Early Christian Commentators of the New Testament

The Early Church has produced a diversified and influential tradition of commenting on the Bible. The tradition is rich in content, in methods, and in the goals pursued. The present volume offers a selection of papers read at an international colloquium held in Leuven in December 2018. Basically, three guidelines were followed in selecting the material: language, representative authors, and the wish to cover various parts of the New Testament. Three of the ten essays deal with Greek authors. Origen takes a place of honour, and through him is also heard the voice of one of the oldest Christian commentators, Heracleon. The third one is Theodore of Mopsuestia, the major representative of the non-Alexandrian tradition, averse of an allegorical reading of the Bible. The Latins are represented by their two greatest exegetes (Jerome and Augustine), a recently rediscovered gospel commentator (Fortunatianus), two commentators on Paul (Marius Victorinus and Ambrosiaster), an influential commentator of the Apocalypse (Victorinus of Pettau), and an author who was instrumental in transmitting the legacy of the ancient Church to a new era (Bede).