| CODE | HPA2720 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Patristic Biblical Exegesis | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Church History, Patrology and Palaeochristian Archaeology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | For the Fathers of the Church, to be Christian means to know God through the Holy Scriptures, to speak of Him in a correct way and to live according to His word. This study unit will cover the following arguments through the history of biblical exegesis in the first centuries if the Christian era: - Philo's foundations of biblical interpretation in Alexandria; - typological, allegorical and literal interpretation; - literary genres and rhetorical elements in the biblical interpretation of the Fathers; - exegetical treatises and homilies - the Greek masters of exegesis: Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria and Theodore of Mopsuestia; - the Latin masters of exegesis: Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome; - the Fathers and the apocrypha; - exegesis from a heretical outlook: Gnosis, Arianism, Pelagianism, Monophysitism. Study-Unit Aims: The study units aims to discuss pertinent questions in the origins of Christian interpretation of Holy Scripture, such as: - how did early Christians read Scripture? - how did the Fathers of the Church understand Scripture? - how did they live according to their interpretation of the sacred texts? These questions will be solved through - reading and understanding their commentaries and homilies; - analyzing the schools of patristic exegesis and their methodologies. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - outline the various exegetical modes in the patristic period; - define the development of exegetical terminology; - relate this terminology with its influence on the theological debate of the time. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - illustrate the relation between biblical interpretation and the liturgy in the patristic era; - review the literary patrimony related to biblical interpretation hailing from the early Christian centuries; - compare the different styles of interpretation within different schools in the East and between Eastern and Western exegetes. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Blowers P. M.-Martens P. (2019). The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation. (Oxford: Oxford University Press). (Eds) Supplementary Readings: - Froehlich K. (1984). Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press). - Grant R.-Tracy D., (1984). A Short History of the Interpretation of the Bible. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press). Chapters 5-8. - Hovhanessian V. S. (2016). The School of Antioch. Biblical Theology and the Church in Syria. (New York: Peter Lang Publishing). (Ed.) - Kannengeisser C. (2004) Handbook of Patristic Exegesis. The Bible in Ancient Christianity. (Leiden: Brill). 2 vols. - Norelli E. (1993). La Bibbia nell'antichita' Cristiana. Vol. 1 Da Gesu' a Origene. (Bologna: Edizioni Dehoniane). (Ed.) - Simonetti M. (1985) Lettera e/o Allegoria. Un contributo alla storia dell'esegesi patristica. (Roma: Institutum Patriticum "Augustinianum"). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Jonathan Farrugia |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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