What is the Church Fathers’ view of the Holy Bible?

• a. The Holy Bible is a shining lamp: St. Cyril the Great says, “The Word of God is the subject of our faith, and He is the Light. For the lamp is faith, for that was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world (John 9:1).”¹⁰⁶ And the scholar Origen says, “The splendor of Christ’s arrival, therefore, illuminating the Law of Moses with the brightness of truth, has taken away that veil which had covered the letter and disclosed, for everyone who believes in him, all the good things which were concealed, buried within.”¹⁰⁷

St. Augustine says, “There is no impediment to attaining God's ordinances, except for the lack of a desire for them … their light is clear and radiant.”

St. Jacob of Sarug says, “Our Lord, Your word is all light to those who love it, by it, I am enlightened (Ps. 119:105), that I might speak of You to the world. Our Lord, you are a great day for those who walk in You; in Your light I move that I might walk without offenses. The world is dark, but You are luminous, O Son of God; in Your light, and with You, I walk to Your Father.”¹⁰⁸

• b. The Holy Bible is the paradise of the soul and its sweet food: St. John Chrysostom says, “Yes, rather the reading of the divine Scriptures is not a meadow only, but a paradise; for the flowers here have not a mere fragrance only, but fruit too, capable of nourishing the soul.”¹⁰⁹

St. Augustine says, “Now the open teaching of wisdom is like honey; like the honeycomb which is squeezed to exude the deeper mysteries, as if from cells of wax, by the mouth of the teacher, as if he were chewing it: but it is sweet to the mouth of the heart, not to the mouth of the flesh.”¹¹⁰

105 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians 5.3 (NPNF I/12:302).

106 St. Cyril of Alexandria, In luc . 11:33–36.

107 Origen: On First Principles, Volume 2 , trans. John Behr (Oxford University Press, 2017), 4.1.6: p. 477.

108 Memre 12 on the son who wasted his money (See the text of Paul Bedjan and Dr. Behnam Sony), Memre

37 on the clever son , printer of Egypt at Al-Fagallah, under the supervision of Joseph Bek Menkarios.

109 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Statues 1.2 (NPNF I/9:331) amended.

110 St. Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Book of Psalms , Psalm 119.103 (NPNF I/8:577) amended.

St. Isaac the Bishop of Nineveh says, “It will happen that the words become sweet in the mouth (Ps. 119:103) and that one word of prayer is repeated infinitely so that no feeling of satiety with it causes you to proceed and to pass ever to a second.”¹¹¹

St. Jerome says, “What honey is sweeter than to know the wisdom of God? Others, if they will, may possess riches, drink from a jeweled cup, shine in silks, and try in vain to exhaust their wealth in the most varied pleasures. Our riches are to meditate in the law of the Lord day and night, to knock at the closed door, to receive the ‘three loaves’ of the Trinity, and, when the Lord goes before us, to walk upon the water of the world.”¹¹²

• c. The Holy Bible is the Groom's feast: St. Jacob of Sarug says, “All the events of the world end in death. Come and hear from us a report from which life springs … The bride of the Light has invited us today to feast with her; she has sacrificed the Bridegroom and distributes Him upon the (spiritual) altar.”

• d. The Holy Bible is the harbor of life: the scholar Origen says, “I do not presume or ask you to give me life according to my behavior (self-righteousness), but according to your judgments; in other words, to give me life in the way that You want me to live, for I too want to live.”

St. Jacob of Sarug says, “The divine books are the harbors of life; arise, you who are discernible among the waves, and rest in the harbors … here are the treasures stored in the divine volumes, and whoever wants, takes riches without limit.”¹¹³

St. John Chrysostom says, “Reading the Holy Bible is very useful, it makes the soul wise, guides the spirit towards the heaven, directs the human towards thanksgiving, destroys the desire for earthly things, and lets our minds constantly contemplate the other world .¹¹⁴

“For it is not possible that he who is continually under the influence of the words of God, can remain in this present low condition, but he needs must presently take wing, and fly away to the land which is above, and light on the infinite treasures of good things.”¹¹⁵

“Do you see, then, that I said not without cause that this Evangelist speaks to us from heaven? Only see from the very beginning whither he has drawn up the soul, having given it wings, and has carried up with him the mind of his hearers. For having set it

111 St. Isaac the Syrian, Mystic Treatises by Isaac of Nineveh , trans. AJ Wensinck (Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, 1923), Discourse 22(164): pp. 111–112.

112 St. Jerome, Letters 30 (NPNF II/6:45).

113

Memre 66 on the tree of knowledge of good and evil, alms and poverty (see the text of Paul Bedjan and Dr. Behnam Sony).

114 Dr. Adnan Tarabulsi: Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew by St. John Chrysostom , (1996): p. 5.

115 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on John 1:7 (NPNF I/14:4).

higher than all the things of sense, than earth, than sea, than heaven, he leads it by the hand above the very angels, above cherubim and seraphim, above thrones and principalities and powers; in a word, persuades it to journey beyond all created things.”¹¹⁶

• e. The Holy Bible is the physician and remedy of the soul: human beings in the world became not like those in a courthouse waiting for the sentence of eternal death, but in a hospital needing medicines and treatment; which are the books of the Holy Bible, administered by the divine Physician who cares for our salvation. Through the Holy Bible, we defy evil, corruption, and eternal death; and with the spirit of hope, we await the day of the coming of the Lord as our heavenly Bridegroom.

St. Basil says, “Indeed, many safeguards against the evil would you find in the divine Scripture, and many remedies which from destruction bring salvation: the mysteries of death and resurrection; the words of the terrible judgment and everlasting punishment; the doctrines of repentance and the forgiveness of sin [by the blood of Christ]; those innumerable examples of conversion [via medicines]; the drachma, the sheep, the son who spent his livelihood with harlots, was lost and found, was dead and alive again. Let us use these safeguards against evil [that they me be our witnesses]; through them, let us heal our soul.”¹¹⁷

St. Jacob of Sarug says, “The divine Scriptures are the life of the soul, and he who lives by them—his life is higher than that of Nature … The scriptures are cures for the sick soul, their words may be used like fine medicaments.”¹¹⁸

St. John Chrysostom says, “For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are saved and in them that perish (2 Cor. 2:15). Whether, says he, one be saved or be lost, the Gospel continues to have its proper virtue: and as the light, although it blinds the weakly, is still light, though causing blindness… and as honey, though it be bitter to those who are diseased, is in its nature sweet; so also is the Gospel of sweet savor, even though some should be lost who believe it not. For not It, but their own perverseness, works the perdition… and the Savior is for the fall and rising again of many, but still He continues to be a Savior, though ten thousand fall… and still it continues to be full of healing .”¹¹⁹

• f. The Holy Bible is the hidden pearl: St. Jerome says, “Every word of scripture is a symbol all its own. These rustic words that men of every age ponder over are packed

116 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on John 2:8 (NPNF I/14:7), amended. 117 St. Basil of Caesarea, Letter 46 (FOTC 13:125).

118

119

St. Jacob of Sarug, III. On Naboth the Jezreelite, I.13–14, 19–20, in Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Elijah: Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug , trans. S. A. Kaufman (Gorgias Press, 2009): pp. 176, 178.

St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians 5.2 (NPNF I/12:301–302) amended.

full of mystical meaning. ‘But we carry this treasure in vessels of clay’ (2 Cor. 4:7); we have a divine treasury of meaning in the most ordinary words.”¹²⁰

St. Jacob of Sarug says, “The books (of the Holy Bible) are an ocean where you find the hidden pearl. The interpreter must immerse himself in its waters in order to extract it. The mind is immersed in the books, extracts the pearl, and shows it to the merchants.”

• g. The Holy Bible is a guide to the human being: St. John Chrysostom says, “Reading the Holy Bible is very useful, it makes the soul wise, guides the spirit towards heaven… and lets our minds constantly contemplate the other world .”¹²¹

• h. Scripture uproots the tree of evil: written divine words came as a cure for our human weakness. Chrysostom says, “Your doctrine is full of eyes of light from every side and purifies the way of the world of offenses.”¹²²

St. Jacob of Sarug says, “Hold the sword of the Spirit which is the word of life, and dash the enemy’s blows and cast them away from you. Surround yourself with the fiery spear of the cherubim. It is a vigilant guard, that is, the perfection of all the commandments.”¹²³

And St. John Chrysostom says, “You have heard the Apostolic voice, that trumpet from heaven [cf. Rev. 1:10], that spiritual lyre! For even as a trumpet sounding a fearful and warlike note, it both dismays the enemy, and arouses the dejected spirits on its own side, and filling them with great boldness, renders those who attend to it invincible against the devil! And again, as a lyre that gently soothes with soulcaptivating melody, it puts to slumber the disquietudes of perverse thoughts.”¹²⁴

• i. Through the Holy Bible, the Spirit speaks in us: St. Jacob of Sarug says, “Your Spirit speaks in me through Your word, for I am incapable of speaking about You.”¹²⁵