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Greek · Letters ·

Fragmenta in epistulam i & ii ad Corinthios

Gennadius of Constantinople · khazarzar

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 339 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The fragments of Gennadius of Constantinople's commentary on 1–2 Corinthians survive only in catenae and florilegia, with no continuous manuscript extant. Gennadius, patriarch of Constantinople from 458 to 471, likely composed the work during his episcopate, though no external witness fixes its precise date. The fragments are cited in later Greek catenae (e.g., Catenae in epistulas Pauli) and in John of Damascus's Sacra Parallela, indicating patristic authority. The digital edition (khazarzar) lacks full documentation of its textual basis and editorial principles, so readings should be verified against critical editions. No apparatus for variant readings in catena manuscripts is provided.

Gennadius's fragments provide insight into fifth-century Antiochene or Alexandrian exegesis of Paul's Corinthian correspondence, reflecting the Christological debates of the period. They are cited in major catenae and florilegia, demonstrating their enduring authority in Byzantine tradition. The fragments also illustrate the use of typological interpretation, as seen in the parallel between the Exodus and Christian baptism.

Historical context

Gennadius of Constantinople served as patriarch from 458 to 471, a period of Christological controversy following the Council of Chalcedon (451). His commentary on 1–2 Corinthians likely dates from his episcopate, but no external witness fixes its composition precisely. The fragments survive only in catenae and florilegia, such as the Catenae in epistulas Pauli and John of Damascus's Sacra Parallela, indicating their use in later Byzantine exegesis. The work was originally in Greek, the language of the Eastern Church. The genre is a biblical commentary, likely in the form of homilies or scholia. The fragments' transmission through catenae suggests they were valued as patristic authorities, but the lack of a continuous manuscript limits our knowledge of the original work's structure and scope.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

11 commentary units 2 term2 scripture2 background1 sense1 parallel1 reception1 structure1 caution 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: letter 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-gennadius-of-constantinople-fragmenta-in-epistulam-i-ii-ad-corinthios:1 · narrativehigh
Source
1 Ἐν τούτοις ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν παλαιῶν αὐτοὺς παραθέσεως παιδεῦσαι βούλεται τὰ προσήκοντα, δεικνὺς κἀκείνους καθάπερ ἔν τινι τύπῳ τῶν ἴσων ἀξιωθέντας· οὕτω γὰρ καταλλήλου φαινομένου τοῦ παραδείγματος εὑρίσκετο δικαίως αὐτοῖς παραινῶν μὴ τὰ ὅμοια πλημμελεῖν, ἵνα μὴ τὰ ὅμοια πείσωνται. τὸ μὲν οὖν ὑπὸ τὴν νεφέλην αὐτοὺς εἶναι δήλωσις ἦν τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος χάριτος· ἐκείνους τε γὰρ ἡ νεφέλη σκιάζουσα τῆς ἐκ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων βλάβης ἀπήλλαττεν, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἡ χάρις τῆς δαιμονικῆς ἐξαιρεῖται κακίας. τὸ δὲ διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης αὐτοὺς διελθεῖν ἔοικε κατὰ τοῦτο τοῖς ἡμετέροις, ὅτι ὅπερ ἐκείνοις ἡ διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης παρέσχε διάβασις, τῶν μὲν πολεμίων αὐτοὺς παντελῶς ἀπαλλάξασα, βεβαίαν δὲ αὐτοὺς τοῦ λοιποῦ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν δωρησαμένη, τοῦτο ἡμῖν πρὸς τοὺς ἡμετέρους ἐχθροὺς τὸ βάπτισμα γέγονεν. τὸ δὲ εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν ἐβαπτίσαντο ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, σημαίνει τοῦτο ὅτι καθάπερ ἐκεῖνοι τούτων τυχόντες ὑπέσχοντο τοῖς Μωϋσαικοῖς νόμοις βιοῦν, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι τὸ τῆς υἱοθεσίας κομιζόμενοι πνεῦμα, συνθήκας καὶ ὁμολογίας τιθέμεθα τοῦ κατὰ τὰς Χριστοῦ λοιπὸν ζῆν ἐντολάς.
English
In these matters, he wishes to instruct them in what is fitting by means of a comparison with the ancients, showing that those men too, as in a kind of type, were deemed worthy of the same things. For in this way, when the example appeared analogous, he was found to be rightly admonishing them not to commit similar offenses, lest they suffer similar consequences. Now, their being under the cloud was an indication of the grace of the Spirit; for the cloud, by overshadowing them, delivered them from harm from the Egyptians, and grace delivers us from demonic wickedness. And their passage through the sea resembles ours in this respect, that what that crossing through the sea provided for them—utterly freeing them from their enemies and granting them secure freedom thereafter—that baptism has become for us with regard to our enemies. And the phrase "they were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" signifies this: that just as they, having obtained these things, undertook to live by the Mosaic laws, so we, receiving the Spirit of adoption in baptism, make covenants and promises to live henceforth according to the commandments of Christ.
khazarzar-gennadius-of-constantinople-fragmenta-in-epistulam-i-ii-ad-corinthios:2 · narrativehigh
Source
τὰ ἐνεργήματα δηλονότι τῶν δυνάμεων. Νῦν πίστιν οὐ τὴν τῶν πιστῶν ἔφη, τὴν κοινὴν καὶ καθολικήν, ἀλλὰ τὸ χάρισμα τὸ τῆς πίστεως· ἦν γάρ τι χαρίσματος εἶδος ὁμωνύμως οὕτω τῇ πίστει λεγόμενον, ὅθεν ἐπὶ φανερώσει πνευματικῆς μετουσίας ἐχορηγεῖτο πολλοῖς ἐν τῷ τότε τῶν εὐσεβῶν. περὶ τούτου καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις φησίν· ἐὰν ἔχητε πίστιν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, ἐρεῖτε τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ· ἄρθητι καὶ βλήθητι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ γενήσεται οὕτως. οὐδήπου γὰρ ὡς πρὸς ἀπίστους τὴν κοινὴν πίστιν ταῦτα πρὸς αὐτοὺς διελέγετο. 2 Κατ' ἐπιτιμητικὴν ὑπόκρισιν τοῦτο ἀναγνωστέον· οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων, ἀντὶ τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας, τὴν ἐξέτασιν, ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἐπιπολῆς ἁπλῶς φαινομένων λαμβάνετε.
English
the activities, that is, of the powers. Now he did not mean faith in the sense of the faithful, the common and universal faith, but the charism of faith; for there was a kind of charism called by the same name as faith, whence it was granted to many among the pious of that time for the manifestation of spiritual participation. Concerning this, the Lord also says in the Gospels: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and cast into the sea,' and it will happen so." For surely he was not speaking to them about the common faith as to unbelievers. 2 This must be read as a reproachful pretense: "not from the works," instead of "from the truth," you take the examination from what merely appears on the surface.
Citation. Tergwame, “Fragmenta in epistulam i & ii ad Corinthios”, khazarzar-gennadius-of-constantinople-fragmenta-in-epistulam-i-ii-ad-corinthios:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-gennadius-of-constantinople-fragmenta-in-epistulam-i-ii-ad-corinthios#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: $0.0015 · generated 2026-11-15.