Hermeneutics and Exegesis in Eastern Christianity

This course will examine Eastern patristic and modem Orthodox thought on biblical scholarship, as well as Eastern Christian reflection on the discipline of interpretation per se. We will reflect on the place of Scripture in Eastern Christian doctrine, liturgy and practice, and address contemporary issues in interpretation from an Eastern Christian perspective. Among the specific issues to be discussed will be the existence of distinctive canons and the use of different versions (e.g. the Septuagint), the place of typology, worship as hermeneutical matrix, and dimensions of Eastern Christian philosophical hermeneutics. The achievements of modem Western biblical exegesis will be correlated to the thinking of contemporary Eastern Christian authors. The insights of philosophical hermeneutics will also be discussed.