Reception in the Renaissance and Reformation

The retrieval of patristic exegesis made great strides during the revival of Renaissance humanism and the spread of European Reformations. While devotion to the recovery of the early Church writings was primarily an intellectual movement, it was shaped and motivated by distinct social, political, religious, and philosophical developments of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe. Humanists appreciated ancient Christian writings because they sought to combine piety with eloquence, which would reinvigorate religion for educated laity. When humanists, such as LeFèvre and Erasmus, offered their translations and interpretation of Scripture and the church fathers, others responded with their own interpretations from Lutheran, Calvinist, Swiss Reformed, Anabaptist, English, or Catholic perspectives. Although the development of confessionalization shaped the integration of Renaissance patristic scholarship, the patristic reception of Protestants and Catholics portrayed both respect and criticism of ancient exegetes because they struggled to define their theological positions among a plurality of interpretations.