Modern Exegesis and Patristic Hermeneutics in P. Evdokimov

This article by Jean Breck, professor at the Saint-Serge Institute, offers an analytical study of Paul Evdokimov's biblical hermeneutics based on a corpus of articles published between 1949 and 1989. The author examines how Evdokimov evaluates the major figures of twentieth-century Protestant exegesis — Barth, Bultmann, Bonhoeffer, Tillich, Cullmann — as well as Catholic contributions, before setting out the hermeneutical principles specific to the Orthodox theologian. The central idea is that Evdokimov articulates a balanced synthesis between patristic reading and modern historical-critical methods: the spiritual meaning of the text is not external to the letter but internal to it, and all authentic exegesis is accomplished within the Church, under the action of the Holy Spirit. The theological contribution of the article lies in its highlighting of a coherent Orthodox hermeneutics, capable of engaging in dialogue with exegetical modernity without abandoning the typological and dogmatic tradition of the Eastern Fathers.