Bibbia e progresso teologico in Basilio di Cesarea

Abstract

In the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, n. 48, Benedict XVI claims that exegesis ought to listen to the saints. Having let themselves be shaped by Scripture and guided by the Holy Spirit, they found in the Bible new lights that have enriched the life of the Church throughout the centuries. Benedict XVI goes on to point out several great figures that demonstrate this idea. One of these is Basil of Caesarea. This article studies the thought of this Cappadocian Father by illuminating the scriptural roots of the new insights that his theological work and his spiritual teaching have offered to the development of doctrine. The author’s research enables a new analysis of the alleged characteristics of Basilian exegesis, such as an appreciaton for allegory, the tendency to a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible within the context of ascetic doctrine, and the evolution from allegorical to literal exegesis. The conclusions not only highlight the ecclesial nature of Basil’s exegesis, always inserted in the stream of the living Tradition, but also his taste for the proper sense of biblical texts.