Throughout the rich history of Bible research and patrology, a palet of different traditions has always existed. One of these, which is based on an abundant manuscript tradition of biblical and patristic interpretation, is the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In this book a liturgico codicological approach to the Byzantine biblical and patristic manuscripts is set out. This approach offers a key to understanding the position of the biblical and patristic writings in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. It stems from what is termed a 'liturgical hypothesis' and implies the necessity of a thorough reclassification of the extant manuscripts.

Characteristic of the Orthodox approach are the anchoring of the biblical writings in the liturgy of the Church, and the close connection between the Scriptures and the interpretative framework of the fathers. Special attention is paid to setting out a path of codicological research that could redirect study of the Byzantine codices to a system that allows for a more inclusive picture of the original biotope in which the manuscripts were created and evolved. Once inside this biotope, the reasons for and choices behind the content and codex formation of the biblical and patristic manuscripts become apparent.