The Meaning of Lexical Forms with Regards to the Interpretation of Scripture, According to Treatise 43 ‘Amphilochia’ of St. Photius the Patriarch

Abstract

Despite the existence of a tremendous bibliography on the works of the great saint of the 9th century, the holy patriarch Photius, not a lot of researches that considered him as a philologist and scholar who, having experience in reading and analyzing a whole array of ancient texts, drew conclusions on how to properly use texts for having the right understanding of them, what linguistic skills the reader should possess and what philological techniques should be used in solving exegetical difficulties. This publication presents the views of St. Patriarch Photius on the lexical value of the word for the work of a Christian theologian, interpreter of Christian texts and a dogmatist. The views of St. Photius is about the importance of philological erudition, the moral state of a person and possessing special charisma for a correct understanding and interpretation of sacred texts. The meaning of the word in the exegesis of the sacred texts is shown by the example of the interpretation of St. Photius of the aporia about why the Acts of Apostles refers to baptism exclusively in the name of the Lord Jesus, contrary to the command of Christ to baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity (Matthew 28, 19). The author reveals the philological views of St. Photius on the causes of the variety of names and terms in sacred texts; the value of semantic shades for the transmission of dogmatic ideas; the qualities of a genuine Christian philologist; the need for philological training that precedes the reading and interpretation of sacred texts.