---
title: "T7295 Patristic Readings of Scripture · St Cyril’s"
url: https://stcyrils.edu.au/units/t7295-patristic-readings-of-scripture
description: "This undergraduate course unit surveys the main hermeneutical (method of interpretation) trends and themes within the patristic tradition, from the early…"
---

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4. T7295

T7295

# Patristic Readings of Scripture

Code

T7295

Level

Undergraduate

Weighting

9 credit points

Type

Specialised

Discipline

Theology

On this page

1. [Prerequisites, corequisites or exclusions](#prerequisites-corequisites-or-exclusions)
2. [Academic Staff](#academic-staff)
3. [Curriculum Objectives](#curriculum-objectives)
4. [Learning Outcomes](#learning-outcomes)
5. [Content](#content)
6. [Unit Schedule](#unit-schedule)

Check the [timetable](https://stcyrils.edu.au/timetable) to see when this unit is next offered, then[enrol online](https://stcyrils.edu.au/enrol).

## Prerequisites, corequisites or exclusions

9 credit points of a Theology unit (i.e “Introduction to Theology” or “Church Fathers: An Introduction”)

## Academic Staff

Very Rev. Dr Doru Costache, BTh (Bucharest 1993), PhD (Bucharest 2000), Senior Lecturer

## Curriculum Objectives

This undergraduate course unit surveys the main hermeneutical (method of interpretation) trends and themes within the patristic tradition, from the early Christian centuries to the end of the seventh century. It examines various ways of engaging Scripture from a comparative perspective and with reference to the ‘hermeneutical turn’ in contemporary scholarship.

## Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit students will be able to:

1. Appraise the historical and cultural contexts of the various trends in patristic hermeneutics (methods of interpretation)
2. Display an awareness of the main methods and themes pertaining to patristic hermeneutics
3. Critically analyse samples of patristic engagement with Scripture
4. Critically utilise the tools of contemporary hermeneutics
5. Assess the relevance of contemporary hermeneutics for the understanding of the patristic ways of engaging Scripture

## Content

1. The ‘hermeneutical turn’ and the patristic engagement of Scripture
2. Scriptural interpretation: The first and the second century
3. Scriptural interpretation: The third and the fourth century
4. Scriptural interpretation: From the fifth to the seventh century
5. Patristic interpretation, the historical-critical method, and the ‘hermeneutical turn’: a way forward

## Unit Schedule

**Week 1:** The ‘hermeneutical turn’ and the patristic engagement of Scripture

**Week 2:** What is Scripture? Patristic insights into the scriptural “senses”

**Week 3:** The meaning of patristic literalism

_Assessment task 1._

**Week 4:** Typological interpretation

**Week 5:** Anagogical, spiritual, or allegorical interpretation

**Week 6:** Mystagogy: Elements of a holistic hermeneutic

_Assessment task 2._

**Week 7:** The first case study: Scripture maps the spiritual journey (_Origen_)

**Week 8:** The second case study: Walking through Scripture towards the paradise (_Ephrem_)

**Week 9:** The third case study: The psalms as a key to Scripture (_Athanasius_)

**Week 10:** The fourth case study: The mystery of Christ is central to all Scripture (_Cyril_)

**Week 11:** The fifth case study: Scripture as a human being (_Maximus_)

**Week 12:** Patristic interpretation, the historical-critical method, and the ‘hermeneutical turn’: a way forward

_Assessment task 3._

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