BMCR 2004.10.03, Vincenzo Recchia, Lettera e profezia

Vincenzo Recchia, Lettera e profezia nell'esegesi di Gregorio Magno.
Quaderni di "Invigilata Lucernis," Dipartamento di Studi Classici e
Cristiani, Universita\ degli Studi di Bari, vol. 20.  Bari:  Edipuglia,
2003.  Pp. 157.  ISBN 88-7228-382-5.  EUR 18.00.

Reviewed by Vadim B. Prozorov, History, Moscow Lomonosov State
University (prozorov28@xxxxxxxxxxx)
Word count:  1324 words
-------------------------------

Letter and Prophecy in Gregory the Great's Exegesis assembles the
recent essays of the authoritative Italian professor who has devoted
his scholarly career to the study of the legacy of Pope St. Gregory the
Great (590-604). In 1967 Don Vincenzo Recchia wrote a stimulating book
on Gregorian exegesis of the Song of Songs.[[1]] Many times he
contributed to the journal Invigilata Lucernis issued by the Department
of Classical and Christian Studies at the University of Bari. In 1996,
these articles were gathered together with his papers from other
periodicals in a more than 900-page book.[[2]] Since 1996 Recchia has
written some more essays in the Invigilata Lucernis, which are
incorporated into the present book. Recchia notes in the preface that
these essays conclude his research on Gregory as a master of
allegorical exegesis and advance the study of the Pope's "literal"
interpretation of the Holy Scripture. The collection consists of six
essays. Two of them, constituting one third of the book (pp. 105-155),
are located in the appendix because they do not deal with Gregorian
exegetical writings and therefore do not correspond to the title of the
book.

1. "Le circumstantiae personarum e la teologia della storia secondo la
meditazione biblica di Gregorio Magno, Homiliae in Ezechielem 2,1,"
previously published in Invigilata Lucernis 18-19 (1996-1997), pp.
201-241. Choosing some examples of Gregory's exegesis in his Homilies
in Ezekiel, Recchia studies the Pope's views of the history of
salvation and the role of the Church in the divine plan of human
redemption which is being unfolded in history. He admits that the
exegete followed the works of his predecessors (mainly Augustine and
Jerome) in his interpretation but argues that he considered this theme
more widely than they did, identifying the universal history with the
history of Israel and the Church. Here Recchia necessarily addresses
Gregorian ecclesiology (fundamentally Christological and Trinitarian,
as Recchia shows). He refers to the study of this subject conducted by
Hofar[[3]] but omits the meticulous analysis done by Fiedrowicz.[[4]]
Nor does he refer to the standard book written by Straw[[5]], when in
parts "7. La vita interna al regno di Dio," "8. Le prospettive
contemplativa ed escatologica" and "9. La compunctio come porta di
ingresso nella Chiesa dei santi" he discusses the two historical
dimensions of salvation: eschatological, where the whole Church exists,
and contemplative, which is immanent in every soul. Despite these
instances of negligence, Recchia's ideas stimulated more comprehensive
research on Gregory's "theology of history."[[6]] It is not so obvious
to me that the Pope's view of the Holy Spirit "does agree with the
Catholic doctrine of the Holy Spirit procession" (Recchia mentions it
in passing on p. 21).

2. "Lettera e profezia nell'esegesi di Gregorio Magno" (pp. 49-72)
(previously published in Invigilata Lucernis 22 [2000], pp. 193-216),
which gives the book its title, presents an analysis of the exegetical
method Gregory employed in his Moralia. Recchia looks at some examples
of the exegesis and demonstrates to what extent different senses of the
Holy Scripture were interwoven and how Gregory skillfully developed his
exegesis from the literal interpretation to the typological and moral.
Like his predecessors (Origen, Ambrose, Hilary of Poitiers, Augustine
and Cassiodorus), whose model of literal and historical interpretation
he followed, Gregory paid close attention to the letter of the
Scripture and its historical meaning without neglecting other senses.
Recchia concentrates on the Gregorian commentary on Chapters 18 and 19
of the Book of Job and scrutinizes what versions of the Bible the Pope
might have used. Referring to Salmon's arguments[[7]] he makes the
hypothesis that Gregory used several versions of the biblical text.
Recchia treats some episodes of the narrative (the speeches of Baldad
and Job) and concludes his research by demonstrating how the Pope
interpreted Job as a figure to a certain extent anticipating and
prefiguring Jesus Christ.

3. "L'esegesi di Gregorio Magno ai simboli del Cantico dei cantici"
(pp. 73-87), previously published in Invigilata Lucernis 23 (2001), pp.
207-221. Using some examples of Gregorian exegesis Recchia studies
allegories and symbols (oscula, ubera, cubiculum etc.) of human love
which helped Gregory charactarize divine love. Here again Recchia gives
the evidence in support of the relevance of literal and historical
interpretation even in an area one would consider completely
allegorical.

4. "La compositio dei Libri I e III dei Dialoghi di Gregorio Magno"
(pp. 89-103), previously published in Invigilata Lucernis 24 (2002),
pp. 185-199. Recchia continues his research started in the essay "La
visione di S. Benedetto e la compositio del secondo libro dei Dialoghi
di Gregorio Magno" (Revue Be/ne/dictine 82 (1972), pp. 140-155) and
postulates the coherence of the three books of the Dialogues achieved
through numerical symbolism and Gregory's close attention to the
biblical parallels in the miracles of the saints so that the reader can
evaluate any miraculous and instructive fact in the light of Scripture
and history. Recchia gives a brief summary of the content of both books
in order to convince his readers that the Pope designed the Dialogues
in a particular order. While in the first two books Gregory started
from the "letter" and history of the miracles, in the third book he
resorted to the exegetical method to uncover the deep significance of
the miracles and to reveal the higher meaning of history, historia
salutis. Although the essay is not intended as Recchia's reply to the
criticism of the authenticity of the Dialogues meticulously done by
Clark,[[8]] he is obviously among the defenders of the text's Gregorian
authorship.

The Appendix includes the following two articles:

1. "Le vedove nella letteratura istituzionale dell'antico cristianesimo
e nella tipologia biblica" (pp. 107-136), previously published in
Invigilata Lucernis 21 (1999), pp. 303-332, studies a phenomenon of
Christian widowhood and the authority of the widow in Early
Christianity on the basis of biblical references, Apostolic
Constitutions (and their sources) and homilies of the Fathers of the
Church (Ambrose, Augustine, John Chrysostom). Recchia chooses some
symbolic images of the widow (e.g., the altar of the Temple of God) and
biblical models (Anna, a prophetess from Lk. 2, 36-38, Judith, Deborah,
et al.) in order to grasp the allegorical significance of this figure
in the history of salvation (e.g., the Church on earth awaiting the
second coming of her bridegroom Jesus Christ). In the constitutions and
patristic literature, Recchia is interested in the image of "the widow
in action," i.e., the status of widows in Christian communities and
their ascetic way of life.

2. "Sul Carmen de luna di Sisebuto di Toledo" (pp. 137-155), previously
published in Invigilata Lucernis 20 (1998), pp. 201-219, offers an
interpretation of Carmen de luna, the poem composed by King Sisebut of
Toledo. It was Sisebut's poetic response to his spiritual master Bishop
Isidore of Seville, who devoted his book De natura rerum to the king.
Arguing with his opponents (W. Stack, J. Fontain, J.-L. Charlet),
Recchia, who has already treated this subject ( Sisebuto di Toledo, Il
"Carmen de luna" (Bari, 1971)), highlights that this royal hexameter
poem on the eclipses of the moon was not merely a poetic joke or
astronomical exercise but rather a message of the disciple to his
master in which Sisebut disclosed his longing for contemplation and
monastic life which he had to reject for his royal vocation. Recchia
sees here a reflection of the same conflict between inner inclination
to contemplative life and the necessity to be an active ruler which can
be found in the works of Pope Gregory the Great.

To my mind, this collection is a very useful edition of the recent
essays written by a master of scholarly "exegesis."


Errata:

p. 8, note 6: R. F. Evans, One and Honly. The Churc in Latin Patristic
Thought (London, 1972) instead of R. F. Evans, One and Only. The Church
etc.

p. 39, note 111: The rewened Controversy etc. instead of The Renewed
etc.

p. 79, line 6 from the top: dellla instead of della.

p. 90, note 2: Neyvaert instead of Meyvaert.


------------------
Notes:


1.   Vincenzo Recchia, L'esegesi di Gregorio Magno al Cantico dei
Cantici (Torino, 1967).

2.   Vincenzo Recchia, Gregorio Magno papa ed esegeta biblico (Bari:
Edipuglia, 1996).

3.   G. Hofar, "Sancta Ecclesia" in Gregorio Magno, Dissertation at the
Gregorian Pontifical University (Rome, 1973) [manuscript]; G. Hofar,
"La 'sancta ecclesia' di Gregorio Magno," Studi Medievali 30 (1989),
pp. 593-636.

4.   Michael Fiedrowicz, Das Kirchenversta+ndnis Gregors des Grossen.
Eine Untersuchung seiner exegetischen und homiletischen Werke
(Ro+mische Quartalschrift fu+r christliche Altertumskunde und
Kirchengeschichte, 50. Supplementheft) (Freiburg, Basel, Wien: Herder,
1995).

5.   Carole Straw, Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection
(Berkeley, 1988). One might add the book written by Miriam Schambeck,
Contemplatio als Missio. Zu einem Schlu+sselpha+nomen bei Gregor dem
Grossen (Studien zur systematischen und spirituellen Theologie, vol.
25) (Wu+rzburg: Echter, 1999), especially pp. 164-167.

6.   Several works have been recently published: Claudio Fauci, Il
senso della vita il destino dell'uomo. La teologia della storia nelle
Epistole ed Omelie di Gregorio Magno (Napoli: Grafite, 2000). Cristina
Ricci, Mysterium dispensationis. Tracce di una teologia della storia in
Gregorio Magno. (Studia Anselmiana, vol. 135) (Rome: Centro Studi S.
Anselmo, 2002).

7.   Dom P. Salmon, "Le texte de Job utilise/ par S. Gre/goire dans les
Moralia," Studia Anselmiana 27-28 (1981), pp. 187-194.

8.   Francis Clark, The Pseudo-Gregorian Dialogues, 2 vols. (Studies in
the History of Christian Thought, vol. 37-38) (Leiden: Brill, 1987).