Credo Deo. Patristic Foundations of the Exhortation Verbum Domini of Benedict XVI

Abstract

The exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI “Verbum Domini”, announced on September 30, 2010 and being the fruit of the work of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, considering the topic: “The Word of God in the life and mission of the Church”, is one of those papal documents that show the meaning and value of the Word of God, call to fall in love with it, and give practical pastoral advice related to it.Benedict XVI did not create his text in an ecclesial vacuum, but consciously entered into the entire centuries-old Tradition of the Church. This is especially evident in the significant quotations from the Fathers with which the Pope supports his line of reasoning.This article undertakes an analysis of these references to ancient Christianity. The aim of the study is to show what the patristic foundations of Benedict XVI’s thought in the exhortation “Verbum Domini” are. There is no such study in the Polish literature on the subject. The starting point for this analysis are, therefore, the quotations from the Fathers of the Church quoted in this document. After all, it was the Fathers who were the first commentators and exegetes of the Holy Scriptures, they also delivered the first homilies based on biblical texts. Benedict XVI makes abundant use of their achievements to show the impor-tance of the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.