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Greek · Homilies ·

In sanctos martyres

Hesychius · khazarzar

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machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 368 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This homily, attributed to Hesychius of Jerusalem (d. after 450), is a panegyric for martyrs composed in Greek during the late 4th or early 5th century. It survives in a single medieval manuscript tradition, likely transmitted through a menologion or festal collection. The Khazarzar edition provides a critical text but lacks a full apparatus, manuscript sigla, or English translation. The homily was used in Byzantine liturgical contexts, especially in Jerusalem, for feast days of martyrs. Its inclusion in later menologia attests to its enduring place in the Eastern Orthodox calendar. The text employs typical encomiastic rhetoric, including metaphors like the 'many-flowered garden' for the Spirit, and paraphrastic biblical references, such as an angelic address echoing Acts 10:4.

This homily exemplifies the flourishing of martyr panegyric in late antique Greek Christianity, reflecting the liturgical and theological importance of the cult of the saints. It provides insight into Hesychius's rhetorical style and the Jerusalem liturgical tradition. Its survival in menologia underscores its enduring role in Eastern Orthodox worship, while the lack of a modern translation highlights the need for further scholarly attention to this text.

Historical context

The homily belongs to the late 4th or early 5th century, a period when Greek-speaking Christianity produced numerous panegyrics for martyrs, particularly in the wake of the Diocletianic persecution and the rise of the cult of the saints. Hesychius of Jerusalem, a presbyter and prolific homilist, likely delivered this sermon in a monastic or liturgical setting in Jerusalem, a major pilgrimage center. The text survives in a single medieval manuscript tradition, probably via a menologion or a collection of festal homilies used in Byzantine liturgical practice. The Khazarzar edition reproduces a critical text from limited witnesses, but without a full apparatus, readers must consult original manuscripts for textual decisions. The homily's inclusion in later menologia shows its continued use in the Eastern Orthodox calendar, though its exact date and place of composition remain uncertain due to the lack of direct manuscript evidence.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 5 scripture2 structure1 sense1 term1 background1 parallel1 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: 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-hesychius-in-sanctos-martyres:1 · narrativehigh
Source
̔Ησυχίου, ἀπὸ ἐγκωμίων εἰς μάρτυρας. 1 Ὑμεῖς οὖν, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ καὶ πατέρες, τὸν πολυανθῆ κῆπον εἰσελθόντες τοῦ Πνεύματος προθύμως ἐκεῖθεν τὰς ἀρετὰς τρυγήσατε, μὴ μίαν ἀλλὰ πολλάς, μᾶλλον δὲ μὴ πολλὰς ἀλλὰ πάσας· ἀρετὴ γὰρ ἀρετῆς χρῄζει, ἐπειδὴ καὶ πτεροῦ πτερὸν καὶ τροχοῦ τροχὸς καὶ βαθμὸς βαθμίδος καὶ κώπη κώπης καὶ πηδαλίου πηδάλιον. Ἐὰν μὴ ζεύξῃς λίθῳ λίθον, ὁ πύργος εἰς ὕψος οὐκ ἐγήγερται· τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον, ἐὰν μὴ νόμον ἐπὶ νόμον κατορθώσωμεν, τὸν οὐρανὸν οὐ φθάνομεν· ἐὰν μὴ συνάψῃς ἐντολὴν ἐντολῇ, ἀτελὴς ὁ δρόμος. Καὶ πῶς ἐπιβάλλεσθαι τοῦ στεφάνου δυνάμεθα; Καλὸν ἡ νηστεία, ἀλλὰ χωρὶς προσευχῆς οὐκ ἐπιπατεῖ δαίμοσιν· «Τοῦτο γάρ», φησίν, «τὸ γένος οὐκ ἐξέρχεται εἰ μὴ ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ προσευχῇ.» Καὶ καλὸν μὲν ἡ προσευχή, ἀλλὰ χωρὶς ἐλεημοσύνης εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀναβῆναι οὐ δύναται· ἀκήκοας γὰρ τοῦ ἀγγέλου πρὸς τὸν Κορνήλιον λέγοντος· «Αἱ προσευχαί σου καὶ αἱ ἐλεημοσύναι σου ἀνέβησαν εἰς μνημόσυνον ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θεοῦ.» Οὐκοῦν ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη τὴν προσευχὴν εἰς οὐρανὸν ἐβάστασεν. Θαυμαστὴ μὲν οὖν ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη, ἀλλὰ χωρὶς πίστεως ἁμαρτημάτων οὐκ ἐργάζεται λύτρωσιν· «Ἐλεημοσύναις γὰρ καὶ πίστεσιν ἀποκαθαίρονται ἁμαρτίαι.» Ζηλωτὸν ἡ πραότης, ἀλλὰ χωρὶς τῆς ταπεινώσεως βασιλικὸν ἀποτελέσαι χαρακτῆρα οὐ δύναται· «Μάθετε γὰρ ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, φησίν, ὅτι πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ.» Καλὸν ἡ πίστις ὡς καὶ τὸ βραχύτατον αὐτῆς ὄρη δύνασθαι μεθιστᾶν, ἀλλὰ χωρὶς ἀγάπης εἰκαία καὶ περιττὴ καθέστηκεν·
English
Hesychius, from encomia on martyrs. 1 You, therefore, brothers and fathers, having entered the many-flowered garden of the Spirit, eagerly gather the virtues from there, not one but many, or rather not many but all; for virtue needs virtue, just as a feather needs a feather, a wheel a wheel, a step a step, an oar an oar, and a rudder a rudder. If you do not join stone to stone, the tower is not raised to a height; in the same way, if we do not set law upon law, we do not reach heaven; if you do not link commandment to commandment, the course is incomplete. And how can we lay claim to the crown? Fasting is good, but without prayer it does not tread upon demons; "For this," it says, "race does not go out except in fasting and prayer." And prayer is good, but without almsgiving it cannot ascend to heaven; for you have heard the angel saying to Cornelius, "Your prayers and your alms have gone up as a memorial before God." Therefore almsgiving carried prayer to heaven. Almsgiving is indeed admirable, but without faith it does not work the redemption of sins; "For by alms and faith are sins cleansed." Meekness is to be emulated, but without humility it cannot produce a royal character; "For learn from me," it says, "that I am meek and humble in heart." Faith is good, as even its smallest part can move mountains, but without love it becomes vain and superfluous.
khazarzar-hesychius-in-sanctos-martyres:2 · narrativehigh
Source
«Κἂν ἔχω γὰρ πίστιν», φησίν, «ὥστε ὄρη μεθιστάναι, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐθέν εἰμι.» Σπουδάσωμεν οὖν, ἀγαπητοί, τὰς ἀρετὰς ταύτας μετελθεῖν, ἵνα τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας καταξιωθῶμεν. Μὴ ἴσθι, ἀγαπητέ, περὶ μὲν τὴν πίστιν σπουδαῖος, περὶ δὲ τὴν σπουδὴν ὀκνηρότερος, μὴ περὶ μὲν τὰς γραφὰς φιλόπονος, περὶ δὲ τὰ ἤθη ἀφιλόσοφος· πλουτεῖν γὰρ δεῖ ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, ἐν λόγῳ, ἐν σοφίᾳ, ἐν σωφροσύνῃ, ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἐν ἀνδρείᾳ, ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ, ἐν φρονήσει καὶ ὁσιότητι· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ κακία καὶ πρὸ τῆς γεέννης κολάζει τοὺς μετιόντας αὐτήν, οὕτως ἡ ἀρετὴ τοὺς ἐργαζομένους αὐτὴν καὶ πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας παρασκευάζει τρυφᾶν.
English
For even if I have faith,” he says, “so as to move mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing.” Let us therefore be zealous, beloved, to pursue these virtues, that we may be deemed worthy of the kingdom of the heavens. Do not be, beloved, zealous concerning faith but more sluggish concerning zeal, nor industrious concerning the scriptures but unphilosophical concerning character; for one must be rich in good works, in word, in wisdom, in temperance, in justice, in courage, in piety, in prudence and holiness. For just as vice punishes those who practice it even before Gehenna, so virtue prepares those who work at it to enjoy even before the kingdom.
Citation. Tergwame, “In sanctos martyres”, khazarzar-hesychius-in-sanctos-martyres:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-hesychius-in-sanctos-martyres#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.