Wczesnochrześcijańskie alegorie Eucharystii w oparciu o teksty starotestamentowe

Abstract

One of the ancient hermeneutical methods of the reading of the Old Testament in the early Christian Church was the more-than-literal interpretation. The Fathers of the Church interpreted the literary motives of the Bible in the light of Christ. Many of their allegories refer to the Eucharist. In our paper the following allegories have been exposed: the offering of Melchisedech, Passover lamb, water from the rock, manna on the desert, banquet of the Wisdom, eating and drinking in the book of Koheleth. In the conclusion we propose a hermeneutical allegory: there is a certain analogy between the more-than-literal interpretation of the Bible and the Eucharist itself. Like in the Eucharist the unleavened bread becomes Body of Christ without loosing its material quality, in a similar way the literary motives and historical events of the Old Testament acquire new, christological meaning as a result of the allegorical interpretation in the tradition of the Church.