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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Hesychius of Jerusalem composes his Homily 7, On *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288), which he preaches during the saint’s celebration at the church of the Anastasis in Jerusalem on 30 November. Written in Greek at Jerusalem, in the early 5th c.

Evidence ID

E05889

Type of Evidence

Literary - Sermons/Homilies

Major author/Major anonymous work

Hesychius of Jerusalem

Hesychius of Jerusalem, Homily 7, On Andrew (CPG 6571 = BHG 104)

Brief summary:

1. Introduction. Call of ‘the apostolic trumpet’.

2. The call of Andrew by Christ: a Peter before Peter.

3-5. The prophecy of Hosea (Hos. 5:15–6:3) and the resurrection of Christ: God strikes and heals us.

7-9. Andrew and Peter’s encounter with Christ. Andrew is Peter’s benefactor. They are called to become fishers of human souls.

Liturgical Activities

Sermon/homily

Festivals

Saint’s feast

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy

Source

Hesychius lived as a monk and priest in Palestine and Jerusalem in the first half of the 5th century. A member of the clergy of the Holy Sepulchre, he was a leading theologian and author, flourishing from the 410s to perhaps after 451. He was a close associate of Juvenal (bishop of Jerusalem 422-458), and participated in the theological debate against Nestorius, supporting Cyril of Alexandria. The date of his death is uncertain. Theophanes reports that he died in the same year as Melania the Younger (ed. de Boor 92, 20: AM 5926), but he is also reported to have been alive when the Council of Chalcedon took place in 451, and to have opposed it.

His surviving works include commentaries and homilies. He is known to have published an ecclesiastical history, which has not survived. The circulation of his works in the Middle Ages seems to have been geographically limited, since they tend to be found in manuscripts from Jerusalem and southern Italy, but hardly ever in Constantinopolitan ones. His homilies are important testimonies for the early stages of development of the liturgical traditions of the church of Jerusalem, and the appearance of a number of feasts with a strong Marian dimension like the 14 February feast of
Hypapante (Candlemas) and 15 August.

Homily 7 survives in eight manuscripts, on which see:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/9018/


Discussion

The precise date of this homily is unknown. The exegetical themes and biblical references in it suggest that it was preached during the feast of the Apostle Andrew on 30 November which, according to the Armenian and Georgian Lectionary of Jerusalem, was celebrated at the Anastasis (E05187; E03445).


Bibliography

Text, French translation, and commentary:
Aubineau, M., Les homélies festales d’Hésychius de Jérusalem I: les homélies I-XV (Subsidia Hagiographica 59: Brussels, 1978).


Record Created By

Efthymios Rizos

Date of Entry

28/06/2018

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00036Peter, the ApostleΠέτροςCertain
S00288Andrew, the ApostleἈνδρέαςCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Efthymios Rizos, Cult of Saints, E05889 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05889