What is the Fathers’ stance on Allegory and Typology, after Origen?

The answer

The theologians of Alexandria after Origen, from St. Didymus the Blind to St. Cyril the Great, were influenced to varying degrees by the allegorical method of interpretation, and the same can be said of the Cappadocian Fathers and the Fathers of Palestine (with the exception of Epiphanius).

The School of Antioch later came to oppose the tradition of allegorical exegesis, and although it did not completely reject allegorical interpretations, it rarely resorted to them, instead preferring the historical method of interpretation.

The allegorical tradition moved to the West through the influence of the Alexandrian theologians, as is clearly evident in the exegetical writings of fathers like St. Hilary and St. Ambrose.

Even though the great Latin commentator St. Jerome grew skeptical of allegorical interpretation in his latter years, he nonetheless accepted the three levels of biblical interpretation established by Origen, and affirmed the importance of resorting to the spiritual meaning because of the extensive use of anthropomorphism¹⁷² to describe God in the Bible.

St. Augustine applied allegory very freely, particularly with regard to the hidden significance of names and numbers.¹⁷³

St. John Cassian,¹⁷⁴ following St. Clement of Alexandria, developed a scheme that divided the kinds of interpretation into the following four categories:

a. Literal interpretation.

b. Allegorical interpretation (applying the texts to Christ and the striving Church).

c. Tropological or moral interpretation (relating to the soul and its virtues).

d. Anagogical interpretation (applying the texts to heavenly realities).¹⁷⁵

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty