The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

Gregory of Nyssa, On the Forty Martyrs I (CPG 3188, BHG 1206, 1207)

ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ
ΕΓΚΩΜΙΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΓΙΟΥΣ ΤΕΣΣΑΡΑΚΟΝΤΑ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΑΣ

'Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, Encomium on the Holy Forty Martyrs'

First Oration (Ia)

The speaker expresses his pleasure at the large audience which has filled the shrine. He wonders which subject he should talk about. Possible themes are the scriptural readings of the day (Job, Proverbs, 2 Corinthians 12:4, Ephesians 3:18; and readings from Psalms 37, 69, 15, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 8, 80, or 83). Instead he prefers to talk about the Fifth Commandment (‘Honour your father and your mother’). Gregory’s parents have died long ago, but, for him, his audience has taken their place, and he feels that he can perform his duty of honour towards them, as if to his parents. But what kind of an offering should he make for people lacking nothing? He does not wish to talk of worldly things, such as the beauty of the landscape or local history, but about higher matters, namely the martyrs who blossomed in the region. That very place and day witnessed the struggle of the martyrs:

(ed. Lendle 1990, p. 145.1.1-18)
οὐκοῦν πρὸς τὰ προτιμότερα τῇ φύσει ταῖς εὐφημίαις τρεπόμεθα. ταῦτα δὲ οὐκέτι διὰ λόγων ἡμῖν δειχθήσεται, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς αὐτὸ πάρεστι βλέπειν τῶν ὑμετέρων ἀγαθῶν τὸ κεφάλαιον. τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδε τὸν καρπὸν τὸν ὑμέτερον, ὅτι ὑμεῖς τὸν τῶν μαρτύρων ἐβλαστήσατε στάχυν τὸν πολύχουν τοῦτον καὶ ὑπὲρ τοὺς τριάκοντα τῷ πλήθει τῶν καρπῶν πλατυνόμενον; ὁρᾶτε τὴν ἱερὰν ταύτην ἄρουραν· ἐντεῦθεν τῶν μαρτύρων τὰ δράγματα. εἰ ζητεῖς μαθεῖν, τίνα λέγω τὴν ἄρουραν, μὴ πόρρω τοῦ παρόντος περισκοπήσης. τίς ὁ τόπος ὁ περιέχων τὸν σύλλογον; τί σοι λέγει ἡ ἐνιαύσιος τοῦ κύκλου περίοδος; ποῖά σοι διηγήματα ἡ τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης ὑπόμνησις ἥκει κομίζουσα; ἆρ᾽ Οὐ λαλιαί τινές εἰσι, καθώς φησιν ὁ προφήτης, καὶ λόγοι, ὧν οὐχὶ μόνον ἀκούονται αἱ φωναὶ αὐτῶν παντὸς λόγου εὐτονώτερον διηγουμένων τὰ θαύματα; ἂν εἰς τὸν τόπον ἀπίδῃς, αὐτὸς εἶναί φησι τῶν μαρτύρων τὸ στάδιον· ἂν τὴν ἡμέραν λογίσῃ, οἷόν τις κῆρυξ μεγαλόφωνος ἀνακηρύττει τῶν μαρτύρων τὸν στέφανον. ταῦτά μοι δοκῶ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐμβοώσης ἀκούειν, ὅτι ἄλλη μὲν τῇ δημιουργίᾳ τῶν φωστήρων σεμνύνεται, ἄλλη δὲ τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἑτέρα τῇ κατασκευῇ τῆς γῆς ἐπαγάλλεται. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀρκεῖ πρὸς κόσμον τὰ τῶν μαρτύρων θαύματα·

ταῦτά μοι δοκῶ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐμβοώσης ἀκούειν, ὅτι ἄλλη μὲν τῇ δημιουργίᾳ τῶν φωστήρων σεμνύνεται, ἄλλη δὲ τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἑτέρα τῇ κατασκευῇ τῆς γῆς ἐπαγάλλεται. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀρκεῖ πρὸς κόσμον τὰ τῶν μαρτύρων θαύματα·


‘Let us, then, turn to things which are by their nature more appropriate for praise. These will no more be shown to us by words, since we can readily see the very summit of your wealth: for who doesn’t know your fruit [=the martyrs, spiritual fruit of Sebaste], and that it was you who brought forth this ear of corn of the martyrs – so rich in flour and splitting up into a bounty of more than thirty seeds? Look at this holy acre: the sheaves of the martyrs come from here! If you wonder what I mean by acre, look no further than this very site. What is the place hosting our gathering? What does its yearly repetition say to you? What kind of stories has the memory of this day arrived to bring to you? Aren’t there some speeches and words, as the Prophet says [Ps. 19:3], whose voice is more than audible, proclaiming the marvels more vigourously than any kind of speech? If you look around at this place, it says that it is the stadium of the martyrs. If you contemplate the day, it proclaims the martyrs’ victory like a loud herald.

I believe that I can hear the day shouting out the following: “One day boasts the creation of the lights, another the sky, and another rejoices in the making of the Earth. As for me, the marvels of the martyrs are enough for my honour.”’

Gregory starts recounting their story, stating that they were young, virtuous, and handsome men. But his speech is interrupted by noise in the church, and he concludes the sermon.


Second Oration (Ib)

This day the martyrs have come as visitors to a church in the city, returning the visit the people paid to them one day earlier. Gregory will treat the visiting martyrs with what was left unfinished of his homily of the previous day, which he now intends to finish. The sermon begins as follows:

(ed. Lendle 1990, p. 145.1-146.8)
Χθὲς οἱ μάρτυρες πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς τὸν λαὸν ἐκάλουν, νῦν τῷ καταγωγίῳ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐπιξενοῦνται αὐτόκλητοι. νόμος δέ τίς ἐστι συμποτικὸς τὰς ἐγκυκλίους ταύτας ἑστιάσεις παρὰ τῶν δαιτυμόνων ἀλλήλοις ἐκ περιτροπῆς ἀντιδίδοσθαι. οὐκοῦν ἀνάγκη καὶ ἡμᾶς τὸν αὐτὸν ἀντιπληρῶσαι τοῦ δείπνου τοῖς μάρτυσιν ἔρανον. ἀλλ’ ἐπειδὴ πένεται ἡμῖν ἡ χορηγία τοῦ λόγου, καλῶς ἔχει τοῖς παρ’ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων λειψάνοις ἡμᾶς δεξιοῦσθαι τοὺς χθὲς μὲν ἑστιάτορας, σήμερον δὲ δαιτυμόνας. ἀρκεῖ γὰρ καὶ βραχύ τι μέρος ἐκ πλουσίας τραπέζης, μεγάλης εὐωχίας γενέσθαι παρασκευὴν, ὅταν τοιοῦτον λείψανον ᾖ. τί οὖν τοῦτο τὸ λείψανον; μέμνησθε πάντως, ἐν τίνι ἦμεν τοῦ λόγου, ὅτε ὁ εὐκταῖος ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἡδὺς ἡμῖν ἐκ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν συνειλεγμένων θόρυβος συνέχεε τὴν τῶν λεγομένων ἀκρόασιν, ὅτε ἡ ἔμψυχος ἐκείνη τῆς ἐκκλησίας θάλασσα τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἐπεισρεόντων πλημμυροῦσα πρὸς τὴν ῥοπὴν τῶν ἀεὶ βιαζομένων ἐκύμαινε, μιμουμένη καὶ τῷ ἤχῳ τὴν ὄντως θάλασσαν, οἷον αὐταῖς ταῖς ἀκοαῖς ἡμῶν προσρηγνῦσα τῶν κυμάτων τὸν ψόφον. ἐν τίσι τοίνυν κατελίπομεν χειμασθέντα τῷ θορύβῳ τὸν λόγον, μέμνησθε πάντως οἷς μεμελέτηται διὰ μνήμης ἔχειν τοὺς μάρτυρας. ἦν δὲ, ὡς οἶμαι, ἡ ἀκολουθία τοῦ λόγου αὕτη, ὅτι οὐ τῶν τυχόντων ἦσάν τινες οἱ εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον ἐξειλεγμένοι, οὐδέ τις σύμμικτος καὶ ἀνώνυμος ὄχλος, ἐκ ταπεινῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ὁρμηθέντες, πρὸς τὸ ἀξίωμα τοῦτο ἐπήρθησαν· ἀλλὰ πρῶτον μὲν δι’ εὐφυΐαν σώματος, κάλλει καὶ δυνάμει καὶ ῥώμης περιουσίᾳ τῶν λοιπῶν διενεγκόντος, τοῖς στρατιωτικοῖς καταλόγοις ἐνηριθμήθησαν· μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ τῷ κατ’ ἀρετὴν βίῳ καὶ πολιτείᾳ σώφρονι διαπρέψαντες ὥσπερ τι γέρας καὶ ἀριστεῖον τὴν χάριν τῆς μαρτυρίας τελειωθέντες ἐδέξαντο. καὶ εἰ δοκεῖ ὡς ἂν ἡδίους γενοίμεθα, πάντα τὰ τῶν μαρτύρων ἐφεξῆς ἀναλάβωμεν οἷον ὑπ’ ὄψιν ἄγοντες τῷ παρόντι θεάτρῳ τὴν ἄθλησιν.

‘Yesterday the martyrs invited the people to them; now they are entertained in the lodging of the Church, on their own invitation. There is a rule in banqueting etiquette that such regular receptions are returned by the diners to one another. Thus, we also have to treat the martyrs with a feast of the same class in return. But, since our supply of words is poor, it will be enough to treat our hosts of yesterday and guests of today with leftovers from what we received from them. For even a little piece left from a rich table is enough to prepare a great feast, especially when it is such a leftover. What is, then, this leftover? Surely you remember at which point of our homily we were, when that noise – welcome and sweet to us! – from the gathered crowd drowned out the hearing of our words; when that living sea of the Church, flooding by the mass flowing in, was pushing in waves the flow of the people ever rushing through, imitating the real sea by its very sound, beating, as it did, our ears with the hubbub of its waves, like on a shore. Those of you caring to keep the martyrs’ memory alive will surely remember at which point we gave up our speech, overwhelmed by the noise. The part of the speech was, I believe, this: the men chosen for this contest were not random nor were they lifted up to this dignity, being a disparate and obscure mob of lowly pursuits. Quite the contrary: first, they joined the army for their bodily health, distinguished from the rest by their beauty, might and abundant physical strength; and after that, having excelled in virtuous life and wise conduct, they received as a reward the grace of martyrdom at the end of their lives. But let us indulge, if you please, and follow now the whole story of the martyrs, bringing their contest under our eyes, as it were, on this very stage.’

A military unit in a neighbouring city (probably Melitene) had a special zeal for the faith, because it had experienced a divine manifestation. During a war, the barbarians occupied all the sources of water and the Romans were threatened by thirst. The prayer of Christians brought a thunderstorm which destroyed the camp of the enemy, and plentiful streams of water flowed for the soldiers. The martyrs served as soldiers in this unit, and their youth and virtue were envied by the Devil. Christians were threatened with death unless they apostatised. The martyrs were tortured, but they endured bravely, laughing at their torturers. The time of their execution arrived just before the beginning of the forty days of Lent [their feast is recorded in later sources on 9 March]. It was a day of freezing cold, for which the area is famous, and the tyrant ordered the martyrs to be exposed to the cold, which they accepted happily. They arrived at the site of the shrine which was then a public bath, took off their clothes and went naked into the freezing water. Glorious scenes followed: the bodies were carried away to be burned; the keeper joined the martyrs when one of them apostatised; a mother gave up her own son to be burned. After the fall of mankind, the Kingdom of Heaven has been guarded by a rotating sword of flame, which allows only the worthy to enter, among whom were the Forty Martyrs.

Text: Lendle 1990
Summary and translation: Efthymios Rizos

Service for the saint
Sermon/homily

Saint’s feast

Cult building - independent (church)
Place of martyrdom of a saint

Visiting graves and shrines
Composing and translating saint-related texts

Ecclesiastics - bishops
Crowds

Source

Discussion

Bibliography