Exegesis and interpretation

This article by Father Jean Breck examines the question of biblical hermeneutics in contemporary Orthodox theology. Drawing on rigorous theological scholarship, it analyzes the limitations of Protestant and Catholic approaches — notably Bultmann's existential hermeneutics and the concept of *sensus plenior* — before proposing an Orthodox response to the "hermeneutical problem." The central idea is that the hermeneutical link enabling the Word of God to be reactualized across the centuries is neither the preached Word nor the ecclesial institution, but the Person of the Holy Spirit, whose inspiring activity encompasses historical events, the sacred authors, and their successive interpreters. The theological contribution of the article lies in the articulation between pneumatology, typology, and Tradition: the Spirit, as the primary hermeneutical agent, confers upon Orthodox exegesis its distinctive dynamism, rooted in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church.