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'''Hermeneutics''' (from Greek ''hermeneutikos'') is the interpretation of a text, particularly the text of [[Holy Scripture]]. The word literally means "interpretation" (in its basic sense, interpreting a foreign language into one familiar to the listener) but can also refer to "explanation." It is this latter sense which is meant when referring to Biblical hermeneutics. In the [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian Church]], the practice of hermeneutics is according to basic principles (presuppositions) which are manifest in the life of the Church. Following is a summary of those principles, expressed here in ten parts:
== Orthodox Hermeneutic Principles ==
1. '''God is real and is incarnated in our [[Lord ]] Jesus Christ.''' Everything pertaining to the Scriptures must be understood [[Christology|Christologically]]. [[Jesus Christ]], the incarnate Second Person of the [[Holy Trinity]], is the center of all that we as Christians do, and being Himself the very Truth, He is the only gate through which we may enter into understanding of the Bible, both [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s (though not all that is contained in the Old Testament is directly relevant for Christians). The Bible ultimately is about Christ and assists us in our union with Him.
2. '''Only the pure in heart "shall see God."''' That is, our spiritual state has a direct bearing on our interpretation of the Scriptures. As St. [[Athanasius the Great|Athanasius]] said, "One cannot possibly understand the teaching of the saints unless one has a pure mind and is trying to imitate their life." Because the Scripture is a book inspired by the [[Holy Spirit]] and given through holy men, one's own holiness is directly relevant to the ability to interpret the book correctly. Unlike any other book, the Bible's words are "spirit and life," and so we must live spiritually in order to drink from this spiritual well. Clearly, [[prayer]] and spiritual discipline are necessary in order to understand Scripture properly.
5. '''Only within the community of the Church can the Bible be understood.''' It was written by the Church, in the Church and for the Church. Thus, it is a "family document" which is the highest point of [[Holy Tradition]], taken with faith alongside the writings of the [[Church Fathers|Fathers]], the [[Divine Liturgy|Liturgy]], the [[Icons]], the Lives of the [[Saints]], and so on.
6. '''The Scripture is a witness to the truth, not an exhaustive tome on Christian living.''' Nowhere in the words of Scripture itself can we find the teaching that it is all-sufficient for Christian life. What we as Orthodox Christians do must always be consonant with the Scriptures, but explicit mention of a practice or teaching in the Scripture is not a requirement for its inclusion in the life of the Church. The [[Apostle Paul]] himself mentions the reality of unwritten sources of Church Tradition being equally in force for the believer in [[2 II Thessalonians]] 2:15, that these traditions to which we must "stand fast and hold" may be "by word or by our epistle." Examples of practices not explicit in Scripture are making the [[Sign of the Cross]], triple immersion for [[baptism]], and having [[monasticism]]. St. [[Basil the Great]] even says that without maintaining the unwritten traditions of the Church, we "mutilate the Gospel" (''On the Spirit'' 66).
7. '''We must respect the integrity of the canon of the Bible as given to us in the Church's Tradition.''' Searches for other texts written by apostles or prophets may be interesting and of scholarly merit, but they are not part of the hermeneutical project within the Church. Or conversely, attempts to debunk the authorship or authenticity of the books in the canon are also outside the Church's life. If we were to find a verifiable "new" work by St. Paul or to discover that [[Moses]] did not in fact write [[Genesis]], neither finding would have any bearing on the [[canon]]. It is what it is.
10. '''We may make use in a secondary fashion of the resources of academic scholarship, whether logic, archaeology, linguistics, et cetera.''' These resources can be helpful in terms of illuminating our understanding of Scripture, but they must always be given only secondary prominence in the project and always only in conjuction with all these other hermeneutic principles. Primary must always be our life in the Church, living, studying and knowing the Bible within that vivified and salvific [[Holy Tradition]].
== Sources ==
Originally based on notes taken in Archpriest [[Michael Dahulich]]'s Fall 2004 class on the ''Pentateuch'' at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] by [[User:ASDamick]]
[[Category:Church History]]
[[Category:Scripture]]
[[Category:Theology]]
