Hesychius of Jerusalem composes his Homily 14, On *Prokopios (martyr of Caesarea of Palestine, S00118), which he preaches during his feast in Jerusalem. Written in Greek at Jerusalem, in the early 5th c.
Evidence ID
E05895
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Major author/Major anonymous work
Hesychius of Jerusalem
Hesychius of Jerusalem, Homily 14, On Prokopios (CPG 6578 = BHG 1584)
Brief summary:
1-3. Prokopios is a sacrificial victim offered to Christ. His is compared and related to various biblical figures (Paul, John the Evangelist, Elijah, Samuel, Samson, David, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Enoch, and Job).
4-9. Prokopios’ exemplar and various biblical quotations related to it. Exhortations to the audience.
Summary: E. Rizos
Liturgical ActivitiesSermon/homily
Festivals
Sermon/homily
Service for the saint
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - 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 14 is preserved in one manuscript (Vat. Gr. 679; 11th c.), on which see Aubineau 1978, 542.
Discussion
This homily, now accepted as a genuine work of Hesychius, was preached on the feast of one of the martyrs of Palestine, Prokopios who, originating from Jerusalem, lived as an ascetic and reader in Scythopolis and became a martyr at Caesarea in 303, being one of the Eusebius’ Martyrs of Palestine (E00296).The text was very probably preached at the church of the Anastasis, a site to which the author alludes in his sermon. The date of the feast was probably 8 July. Prokopios’ life as a monastic prior to his martyrdom may explain why his memory was specifically honoured by the monastic brotherhood of the Anastasis.
Aubineau suggests that the text belongs to the later part of Hesychius’ career, perhaps dating from the 430s.
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).
English translation:
Leemans, J. (ed.), 'Let Us Die That We May Live' : Greek Homilies on Christian Martyrs from Asia Minor, Palestine and Syria (c. AD 350-AD 450) (London: Routledge, 2003), 204-214 (by P. Allen).
Record Created By
Efthymios Rizos
Date of Entry
30/06/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00118 | Prokopios, martyr of Caesarea of Palestine | Προκόπιος | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Efthymios Rizos, Cult of Saints, E05895 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05895