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Greek · Homilies ·

Encomium in sanctos martyres

John Chrysostom · khazarzar

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machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 374 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This encomium by John Chrysostom honors unnamed Christian martyrs, celebrating their courage and divine reward. It employs vivid antitheses and scriptural allusions to contrast earthly suffering with heavenly glory, reflecting late fourth-century Antiochene rhetoric and the cult of martyrs. The homily survives in Greek, transmitted through Byzantine liturgical manuscripts, and is traditionally dated to Chrysostom's presbyterate in Antioch (c. 386–397). The digital edition by khazarzar, based on PG 50, lacks critical apparatus and modernizes punctuation, limiting its use for textual criticism. No English translation or commentary accompanies the edition.

This encomium exemplifies Chrysostom's rhetorical skill and the late antique Christian emphasis on martyrdom as a model of faith. It reflects the integration of scriptural typology (e.g., the 'unfading crown') into popular piety and the liturgical use of homilies for saint veneration. The work also illustrates the development of the martyr cult in Antioch, connecting local practice to broader Christian traditions.

Historical context

The homily was likely composed in Antioch during John Chrysostom's presbyterate (c. 386–397), a period of vibrant Christian oratory and martyr veneration. Antioch was a major center of Antiochene theology, known for its literal exegesis and rhetorical homilies. The encomium belongs to the genre of martyr panegyric, common in the late fourth century as the cult of saints flourished. It was transmitted in Greek through Byzantine liturgical collections, often read for general martyr feasts, though not tied to a specific saint. The text survives in Patrologia Graeca 50, based on medieval manuscripts, but the khazarzar edition lacks a stemma or variant apparatus. The homily's language and themes align with Chrysostom's other works, but no external evidence fixes its exact date.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 4 scripture2 term2 structure2 background1 sense1 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-john-chrysostom-encomium-in-sanctos-martyres:1 · narrativehigh
Source
Τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου ἐγκώμιον εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους μάρτυρας. Φρικτὸς ὁ τῶν μαρτύρων ἀγὼν ἀλλ' ἀθάνατος ἡ μνήμη τῶν εὐσεβῶν, φοβερὸς ὁ θάνατος τῶν ἁγίων ἀλλ' «ἀμάραντος ὁ στέφανος» τῶν ἀνδρείων, ξιφηφόρον τὸ στάδιον τῶν ἀθλητῶν ἀλλὰ στεφανηφόρον τὸ βραβεῖον τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ξίφη καὶ πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ τὰ ἆθλα τῶν παλαιστῶν, ἀλλ' οὐρανὸς καὶ παράδεισος καὶ βασιλεία θεοῦ τὰ βραβεῖα τῶν νικητῶν. Ἐπὶ γῆς ἠγωνίζοντο βασανιζόμενοι, ἐν οὐρανῷ δὲ ὡπλίζοντο στεφανούμενοι. Κάτω τὰς ὕβρεις ὑπέμενον καὶ ἄνω τὰς τιμὰς ἐθησαύριζον. Οὐκ ἀντεμάχοντο τοῖς ξίφεσι πολεμούμενοι, ἀλλ' ὑπέμενον «τῇ πίστει ἐνδυναμούμενοι»· οὐ γὰρ ἦν αὐτοῖς ἡ μάχη περὶ γηΐνων πραγμάτων. Οὐ περὶ χρημάτων φθαρτῶν, οὐ περὶ πλούτου κενοῦ τὰ αἴτια τοῦ πολέμου, ἀλλὰ περὶ βασιλείας οὐρανῶν, περὶ «παραδείσου τρυφῆς», περὶ ἀφθάρτου ζωῆς. Περὶ θεοῦ ὁ ἀγών, περὶ πίστεως ἡ πάλη, περὶ ὁμολογίας ἡ νίκη, ἵνα μὴ ἐκπέσωσι τῶν συνθηκῶν ἀλλ' ἵνα μείνωσιν εὐσεβεῖς.
English
Encomium in the Holy Martyrs by our Father among the Saints John Chrysostom. The contest of the martyrs is dreadful, but the memory of the pious is deathless; the death of the saints is fearsome, but "the crown of the brave is unfading"; the stadium of the athletes is sword-bearing, but the prize of Christ is crown-bearing. Swords and fire and water are the prizes of the wrestlers, but heaven and paradise and the kingdom of God are the rewards of the victors. On earth they contended, tormented, but in heaven they were armed, crowned. Below they endured the outrages, and above they stored up the honors. They did not fight back against the swords when attacked, but endured, "strengthened in faith"; for their battle was not over earthly matters. The causes of the war were not over perishable wealth, not over empty riches, but over the kingdom of the heavens, over "the delight of paradise," over imperishable life. The struggle was about God, the wrestling about faith, the victory about confession, so that they might not fall from the covenants, but so that they might remain pious.
khazarzar-john-chrysostom-encomium-in-sanctos-martyres:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Καὶ ἦν ὁ πόλεμος ἔνδοξος καὶ ἡ μάχη οὐράνιος, θεία ἡ παράταξις καὶ ἀγγελικὴ ἡ στρατοπέδευσις ὅπως συνδοξασθῶσι θεῷ, ὅπως ἀπολάβωσι τὴν ἀρχαίαν τιμήν, ὅπως ἀεὶ διαμείνωσιν ἐν Χριστῷ, ὅπως ἔχωσιν ἀνώδυνον ζωήν. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἠγωνίζοντο περιχαρῶς, οὐ ξίφη βαστάζοντες ἀλλὰ τὸν λόγον κηρύττοντες, οὐ τόξα καὶ βέλη ἐκπέμποντες ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁμολογίαν ἐξαγγέλλοντες, οὐχ ὅπλα «ἐνδυόμενοι» ἀλλὰ τὴν πίστιν «θωρακιζόμενοι». Ἠκονᾶτο μὲν γὰρ ξίφη κατὰ τοῦ σώματος τῶν μαρτύρων, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ξίφους ὀξύτερος ὁ λόγος ἀμβλυτέραν τὴν ἀκμὴν τῆς σφαγῆς ἀπειργάζετο. Οὐ γὰρ ᾐσθάνοντο τοῦ πόνου ὑπὸ τοῦ πόθου κεντούμενοι· ὁ γὰρ πόθος τῆς ὁμολογίας ἐκούφιζεν τὸν πόνον τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν. Καὶ οὐκ ἄξια μὲν τῆς ἐκείνων ἀθλήσεως τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν λεχθέντα· τοῖς γὰρ δικαίοις «ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ», κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον. Θεῷ οὖν δόξαν ἀναπέμψωμεν τῷ τοὺς μάρτυρας στεφανοῦντι, ὅτι αὐτῷ πρέπει δόξα νῦν, καὶ ἀεί, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
English
And the war was glorious and the battle heavenly, the array divine and the encampment angelic, that they might be glorified together with God, that they might recover their ancient honor, that they might remain forever in Christ, that they might have a life without pain. For this reason they contended with great joy, not bearing swords but proclaiming the word, not shooting arrows and bolts but declaring the confession of Christ, not "clothing themselves" in arms but "arming themselves" with faith. For swords were sharpened against the bodies of the martyrs, but the word, sharper than the sword, rendered the edge of the slaughter blunter. For they did not feel the pain, being goaded by desire; for the desire for confession lightened the pain and weakness of the body. And what has been said by us is not worthy of their contest; for the just, "praise comes not from men but from God," according to the apostle. Therefore let us send up glory to God, who crowns the martyrs, because glory is due to him now, and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Citation. Tergwame, “Encomium in sanctos martyres”, khazarzar-john-chrysostom-encomium-in-sanctos-martyres:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-john-chrysostom-encomium-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: $0.0014 · generated 2026-11-15.