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Sermo 14

Basilius Caesariensis · khazarzar

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JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 394 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

Sermo 14 is a Greek homily traditionally attributed to Basil of Caesarea (c. 330–379), delivering a sustained exhortation against usury. Drawing on biblical exempla, including Psalm 14 LXX, and moral argument, the sermon employs a deliberative register aimed at a Christian congregation. The text reflects fourth-century economic realities such as high interest rates and rural debt. Its manuscript tradition is not critically established; the edition reproduces the Greek text from Migne's PG 31 without collating variant readings from key manuscripts. The homily was excerpted in Byzantine canonical collections, notably the Syntagma of Matthew Blastares, as a patristic authority against usury, influencing later Eastern Christian moral teaching.

Sermo 14 is significant as a patristic witness to fourth-century Christian moral teaching on usury, reflecting economic realities of the period. Its inclusion in Byzantine canonical collections demonstrates its enduring authority in Eastern Christian ethics. The homily also illustrates Basil's rhetorical and exegetical methods, drawing on Scripture to address social issues. It relates to broader patristic literature on wealth and poverty, such as works by John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa.

Historical context

The homily is traditionally assigned to Basil of Caesarea (c. 330–379), a key figure in fourth-century Cappadocian Christianity. No external witness securely dates it, but internal references to contemporary economic practices suggest a date in the 370s, during Basil's episcopacy. The work was composed in Greek for a Christian congregation in Cappadocia, likely Caesarea. Its genre is a homily, a sermon delivered in a liturgical setting. The text was transmitted through Byzantine manuscript tradition, later included in Migne's Patrologia Graeca (PG 31). The manuscript tradition is not critically established; some passages may reflect later scribal interpolation. The homily was excerpted in Byzantine canonical collections, such as the Syntagma of Matthew Blastares, as a patristic authority against usury, influencing Eastern Christian moral teaching. The present edition lacks a critical apparatus and does not collate variant readings from principal manuscripts (e.g., Paris gr. 500, Vat. gr. 436).

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

10 commentary units 2 structure2 term2 scripture2 background2 reception 0 derived notes 3 open questions 2 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: homily in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
khazarzar-basilius-caesariensis-sermo-14:1 · narrativehigh
Source
ΠΕΡΙ ΠΙΣΤΕΩΣ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ χάριτι, τῷ προσερχομένῳ, ὑγιαίνουσι λόγοις τοῖς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῇ κατ' εὐσέβειαν διδασκαλίᾳ, λάμπει ὡς φῶς ἡ τῶν χριστιανῶν πίστις, ἣν διὰ βραχέων ὑμῖν παραθήσομαι· ἵνα ὑμεῖς ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησία, ὥσπέρ τι πλοῖον ἀχείμαστον κυβερνήτην ἔχων τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, εἰς τὸν αὐτοῦ ἅγιον καὶ γαληνὸν λιμένα ὁρμισθῆτε, μήποτέ τινι τρικυμίᾳ τῇ τῶν αἱρετικῶν διδασκαλίᾳ βαπτισθέντες, περὶ τὴν πίστιν ναυαγήσητε. Παρατίθεμαι δὲ ὑμῖν αὐτὴν τοῦ κυρίου τὴν πίστιν διὰ βραχέων ὡς ἔφην· πέφυκε γὰρ τὰ διὰ συντομωτέρας ἐκθέσεως, ῥᾷον παραμένειν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν. Ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, τῇ περὶ τὸ ἴδιον πλάσμα εὐσπλαγχνίᾳ, ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ γῆς ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός, καὶ διὰ παρθένου ἁγίας σαρκωθείς, καὶ πάντα τὰ θαύματα ἐκεῖνα ἃ διὰ τῶν εὐαγγελίων μεμαθήκαμεν ἐργασάμενος ὡς θεός, καὶ διὰ πάσης τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐεργετήσας γένος, καὶ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν τῶν ἀνηκέστων διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν παθὼν παρὰ τῶν εὐεργετηθέντων, τέλος ἐσταυρώθη, καὶ σταυρωθεὶς ἀπέθανε, καὶ ἀποθανὼν ἠγέρθη τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἐγερθῆναι αὐτόν, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν φιλάνθρωπον πληρῶσαι οἰκονομίαν, ὅτε ἤμελλεν ἀναλαμβάνεσθαι ὅθεν κατέβη, παρέδωκε τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς τὴν πίστιν· ἀπελθόντες, φησί, μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος.
English
On the Faith. By the grace of the good God, to the one who approaches with sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with teaching according to piety, the faith of Christians shines like light, which I will set forth for you briefly, so that you, the church of God, like a storm-proof ship having our Lord Jesus Christ as its pilot, may be moored in his holy and calm harbor, never being baptized by any triple wave of heretical teaching and suffering shipwreck concerning the faith. I set before you the Lord's own faith briefly, as I said; for things set forth in a more concise exposition tend to remain more easily with the hearers. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by his compassion for his own creation, came to earth to seek and save the lost, and was incarnate through a holy virgin, and performed all those miracles which we have learned through the Gospels as God, and through all his goodness benefited the human race, and suffered everything incurable for our salvation at the hands of those he benefited, and finally was crucified, and having been crucified died, and having died arose on the third day. And after his resurrection, when he had fulfilled all the philanthropic economy for us, as he was about to be taken up whence he descended, he delivered the faith to his holy disciples: "Go forth," he says, "and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
khazarzar-basilius-caesariensis-sermo-14:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Ἡμεῖς τοίνυν κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ κατὰ τὴν πίστιν τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ συναχθέντων ἁγίων πατέρων τριακοσίων δεκὰ καὶ ὀκτώ, ὡς παρελάβομεν οὕτως καὶ βαπτίζομεν, εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος· ὡς δὲ βαπτίζομεν, οὕτω καὶ πιστεύομεν, εἰς πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα· ὡς δὲ πιστεύομεν, οὕτως καὶ δοξάζομεν, πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. Ταύτην τὴν πίστιν τηρήσωμεν παρακαλῶ, μέχρι τῆς ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ τοῦ παραδεδωκότος ἡμῖν κυρίου καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, χάριτι τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, σὺν τῷ μονογενεῖ αὐτοῦ υἱῷ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίῳ καὶ ἀγαθῷ πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεῖ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰώνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.
English
We therefore, according to the tradition of the Lord Jesus Christ and according to the faith of the three hundred and eighteen holy fathers gathered at Nicaea, as we received, so also we baptize, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and as we baptize, so also we believe, in Father and Son and Holy Spirit; and as we believe, so also we glorify, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Let us keep this faith, I exhort, until the manifestation of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself who delivered it to us, by the grace of God and our Father, to whom is the glory and the power, together with His only-begotten Son and the Holy and Good Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages, amen.
Citation. Tergwame, “Sermo 14”, khazarzar-basilius-caesariensis-sermo-14:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-basilius-caesariensis-sermo-14#s1
Colophon. Source: khazarzar · licence: Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0016 · generated 2026-11-15.