Patristic Exegesis as
CONTEMPLATION
The Spiritual Sense of Scripture
Thursday - Saturday, October 8-10, 2026
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
50 Goddard Ave, Brookline, Massachusetts 02445
Speakers
Demetrios Bathrellos
Paul Blowers
Hans Boersma
Bogdan G. Bucur
Michael Cover
Elizabeth A. Dively Lauro
Brian Dunkle
Laura Locke Estes
Demetrios Harper
Jennifer Hevelone-Harper
Ian Christopher Levy
Michael Legaspi
Peter Martens
George Parsenios
Eugen J. Pentiuc
Tikhon Alexander Pino
Alexis Torrance
Frances Young
Join us for an international conference on the campus of Hellenic College / Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston that will bring together a wide range of scholars and specialists in biblical studies and historical and systematic theology to examine the relationship between the Church Fathers and the spiritual reading of Scripture.
We will explore traditions of patristic exegesis as a form of contemplation or contemplative activity in which theoria, as both vision and interpretation, is applied to the inner meaning or spiritual depths of the biblical text.
Papers will explore the relationship in patristic literature between the reading of Scripture and such categories as mysticism, theophany, spirituality, ascetical theology, anagogy, and mystagogy. The contributions will attempt to move beyond the dichotomies associated with allegory and other forms of interpretation to explore Early Christian and medieval understandings of exegesis as part of a broader life in the Spirit or spiritual activity as a form of beholding and encountering God through the medium of the biblical text.
Event Information
Opening Lecture, Paul Blowers: Thursday, October 8, 7:00 PM EDT
Keynote Presentation, Frances Young: Friday, October 9, 9:00 AM EDT
Concluding panel: Saturday, October 10, 3:30 PM EDT
The full schedule will be published soon.
Registration Information
Conference registration includes access to all lectures and panels, a Thursday evening reception, light breakfast and a sit-down lunch on both Friday and Saturday, as well as coffee and refreshments for the duration of the conference. Please note that we are unable to offer accommodation on campus. Register below.
Presentations
Paul Blowers
How Much Spirit is in the Letter? Contemplating the Sensus Litteralis in Patristic Exegesis
Hans Boersma
Exegesis and Contemplation: Reflections on Maximus the Confessor
Bogdan G. Bucur
Exegesis and the Experience of Divine Indwelling in Ps.-Macarius
Michael B. Cover
From the Letter to the Syllable of Scripture (Strom. 6.15.131): Jewish and Christian Roots of Clement of Alexandria’s Expanding Spiritual Sense
Elizabeth A. Dively Lauro
Origen's Vision of Salvation through Scriptural Exegesis
Brian Dunkle
Biblical Translation as Spiritual Interpretation in Hilary, Ambrose, and Jerome
Laura Locke Estes
Imagining the Matriarchs' Prayer in Syriac Metrical Homilies
Jennifer Hevelone-Harper
Speaking with the Words of Scripture: Barsanuphius and John's Use of Scripture in Spiritual Direction
Ian Christopher Levy
Determining the Spiritual Senses in the Later Middle Ages
Peter Martens
How ’Spiritual’ was Antiochene Biblical Commentary?
George Parsenios
‘Go from your Father's House’ (Psalm 44:10 LXX): Theoria, Ekphrasis and Exegesis in the Catechetical Orations of St. John Chrysostom
Eugen J. Pentiuc
The Oxford Ancient Christian Study Bible: From Glossa Ordinaria to Study Bibles
Frances Young
Eisegesis as Spiritual Exegesis - Early Christians Reading Themselves into Scripture
Respondent Panel
Demetrios Bathrellos, Demetrios Harper, Michael Legaspi, Tikhon Pino, Alexis Torrance
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Registration Information
Conference registration includes access to all lectures and panels, a Thursday evening reception, light breakfast and a sit-down lunch on both Friday and Saturday, as well as coffee and refreshments for the duration of the conference. Please note that we are unable to offer accommodation on campus.
All public portions of this event will be held at the Maliotis Cultural Center on the campus of Hellenic College Holy Cross. Free parking available. Click here to view a map of campus.
