Abstract / DOI
Thoughts of the Church Fathers Concerning the Biblical Motif of the Garden. This essay deals with the interpretation of the biblical motif of the garden in the writings of the church fathers. The fathers find a deep and complex relation between the Old Testament and the New Testament texts, in which the concept or idea of a garden plays a special role. The fathers’ survey on the biblical motif shows that the garden is a symbol for the restoration of the original and undestroyed relationship between God and man. On basis of this result the garden is understood in their spiritual interpretations as a metaphor for Christ, for the individual Christians and for the Church.