Caesarius, bishop of Arles, in his Sermon 218, On the Martyrdom of the Blessed John the Baptist, celebrates the feast of *John the Baptist (S00020). Written in Latin at Arles (southern Gaul), 503/542.
Evidence ID
E07236
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Caesarius of Arles
Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 218, De martyrio beati Iohannis Baptistae
(1.) Beatus Iohannes, fratres dilectissimi, cuius festivitatem hodie cum gaudio celebramus, multum antequam nasceretur, qualis futurus esset, Isaias propheta spiritu sancto revelante praedixit.
'Through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, dearly beloved, the prophet Isaias foretold the character of blessed John, whose feast we are joyfully celebrating today, much before he was born.'
John is praised for denouncing Herod’s sin, and Herod denounced for his evil. Caesarius’ congregation is enjoined to follow the example of the saints.
Text: Morin 1953.
Translation: Mueller 1973.
Liturgical ActivitiesService for the saint
Festivals
Service for the saint
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Source
After an early career as an ascetic monk, first at the island monastery of Lérins, Caesarius became bishop of Arles in 503, and held this post, through many political vicissitudes, until his death in 542 (for his Life see E06283).Caesarius acquired a considerable reputation as a preacher, delivering sermons in a straightforward style and language, with limited use of rhetorical effects; most of his sermons address issues of Christian morality and practice, and the handful that he delivered on the feast days of saints are often concerned with proper behaviour at their festivals. His sermons were popular, and are widely attested in the manuscript tradition.
Germain Morin, the most recent collector and editor of his sermons, attributed nearly 250, in whole or in part, to Caesarius; many, according to Morin, are reworkings of earlier sermons, with shorter or longer additions by Caesarius. Although Morin's attributions are not always certain, we have accepted them without question, since to look into this issue is beyond the scope of our project. Morin divided the sermons into five groups: sermons or admonitions on various topics (1-80), sermons on Scripture (81-186), seasonal sermons (187-213), sermons on the saints and feast days (214-232), and sermons to monks (233-238).
Discussion
This feast of the martyrdom of the Baptist is celebrated on 29 August.Bibliography
Edition:Morin, G., Sancti Caesarii Arelatensis sermones, pars altera (Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 104; Turnhout: Brepols, 1953), 864-866.
Translation:
Mueller, M.M., Caesarius of Arles, Sermons, vol. 3 (Fathers of the Church 66; Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1973), 124-127.
Further reading:
Klingshirn, W.E., Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Record Created By
Katarzyna Wojtalik
Date of Entry
30/12/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | Iohannes | Certain |
|---|
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