1. Plural of catena; a chain or series of connected things, especially in medieval biblical scholarship, a chain of quotations from Church Fathers arranged to explain a text.
Usage: scholarly; historical; often capitalized when referring to specific medieval biblical commentaries

Examples

• Medieval scholars compiled catenas to provide authoritative interpretations of Scripture.
• The catenas of the Church Fathers offered layered theological commentary on biblical passages.
• Catenas were an important method of biblical exegesis in the Middle Ages.
• The library held several rare catenas from the 12th century.
• Patristic catenas arranged quotations in a logical sequence to illuminate difficult texts.