Given that a Christian reading of the scriptures required the discernment of their overall unity through the provision of a creed like key, and that the interpretation of particular texts was inevitably affected by this emphasis on the unity of scripture, what was the legacy of this in the doctrinal debates of the later period? This will gradually emerge as we embark on a particular case-study, analysing the exegetical aspects of Athanasius' polemic against the Arians. This involves both a chronological jump and anticipation of discussions to be undertaken in other sections of the book, especially those concerned with language, reference, deduction and genre – to that extent the proposals made in this volume are interrelated and cumulative. This chapter is placed here because the overriding conclusion of this case-study follows on from the last: discerning the unitive ‘mind’ (dianoia) of scripture was seen as essential to reaching a proper interpretation.

The writings of Athanasius make it absolutely clear that the Arian controversy was about exegesis. This is especially the case with the De decretis, a letter written about AD 350, and the Orations against the Arians, the date of which is disputed but most probably belonging also to the 350s. The first three orations have generally been treated as genuine, though the authenticity of the third has now been challenged by Kannengiesser. We shall focus on Orations 1 and 11, after first working through the argument of the De decretis.