05 — Typology and the Spiritual Senses

The heart of patristic and Orthodox exegesis: the whole of Scripture read as testifying to Christ. This section treats the christological key — that all the Scriptures point to Christ (Luke 24) — and then typology proper, the reading by which the Old Testament persons and events (above all the Passover and Exodus) prefigure their fulfillment in Christ’s Pascha, in baptism, and in the Eucharist.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox

If the Fathers are the interpreters (Section 04), Christ is what they interpret Scripture toward. This section sets out the christological reading that governs Orthodox exegesis and the typological method that is its most characteristic form.

Files

File	Description
christ-the-key-to-the-scriptures.md	The christological reading — the whole of Scripture testifying to Christ; the road to Emmaus (Luke 24); the Old Testament as shadow, promise, and preparation; the unity of the two Testaments.
typology-the-exodus-and-pascha.md	Typology proper — the Passover and Exodus fulfilled in Christ’s Pascha; the Red Sea and baptism; the manna and the Eucharist; Melito’s On Pascha; type and truth. Links The Twelve Great Feasts.

See Also

• The Patristic Mind — the interpreters who read toward Christ
• Antioch and Alexandria — the schools within which typology was practiced
• The Bible as the Liturgical Book — where typology is enacted, in worship