Abstract

In recent years there has been an intensified interest in the relation between the Bible and ethics. Too often in such inquiry the ecclesial and liturgical contexts in which believing communities interpret and apply the biblical texts and through which the Bible forms Christian identity have been overlooked. This essay seeks to correct that vision through particular attention to the uses of the Bible in the Orthodox tradition, in which the ecclesial and liturgical contexts of scripture's ethical interpretation and applications are especially pronounced. In order to make the case for greater attention to the ecclesial and liturgical contexts of the Bible the essay draws upon the three major components of the Orthodox tradition: scripture, patristics and liturgy. Thus the essay includes analyses of the use of the beatitudes in the Byzantine liturgy, John Chrysostom's homiletical presentation and application of Luke's story of Lazarus and the rich man, and, finally, Paul's typological use of scripture for ethical instruction in the contexts of Christian baptism and eucharistic worship. The importance of a typological hermeneutic to Christian life and practice is a theme which threads through the essay.