GIANNI CIOLI

Sacred Scripture Instructor

Gianni Cioli, born in Florence in 1958, is a presbyter of the Florentine diocese, carries out his pastoral ministry at the parish of San Giusto in Ema and at the Archbishop’s Seminary as spiritual director. He teaches Moral Theology and Iconology at the Theological Faculty of Central Italy and at the “Beato Ippolito Galantini” Higher Institute of Religious Sciences.

He collaborates with scientific and popular journals, publishing on theological and iconological themes. He has been director of Vivens homo, Rivista di teologia e scienze religiose (Journal of Theology and Religious Sciences), a six-monthly magazine of the Theological Faculty of Central Italy and of the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences in Florence.

Sacred Scripture program

The course aims at offering a first general introduction to Sacred Scripture and then focuses on the relationship, at first glance problematic, between biblical narration as a revelation of God and iconographic expressions aimed at visually interpreting the meaning of invisible realities.

The course consists of 10 sessions of two hours each, during which reading and interpretation of texts, visions, images and dialogue with students will alternate.

Syllabus:

The Bible as the Word of God
The world of the human word
God’s friendly word
Revelation in history and through history

The Bible is the written memory of the people of God
The Old Testament between history and literature
Oral traditions
The first literary compositions
The word and action of the prophets
Literary activity in exile and after exile
The New Testament between history and literature
From Jesus to the preaching of the disciples
Christian writings

The Bible is God’s word because it is inspired
The Spirit of God in revelation in events and words
Open issues

Inspiration and Biblical Truth
Historical truth
Eschatological truth
Existential truth
Transcendent truth