Biblical Nuggets: Antiochene School

Antiochene School: The church at Antioch became the center for a famous and influential school in the early church era. The Antiochene school was set against the *Alexandrian school, which was championed by *Origen and dominated by the *allegorical approach to the interpretation of Scripture. In Antioch the exegete Diodore of Tarsus (died c. 394) mentored three productive students: Theodore of Mopsuestia, John *Chrysostom and Theodoret of Cyrrhus. The Antiochene approach was marked by attention to *textual criticism, historical context and the philological nuances of biblical texts. This is not to say that the higher sense of a text was ignored. The Antiochenes used the word theoria to speak of a deeper meaning, always founded upon the literal meaning, that guided the soul.