NOTE: Roger Pearse of the Tertullian Project,
contacted the Sourcebook in March 2010 to contribute this previously
unpublished and untranslated section of the text.
John Chrysostom,
Adversus Judaeos;
Oratio 2 (lost section) (2010).
Also at:
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chrysostom_adversus_judaeos_02_lost_portion.htm
John Chrysostom, Adversus
Judaeos Oratio 2
[previously unpublished section filling in the lacuna in Or. 2.2
(PG 48: 860)]
[Greek text and German translation published by
W. Pradels, R. Brändle and M. Heimgartner, "Das bisher vermisste Textstück
in Johannes Chrysostomus, Adversus Judaeos, Oratio 2," Zeitschrift
für antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity 5
(2001) 23-49.]
The manuscript that was found and used by
Pradels, supplementing Monac. Gr. 190, the only previously known ms. of the
2nd oration, is Μονὴ
Λείμωνος no.
27 [from the Leimonos Monastery on Lesbos, an 11th-cen. ms.] pages 120va-129va (the
whole oration is on pp. 116r-131r of
the ms.).[1]
The page references embedded in the translation
are for this publication by Pradels et al., where refs. to the ms.
pagination can be found.
English Translation
[p. 30]
The Law did help
our nature[2] very
much—but only if it genuinely leads us to Christ; by the same token, if it
does not do this, it has actually hurt us,
by depriving us of greater things through attention to smaller things, and
by continuing to keep us confined in the countless wounds of
our transgressions. Indeed, suppose there were two doctors, the one less
powerful and the other more powerful; and the one, although he applied
medicines to the patient's sores, was not able to free the afflicted person
once and for all from the pain they caused, but only brought some slight
relief, whereas when the other doctor, the more powerful one, arrived,
taking all those medicines away and simply washing the sick person, he was
able to purify him of his afflictions, leaving no further trace—not even the
slightest mark. And then, suppose that the first doctor tried to prevent
the patient from being treated by that [better doctor]. What help could he
possibly provide by the application of his medicines, that would be as great
as the damage he caused by preventing the patient from taking the brief way,
the quickest way to health?
This is also how you should think, when it comes
to Christ and the Law. The Law applies medicines, bringing altogether
slight relief for our sores. Christ, on the other hand, when he came, took
away all these things and by washing us with the water of baptism,[3] he
allowed no trace or mark of our previous wounds to remain. So then, one who
still clings to the Law is doing nothing but disbelieving in the skill of
the doctor, and denying that baptism is sufficient to take away his
trespasses. For running to the law is the mark of one who is afraid that
Christ is not strong enough to free us from our prior sins through his own grace—and
this is proof of the worst unbelief: such people are committing outrage on
both the Law and on Christ, disbelieving both the one and the other. By
clinging to the Law, they are disbelieving in Christ's grace; but by
clinging to it only in part, they have charged it with great weakness. Tell
me: Is the law alone, by itself, able to justify? [Yes?] Well then, why
do you not fulfill it completely? – But it is fairly weak and feeble. –
Obviously you think so, if you only keep it in part![4]
Again, is Christ able to grant the forgiveness of all your sins? [Yes?]
Well then, why do you cling to the Law, and fear that you will be judged as
a transgressor for not keeping one of the Law's commandments? This is the
mark of those who do not truly have confidence in Christ's kindness. At
this point, it is timely to say, "Woe to a fearful heart and to slack hands
and to a sinner who walks upon two paths!"[5]
For you must imagine that what has been said about circumcision[6] has
also been said about fasting, and about every other commandment of the Law,
if you keep it now, at the wrong time[7]—just
as, if someone is now circumcised, "Christ will be of no benefit" to him.[8]
Indeed, so that you will not think this statement only pertained to
circumcision, [p. 32] but
instead [understand that it applied] to the entire Law, if someone were to
keep it now, at the wrong time, you must listen to what he says: "You who
are [trying to be] justified by the Law have fallen away from grace."[9]
What further punishment could there be to equal this one? But may this not
happen to our brothers! I do call them brothers, even if they are sick in
countless ways, because of my hopes for their health.
Now then, let me strip down for the fight against
the Jews themselves, so that the victory may be more glorious—so that you
will learn that they are abominable and lawless and murderous and enemies of
God. For there is no evidence of wickedness I can proclaim that is equal to
this. But, in order to amass forensic-style speeches against them, I shall
first demonstrate that even if they had not been deprived of their ancestral
way of life, even so their fast would be polluted and impure—and I shall
provide the proofs from the Law itself, and from Moses. For if it was
lawless when it was observed while the Law was in effect and in power, so
much the more now that the Law has ceased. And I shall demonstrate that not
only the fast, but also all the other practices which they
observe—sacrifices and purifications and festivals—are all abominable. And
when the very manner of purification is illegal as practiced, and would be
rejected as loathsome,[10] which
of their other [rituals] can purify them thereafter?
The best starting point for the demonstration
will be their observance with regard to the place. For God led them out of
the whole world and confined them in a single place, Jerusalem. And in no
other place were they permitted to fast, to sacrifice, to celebrate
festivals or tabernacles, or indeed to read the Law, at the time when the
Law was in force. And if back then, whenever these rites were conducted
outside Jerusalem, the procedure constituted transgression, all the more so
now. If you wish, I will read the laws that were set down for them
concerning these matters. First, let me recite the law set down concerning
the festival of Passover: "For you shall not be able to celebrate the
Passover in any of the cities which the Lord your God gives you, but at the
place which the Lord your God chooses for his name to be called [p.
34] there"[11]—meaning
Jerusalem (for his name had been called over that city, as Daniel also made
plain when he prayed and said, "Look at the destruction of us and of your
city, upon which your name has been called over it"[12]).
He used this term for the city not because God has a
city—of course not!—but in order to make the place more awesome by virtue of
the fear inherent in the appellation. So then, this law is onethat
prohibits them from carrying out the sacrifices of the Passover [anywhere
outside Jerusalem], not only in Syria and Cilicia and among other peoples,
but even in Palestine itself. "For you shall not be able to celebrate the
Passover in any of the cities which the Lord your God gives you"—and the
cities he gave were in Judaea. Do you see how they have been forced out,
not out of the world, but out of the [rest of the] province itself, into one
single place? Again, concerning the festival which is now imminent, he
warns, "For seven days you shall celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, when
you gather in from your threshing-floor and your wine-vat."[13]
For because they were ungrateful and unmindful of their benefactor, he bound
their remembrances of the kindness of God into the necessities of their
festivals. And at the same time, they would learn the reason for the
festival: For when the harvest is complete, he says, celebrate days of
thanksgiving to the giver of the requested sustenance—"For seven days you
shall celebrate the festival, you and your son and your daughter, your male
servant and your female servant, the proselyte / foreigner[14] who
is attached to you, the orphan and the widow; for seven days you shall keep
the festival unto the Lord God in the place which the Lord your God
chooses."[15]
And as for the fact that they were not even allowed to read the Law outside
Jerusalem, listen to this: "After seven years, at the time of the year of
Release, the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes together to appear
before the Lord your God in the place which he chooses. There you shall
read the Law";[16] there
you shall fast for the Feast of Tabernacles. Do you see that he preserves
this [stipulation] also in the case of the fast?[17] [p.
36]
Next, in order not to go through each thing
individually, he added in summary fashion that it was in no way permitted
for them to carry out their customary rituals of worship anywhere else,
saying, "Be careful not to offer your burnt-offerings in any place you see;
but in the place which the Lord your God chooses for his name to be called,
there you shall offer your sacrifices, there you shall perform all that I
command you today."[18]
For when he said "all," he included, by using this word, festivals and
sacrifices and lustrations and purifications and whatever else was in the
Law. Then, because they were thoughtless and senseless, and his exhortation
was not sufficient to persuade them, he also added an inexorable punishment
for those who disobeyed: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron
and to the children of Israel, saying: Anyone from among you, or from among
the proselytes / foreigners who are attached to you, whoever slaughters a
bull-calf or a sheep or a goat outside the camp or in the camp itself, and
does not bring his sacrifice to the doors of the Tent of Witness, blood
shall be reckoned for him; that man has shed blood."[19]
What does it mean that "blood shall be reckoned for him"? He will be
condemned for murder,
having become just like a murderer—for [God] was not paying attention to the
nature of what was sacrificed, but to the mindset of the one who was
sacrificing. For this reason, it was reckoned as murder: because the
slaughter took place contrary to God's wishes. Do you see how closely
guarded the [issue of] place was? The one who does not sacrifice at the
doors of the Tent of Witness, he says, will be punished just as if he has
killed a human being, even if he is sacrificing a sheep. And further
tightening the punishment, he says, "That soul shall be cut off from his
people."[20]
Why? Because he did not bring his sacrifices to the doors of the Tent of
Witness, he then says.[21]
And why does he order them to sacrifice there? So that they will not
sacrifice to their idols and "to the vain things with which they themselves
engage in prostitution."[22]
Do you see that the very reason is an indictment of their impiety and
prostitution? (For he always calls their impiety prostitution.) He drove
them together from all quarters into a single place for this reason: so
that they would have no occasion for impiety. When a well-born and free man
has a female slave who is licentious and pulls in all the passers-by for
immoral relations with her, he does not allow her to go out into the
neighborhood, to show herself in the alley-way, to rush into the
marketplace; instead, he confines her upstairs in the house, shackles her
with iron, and orders her to remain indoors at all times, so that both the
spatial restrictions of the place and the compulsion of the chains will be
her starting-point for chastity.[23]
God acted in the very same way: the Synagogue being his licentious
slave-woman, gaping after every demon and [p.
38] every idol, and rushing
to make sacrifices to the idols in every spot and in every place, he
confined it in Jerusalem and the temple, as though in the master's house,
and ordered it to sacrifice and celebrate festivals at appointed times there
only, so that both the spatial restrictions of the place and the observance
of the times would keep it, even unwillingly, in the law of piety. Sit
there and be modest, he says; let the place train you, since your character
did not.
And [to confirm] that this is the reason why he
commanded sacrifice there only: you have heard the Law that has now been
read among us—it runs as follows: "For they shall bring their sacrifices to
the doors of the Tent of Witness"[24]—and
it goes on to add the reason: "So that they will not sacrifice to their
idols and to the vain things with which they themselves engage in
prostitution."[25]
For there was no spot in Palestine that was not defiled by their impiety;
instead, every hill, every ravine, and every tree was privy to this impiety
of theirs. For this reason, Hosea cried out and said, "They sacrificed upon
the hills; they made sacrifices upon the summits of the mountains, under oak
and pine and shade-giving tree, because the shelter was good."[26]
And Jeremiah said, "Lift your eyes around you and see: Where did they not
engage in prostitution?"[27]
It was for this reason that God, seeing that they had gone astray, confined
them in one spot: the temple. But not even this put a stop to their
licentiousness; rather, as if obstinately wishing to demonstrate to their
Lord that whatever he did they would not abandon their madness, they brought
adulterous lovers into their Lord's house, at one time setting up a
four-faced idol there, at another time painting the abominations of reptiles
and cattle on the wall. Ezekiel made this known to us—for he was brought
from Babylon to the temple, and when he saw them burning incense to the sun
and mourning for Adonis and worshipping all the other idols in the temple
itself, he cried out in distress.[28]
But the prophet did not point out only this rampant
impiety, but also [approached the subject] in another way, speaking as
follows: "There came to be in you a perversion[29] beyond
all women."[30]
How is it that payments are made to all prostitutes, he says, "but you gave
out payments"?[31]
For they engaged in prostitution and paid money
for their own prostitution, which is the greatest proof of a soul that is
being driven mad by the sting of its own profligacy. So then, because the house did
not make them modest—instead, they set up their idols there—in the end God
razed the temple itself to the ground. For what need was there for that
place, given that idols were standing there and demons were being served in
it? [p. 40]
Now I want to reckon up just what I promised you
at first. What was it, then, that I promised? To show that they are
transgressing in all that they now do—and in the first place, in the
festival of Passover. The fact that they are not simply transgressing the
Law, but are manifestly also murderers,
when they celebrate this festival outside Jerusalem, is clear from what I
have said. This has been proved most abundantly, by the grace of God.
Therefore, whenever they sacrifice the Passover [lamb] either here or
elsewhere, they are manifestly murderers. For if, when someone does not
bring his sacrifice to the doors of the Tent of Witness, the sacrifice is
reckoned as blood and murder, and if these people make their sacrifices not
only outside the temple, but even outside the city, indeed everywhere on
earth, then it is quite obvious that they are enmeshed in the pollution [of
murder] to an enormous degree. In the same way, when they celebrate the
Feast of Tabernacles and their other festivals, they are again impure and
defiled. For if everything is purified by means of the sacrifices, and
"apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness,"[32] then
once all the sacrifices have been taken away with the destruction of the
temple, it necessarily follows that the methods of purification and the
customs of all the festivals have been taken away—or that if they are
practiced, they cause even greater pollution because they are performed in
an unlawful manner.
Not only were they not permitted to sacrifice
outside the temple—they were not even permitted to sing elsewhere,
as the prophet also made plain. For when they had been carried off to
Babylon, and those who had taken them captive wanted to hear Jewish song,
and would say to them, "Sing to us some of the songs of Zion,"[33] they
would answer, by way of informing them that it was not permissible to sing
outside Jerusalem, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?"[34]
But neither did they fast in
a foreign land; listen to what God said to them through Zechariah: "For
seventy years, you have not fasted a fast for me, have you?"[35]—referring
indirectly to the time of the captivity. It has also been proved that they
were permitted to make sacrifices there only. For this reason the three
children said, "There is no ruler or prophet at this time, nor any place to
make an offering and find mercy."[36]
Now of course there was a place
in Babylonia—but not the customary place.
For they hearkened to Moses, who said, "Be careful not to offer your
burnt-offerings in any place you see; but in the place which the Lord your
God chooses…"[37]
Thus, when they were allowed neither to sacrifice nor to sing nor to be
purified nor to read the Law (for indeed, another prophet likewise made the
same charge when he said—and brought it out as a great accusation [p.
42]—"They read the Law outside and invoked confession."[38])—when,
therefore, they were allowed to do none of these things, what defense will
they possibly have hereafter? They condemn and defile themselves by their
myriad paths of transgression. And that is why I called their fast impure
right from the beginning: because it is carried out unlawfully. Indeed,
their Passover and Feast of Tabernacles, and whatever else they do, are
profane and abominable; what they carry out[39] is
not worship, but lawlessness and transgression and outrage committed on
God. You see, if they did not dare to do any of these things during their
sojourning in a foreign land (as my discourse has proved), when they
expected to recover their ancestral city and return to the temple, then they
are obligated much more now to
stay idle, to refrain from action, and not to carry out any of these
things—now that there is no longer any hope that they will recover
Jerusalem. For that city shall not rise up again in the future, nor will
they return to their prior form of worship. It was to make this clear to
them that God opened up the whole world to them, and made that spot alone
inaccessible, and thus there are imperial laws keeping them away and not
allowing them to set foot in the doorway of the city—that city is and will
remain off-limits for them at all times.
But on the very day of their fast, I will
demonstrate that it [i.e., Jerusalem] will not rise again—if you are present
again with the same enthusiasm and I see this hall[40] made
just as magnificent as it is now with the multitude of the listeners.
Today, on the other hand, it is necessary to tell you why God opened the
entire world to them, but made that city alone inaccessible to them. Why,
then, did he do this? He knew their obstinacy and shamelessness, their
willfulness and disobedience; he knew that they would not easily choose to
give up their former way of life, conducted with sacrifices and burnt
offerings, and go toward the higher, more spiritual life of the Gospels.
What, then, did he do? After tying their worship of him to the necessity of
sacrifices, he furthermore confined the sacrifices themselves to the temple,
and after doing this, he made the place off-limits for them, so that, from
the fact that they were not allowed to set foot in Jerusalem, they would
become aware that it was now not permissible for them to sacrifice—and from
the absence of sacrifice they would be taught not to cling to the rest of
their forms of worship any longer, and would be able to see that it was no
longer the proper time for that way of life, that instead, God was calling
them to a different and greater philosophy. A loving mother who has a
nursing child, but later is eager to wean him away from milk-nourishment and
lead him toward other kinds of nourishment—when she sees that he is
unwilling and resistant, and continues to seek her breast and insinuate
himself into her maternal bosom, she smears gall or some other kind of very
bitter juice around the very nipple of her breast, [p.
44] and thus compels him,
unwilling as he is, to turn away from the source of milk in future. In the
very same way, God, wanting to lead them to more solid nourishment, but then
seeing them constantly running back to Jerusalem and its way of life, walled
off the city like a mother's nipple with bile and the bitterest juice—the
fear of the Romans—and by means of imperial decrees he made it become
off-limits for them. His intention was that because of the desolation and
the soldiers' weapons, they would stand aloof from that homeland and little
by little become accustomed to rejecting their desire for milk and slipping
into a love and craving for solid nourishment. For even though emperors
caused the desolation, they were moved by God to do so, and this is clear
from [a comparison with] the previous periods, when not even the ruler of
the whole [world] was strong enough to take the city, since God was
favorable to them. The temple was destroyed for this reason: so that they
would no longer look for God in a place, but look up toward the heavens.
Sacrifices were taken away for this reason: so that they would be able to
see the true sacrifice as
well, which took away the sin of the world. But if they are
not willing [to change], then God, for his part, has displayed to them his
kindness,[41] while
they, having made themselves unworthy of his goodness, will bring inexorable
punishment upon themselves.
But now, it is time to leave behind my discourse
with them, and to direct
my criticism against those who have gone off to hear the Trumpets.[42]
Indeed, I ought not to have considered them even worth taking into account
at this point, since after so much exhortation and advice they still
persisted in the same stupidity. But I do expect to correct their ways by
this second exhortation, and to persuade them to condemn their own stupidity
with regard to their earlier [behavior]; thus, I eagerly embark on these
remarks directed at them. For indeed, I know that by the grace of God, many
of those who were accustomed to do these things have departed
from their wicked custom; and if not all were persuaded, yet they shall be
persuaded by all means. A body that is beginning to be healthy makes
progress on a path so as to cast off all its illness and [p.
46] finally return to a state
of pure health.
You ran to hear the Trumpets? Tell me—(I wish to
have a conversation with them in their absence, as though they were
present. For even so does the soul that is in pain converse with people as
though they are present and listening, even if those it is attacking are not listening.)—so
then, you ran to hear the Trumpets? Tell me: With those murderers? With
those charlatans? With those delirious and raving-mad Jews? Did you not
listen to Christ, who said, "The one who looks at a woman to desire her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart"[43]?
For just as a licentious gaze produces adultery, so also untimely hearing
works impiety. But you desire to hear a trumpet! Then listen to the
trumpet of Paul, the spiritual trumpet blaring out from the heavens and
saying, "Take up the full armor of God. Gird your loins with truth, put on
the breastplate of righteousness, cover your feet with the equipment of the
Gospel of peace, take up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the
sword of the spirit."[44]
Do you see how a spiritual trumpet arms you and
leads you out to the battle against the demons? Listen to the thunder of
John, saying: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God."[45]
Wait for the trumpet that [will sound] from the heavens: "For the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead will rise again."[46]
Those who hear this [earthly] trumpet will not hear that [heavenly] one—or
rather, they will hear it, but to their own detriment. For participation in
the Jewish festival will mean participation in their punishment. At that
time, the Jews "will look upon him whom they pierced."[47]
What, then, [will happen,] if you appear in company with them? Is it not
abundantly clear what is left [as the implication]? I am afraid to say it,
but I impart it to your consciousness.[48]
You sound the trumpet with them now—so you will mourn with them then. But
may it never be that any of the children of the churches be found in the
gathering-place of those murderous people—not now, not ever! And that is
why I have said this now: so that these things no longer take place.
But not only to men do I address these comments,
but also to the women, through their
husbands. For indeed, I know that most of the crowd that is drawn to go
there is composed of women. Now then, the blessed Paul says, "Husbands,
love your wives";[49] and
again, "The wife should fear her husband."[50]
But I am seeing neither wives' fear nor husbands' love. For if the wife
feared her husband, she would not have dared to go. If the husband loved
his wife, he would never have allowed and tolerated her going. For what is
worse than this outrage, I ask you? A free and believing woman goes out of
the house and goes off to a synagogue? Does she know any other place at
all, apart from [p. 46] the
church and the time spent there? But if she were going off to a lover,
would you not have stood up? Would you not have been inflamed? Would you
not have posted guards on all sides? But as it is, you do not see her going
off to commit adultery with a man, but going off to [be with] demons—and you
allow this impiety? If she commits a transgression against you,
you punish her; but if she commits outrage against her Lord,
you overlook it? If she wantonly abuses your marriage, you are a harsh and
inexorable judge; but if she tramples on the covenants with God, you are
careless and slack? How can these [offenses] be worthy of forgiveness?
And yet, God does not act that way, but rather in the opposite way: When he
himself is outraged, he overlooks it; when you are treated that way, he
punishes. Do you wish to learn that he honors your affairs more than his
own? "If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar,
and go—first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your
gift."[51]
[1] Pradels et al.,
pp. 24-25.
[2] I.e., the human
race as a whole (cf. Lampe s.v. φύσις II.A.6).
[3] Lit., "the
baptism of water."
[4] Lit., "Why [would
you] not [have to say that it is weak], if you only keep it in
part?" I.e., the fact that you do not keep all of it shows that you
think it is weak / defective in some way.
[6] Cf. section 2.4
of this Homily /
Discourse.
[7] Gk. ἀκαίρως–i.e.,
after the coming of Christ. Cf. Homily
/ Discourse 1,
section 2.3.
[10] Gk. ὅταν...παράνομοςᾖ[or
ᾗ -- in the Greek text,
Pradels et al. seem to have smooth breathing, but the translation
assumes rough breathing]γινόμενοςκαὶβδελυρὸςὢνἀπελεχθείη... Pradels
et al. interpret ἀπελεχθείη as
a form of ἀπολέγω (with
augment anomalously retained in the optative) and further,
presumably reading ᾗ and
treating γινόμενος as
equivalent to a finite verb, translate, "Wenn…in der Art und Weise,
wie es vollzogen wird, widergesetzlich ist und, weil es greulich ist,
hätte verboten werden können…" I would probably be more inclined to
correct ἀπελεχθείηtoἀπελεγχθείη,
and translate, "and would be condemned as abominable / loathsome…"
In that case, the remaining anomaly would be the switch from
subjunctive to optative.
[11] Deut. 16.5-6.
See Pradels et al., p. 35 n. 3, regarding the Greek and Hebrew
expressions used here for calling a name 'over / upon' someone or
something – i.e., in English idiom, calling someone 'by' a certain
name.
[17] It is strange
that Chrysostom stresses fasting in
connection with Tabernacles (Sukkot), especially considering that he
is adding words of his own following the Biblical citation. The
part of Deut. 16.14 that he does not cite contradicts this (εὐφρανθήσῃ),
and in general, it is supposed to be a joyous festival, not a fast.
Cf. the confused order in Homily
/ Discourse 1.1
(Trumpets, Tabernacles, fasts); D. S. Ben Ezra, The
Impact of Yom Kippur on Early Christianity (Tübingen,
2003), pp. 68-69, refers to these and other early Christian and
pagan confusions about the precise content of Jewish festivals. On
the other hand, in Homily
/ Discourse 7.1, the
correct order (Trumpets, fasts, Tabernacles) appears. It may be
that because the urgent occasion for Chrysostom here is the fast
(leading up to Yom Kippur), the idea of fasting spills over to other
areas (Homily / Discourse 2.1).
Alternatively, some confusion in the recording or transmission of
the text may have occurred.
[21] A strange
phrase, possibly corrupt. Pradels et al. translate: "Weil er seine
Opfer nicht hingebracht hat vor den Eingang des Zeltes der Bezeugung,
sagt er dann."
[29] Or, "The reverse
was the case for you, by comparison with all women…"
[36] Dan. 3.38
[Prayer of Azariah 15].
[38] Amos 4.5 (LXX
with variant – singular "confession"). NETS, following the standard
LXX, translates, "…called for confessions."
[42] The "Trumpets"
are a reference to the Rosh Hashanah celebration. I.e., he is
turning back from criticism of the Jews to criticism of the
Judaizing Christians.
[47] Jn. 19.37; cf.
Zech. 12.10.
[48] Alternatively,
"I leave it to your conscience."
This text was commissioned by Roger
Pearse, 2010. The material on this page is in the public domain
- copy freely. Greek text is rendered using unicode.
Source.
John Chrysostom: Eight Homilies Against the Jews [Adversus Judeaus], Patrologia
Greaca, Vol 98
This translation, here cleaned up for typos, etc, was on an anti-Semitic website [as a
justification for current anti-Semitism]. So far I have been unable to track down the
translator. There were eight homilies by Chrysostom on the subject. This seems to be the
first six.
MELVYL reports a translation C. Mervyn Maxwell, Chrysostom's homilies against the
Jews : an English translation, Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1967. I am
trying to find out whether these texts are Maxwell's or an earlier translators'.
This text is part of the Internet
Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright.
Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational
purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No
permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall, August 1998 [email protected],
Updated, and last two homilies added, May 2002.
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
the Fordham University Center
for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the
Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in
providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not
the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 3 May 2024 [CV]
|