DIODORUS OF TARSUS,
The father of Biblical Interpretation. The fourth century seems a late period to acquire this title, but previous to this time the Alexandrian allegorical methods of interpretation had so vitiated the results of biblical study that there was no true science of interpretation. Diodorus was a priest and monk of Antioch, where, in the absence of Meletius, he managed the affairs of the church so discreetly that in the year 375 he was made bishop of Tarsus. Meantime he had been laying the foundations of biblical hermeneutics by the preparation of numerous commentaries, in which allegory gave place to a literal and grammatical interpretation, and by his training of two pupils, John [Chrysostom] and Theodore [of Mopsuestia], who were to become so distinguished in the Church, and to contribute so largely to a clear knowledge of the Scriptures. Diodorus's works, which were largely biblical, are all lost, owing probably to the senseless prejudice which at a later age arose against him because Theodore of Mopsuestia had been one of his pupils! He deserves, however, to be cherished in our memory as among the great writers of the early Church.
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Peter Kirby <E-Mail>.
Kirby, Peter. "Historical Jesus Theories." Early Christian Writings. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-hoole.html>.
