SUBBTO 61, no. 1 (2016): 147-179 (RECOMMENDED CITATION) GROWING WITH THE HOLY FATHERS: ‘ABBA’ (THE ELDER), ‘THEŌRIA’ AND ‘PHRONÊMA EKKLÊSIAS’, A ‘HERMENEUTICAL SPIRAL’ DERIVED FROM THE ASCETICAL ‘PRAXIS’ OF THE WORD NICHIFOR TĂNASE * ABSTRACT. )t is argued that the Dzreturndz to the Dzbiblicaldz faith should find a parallel in a DzReturn to the Fathersdz. Early Christian thought was biblical, and one of the lasting accomplishments of the patristic period was to forge a way of thinking which was scriptural in language and inspiration. Forgetful of this truth, the (oly Fathers have been isolated from the Scripture and there is therefore an imperative to seek to relate more closely the two. A particular hermeneutical perspective called theoria - an Dzinspired visiondz of the Divine Truth, shaped their works. For Holy Fathers exegesis never had a purpose in itself; rather patristic hermeneutics directly addressed the reader's life situation. As an antidote to the chasm between modern and pre-modern exegesis we propose the advice of Christopher A. (all: DzRead the Bible holisticallydz with the Fathers, which if actualized, would mean that the Church would recognize that it possesses a living Truth, one that cannot be limited purely to the biblical text. Further, it is proposed that Christ (imself is to be the Dzhermeneuticdz principle or the principle of interpretation. The Bible does not contain its own principle of interpretation Orthodoxy operates in a closed Dzhermeneutic circledz through the dynamic that exists between Scripture and Tradition ȋthe permanent presence of GodȌ. Unlike some former approaches to biblical interpretation, many of todayǯs scholars do not see this circular process as an obstacle to biblical exegesis, but understand it in terms of a Dzhermeneutical spiraldz ȋG. OsborneȌ, which describes the interaction between text and interpreter. The Dzhermeneutical spiraldz takes place via the interaction of inductive and deductive research and via the movement from biblical to systematic and to homiletical theology. Finally, it is argued that the Dzhermeneutical bridgedz between the word of Scripture and the present life of the Church as thus understood could be strengthened by rediscovering the “hermeneutic function” of the Holy Spirit, His continuing work of inspiration that allows the Word of God to be interpreted again, in any time and for each new generation. Keywords: Asceticism and Scripture, Patristic (ermeneutic, Spiritual Authority, Theoria, )saac of Nineveh * Eftimie Murgu University of Reșița, Romania. Email: pr.nichifor_tanase@yahoo.com.