Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 84:2 (Fall 2022)
Article: Patristic Preaching: Beyond Taxonomy And Towards Doctrinal Appreciation
Author: Peter Sanlon

WTJ 84:2 (Fall 2022) p. 161

Patristic Preaching:
Beyond Taxonomy And Towards Doctrinal Appreciation

Peter Sanlon

Peter Sanlon is Adjunct Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Westminster Presbyterian Theological Seminary, UK. He expresses thanks to Peter Myers and Mark Smith for their helpful research assistance in the Cambridge University Library.

Reformed theologians have long been conscious of their debt to patristic writers—John Calvin frequently cited Augustine; B. B. Warfield published significant studies on Augustine and Tertullian. The wider contemporary theological scene is witnessing a renewed appreciation of patristic hermeneutics and doctrine. The former is challenging Enlightenment principles; the latter is promoting classical Trinitarianism. All this is surely for the good of the church. Into such a context this article reminds us that patristic theology was primarily communicated in preaching. Our ability to benefit from patristic theology is shaped by our ability to enter into the mindset of a patristic preacher. This article assists us in that endeavor, by not only explaining and illustrating the traditional categories used for analyzing patristic exegesis, but also by unearthing some of the vital doctrinal assumptions that mean the earliest centuries of Christian preaching remain instructive. A range of Latin preachers—Ambrose, Gregory, Peter Chrysologus, Augustine, and Leo—are explored to foster appreciation for their contribution.

If each word of Scripture were given a whole book, not even then would the mysteries contained be perfectly clear to listeners. What then will a sudden and brief sermon provide by way of enlightenment?

—Peter Chrysologus1

WTJ 84:2 (Fall 2022) p. 162

The sermon was Christianity’s foremost contribution to ancient culture. It was “nothing less than a revolution in the politics of literary production.”2 Latin preachers seemed never to tire of interpreting a passage of Scripture, and preaching the fruits of that study to their congregations. Even as listeners heard death-cries from nearby amphitheater games, preachers did battle for hearts with scriptural quotations and imagery driven home with the sword of classical rhetoric. The exegetical methods adopted by patristic preachers were birthed by doctrinal convictions about the nature of God’s revelation and its claim on human hearts. This article shall seek to lay these bare, as a way to appreciate how patristic preachers envisioned exegesis for preaching.

I. Exegetical Approaches

A range of exegetical approaches contributed to the patristic preachi...