anthony McGuckin is the Nielsen Chair of Ancient Church History Emeritus at Union Theological Seminary, and Emeritus Professor of Byzantine Christian Studies at Columbia University in New York. He is currently a member of Oxford University’s Theological Faculty, and viii Contributors directs the Sophia Institute, an International Research Centre for East- ern Orthodox culture. Carl Séan O’Brien is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Ruprecht- Karls-Universität Heidelberg (Germany). Adina Voichița Roșu is Assistant Lecturer of Classical Language, and Pa- tristics at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology “Episcop Dr. Vasile Co- man”, University of Oradea (Romania). Hector Scerri is Professor in Systematic Theology (Christology, sacraments and eschatology) and Ecumenism at the University of Malta (Malta). Gheorghe Ovidiu Sferlea is a Lecturer in Mission and Ecumenism at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology “Episcop Dr. Vasile Coman”, University of Oradea (Romania). Anca Tomoioagă is a Lecturer of Romanian Literature and Romanian Language for Foreigners at the Faculty of Letters, University of Oradea (Romania). Florin Toader Tomoioagă is a Lecturer in Systematic Theology at the Fac- ulty of Orthodox Theology “Episcop Dr. Vasile Coman”, University of Oradea (Romania). Victor Yudin is a Lecturer in Patristics and Dogmatic Theology at H. Jo- hannes de Theoloog College (Brussels/Ghent, Belgium) and Deacon at St. Matthew’s Orthodox Parish (Leuven, Belgium). Preface The history of European culture and civilization cannot be conceived with- out the contribution and influence of Christianity, whether we are talking about literature, poetry, education, art or even technology. Even though, in recent decades, the process of secularization has shifted the center of gravity of life and culture in general, from God to man, leading the lat- ter to believe that he could become the master of the universe, he rather turns himself into its prisoner, because the progress of science, in all its forms, unfortunately comes with spiritual regression. Convinced that rea- son will allow him to rule nature and the outside world, modern man is no longer interested in heavenly paradise, but in the construction of an earthly paradise, which ultimately turns out to be a chimera and a source of un- happiness. Therefore, the return to traditional Christian values and their preeminence in the hope of regaining the spiritual balance in contemporary society seems a recurring theme, which never loses its importance. In other words, although for many young people today, theology is an exotic field, fixed somewhere in time, as a relic of the past, it can always be a factor of the permanent renewal of life and relationships between people, because it came always with an answer to most of the problems that humanity has faced throughout its history. And its most important representatives were, without a doubt, the Church Fathers. They are the champions of the interpretation of the Holy Scripture and the transmission of its message over the ages to the present day because they can answer, through their own experiences, the essential questions people ask, regardless of faith, race or ethnicity, old or young, men or women. They do not address, as was sometimes mistakenly believed, only monks, ascetics or practicing Christians, pietists or even fundamentalists, but all people who want to discover (or rediscover) their vocation as “imitators” of Christ. They contributed, through their faith, eloquence and sacrifice, to the correct understanding of the Old Testament’s relation with the New Testament and the fulfillment and continuity of the former into the lat- ter, to the establishment of Christian spirituality in a world permanently marked by crises and confrontations which turned it away from God, the