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Greek · Homilies ·

In sanctum Stephanum ii

John Chrysostom · khazarzar

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machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 455 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This homily by John Chrysostom is a panegyric for the protomartyr Stephen, delivered in a festal setting during Chrysostom's Antiochene period (c. 386–397). It employs rhetorical praise and typological exegesis, linking Stephen's witness to Christ's passion. The Greek text survives in multiple manuscripts, with variants in title and doxology indicating scribal adaptation for liturgical use. The khazarzar edition lacks critical apparatus, hindering verification of textual decisions and identification of later interpolations, such as possible expansions of the Trinitarian passage. The homily was read in Byzantine feasts of Stephen and influenced later hagiographical topoi, especially the motif of Stephen's vision of the Trinity at his martyrdom.

This homily is significant for understanding Chrysostom's rhetorical strategies and the development of Stephen's cult in the late fourth century. It established Stephen as the 'leader of the martyrs,' a title that became standard in Byzantine hagiography. The homily's influence on later hagiographical topoi, especially the Trinitarian vision, underscores its role in shaping the protomartyr's iconography and theological interpretation.

Historical context

The homily was likely composed in Antioch during Chrysostom's presbyterate (c. 386–397), a period of intense homiletic activity. Its precise date is uncertain, but it probably follows the 386 discovery of Stephen's relics, a major event that sparked veneration of the protomartyr. The community was Greek-speaking and liturgically engaged, with feasts for Stephen celebrated on December 26/27 and August 3. The homily survives in multiple manuscripts, but the khazarzar edition does not specify its manuscript base, leaving textual variants—especially in the doxology—unresolved. These variants suggest scribal adaptation for different liturgical contexts. The homily belongs to the genre of festal orations, common in late antique Christianity, and reflects Antiochene exegetical traditions, typologically linking Stephen's martyrdom to Christ's passion.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 2 structure2 term2 scripture2 background2 reception1 caution1 sense 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-in-sanctum-stephanum-ii:1 · narrativehigh
Source
Εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Στέφανον, βʹ. Οἱ μὲν ἔξωθεν στεφάνους πλέκειν ἀνδράσι βουλόμενοι, ῥόδα καὶ κρίνα καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς γῆς ἄνθη συνάγειν σπουδάζουσιν· οὕτω γὰρ τῶν ἐπιγείων στεφανοπλόκων ὁ νόμος. Ἡμεῖς δὲ στέφανον κατασκευάζοντες τῷ μακαρίῳ Στεφάνῳ, ἐξ αὐτοῦ Στεφάνου τὰ πνευματικὰ ἄνθη τρυγήσωμεν, ἵνα στέφανον χαρίτων τῇ κεφαλῇ Στεφάνου πλέξωμεν. Λειμὼν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ μακάριος Στέφανος, πάσης εὐωδίας πεπληρωμένος, τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀρδευόμενος, τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ καταμυριζόμενος, καὶ εὐωδιάζων τὰ σύμπαντα. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ Στεφάνου μνήμη, καὶ τὰ πάντα ἁγιασμοῦ πεπλήρωται· ὁ οὐρανὸς τὸ πνεῦμα δεξάμενος, ἡ γῆ τὸ σῶμα ὑποδεξαμένη, ὁ ἀὴρ ὁμοῦ καὶ τὰ πάντα τοῦ μύρου τῆς εὐωδίας πεπλήρωται. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἔχομεν αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πρεσβεύοντα, τὸν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας κόσμον, τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀθλητὴν, τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μαθητὴν, τὸν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἔλεγχον, τὸν τῶν μαρτύρων ἔξαρχον, τὸν τῶν χηρῶν προστάτην, τὸν τῶν πεινώντων τροφέα, τὸν τῶν καταπονουμένων ἀντιλήπτορα, τὸν φρουρὸν τῆς ἁγίας Χριστοῦ πόλεως, τὸν τῶν καλῶν διακόνων στέφανον, τὸν στῦλον τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, τὸ τῶν μαρτύρων ἀγλάϊσμα, τὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης καύχημα, τὸ ἑδραίωμα τῆς πίστεως· ὁ φύλαξ τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, ὁ ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων εὐχόμενος, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν λιθαζόντων ὑπεραπολογούμενος, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀγγελικῇ χάριτι τὸ πρόσωπον δοξαζόμενος. Πάντες γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ καθεζόμενοι ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ εἶδον τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, ὡσεὶ πρόσωπον ἀγγέλου. Στεφανώσωμεν ἀθλητὴν νῦν τὸν Στέφανον, τὸν πρωτοαθλητὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τοῖς τῶν λόγων ἄνθεσι παύσωμεν.
English
On Saint Stephen, II. Those from outside who wish to weave crowns for men gather roses and lilies and the remaining flowers of the earth; such is the law of earthly crown-weavers. But we, fashioning a crown for the blessed Stephen, let us gather the spiritual flowers from Stephen himself, so that we may weave a crown of graces for Stephen's head. For the blessed Stephen is a meadow, filled with every fragrance, watered by the blood of Christ, anointed by the Holy Spirit, and perfuming all things. Behold, the memory of Stephen, and all things are filled with sanctification: heaven having received his spirit, earth having received his body, the air and all things together are filled with the ointment of fragrance. And we have him interceding for us, the ornament of the Church, the athlete of piety, the disciple of Christ, the refutation of the Jews, the leader of the martyrs, the protector of widows, the feeder of the hungry, the helper of the oppressed, the guardian of the holy city of Christ, the crown of good deacons, the pillar of the Church, the glory of the martyrs, the boast of the world, the foundation of faith; the guardian of our souls, the one who prays for his persecutors, and who pleads on behalf of those who stone him, and for this reason his face is glorified with angelic grace. For all, it says, who were sitting in the council saw his face as the face of an angel. Let us now crown the athlete Stephen, the first athlete of Christ, and let us cease with the flowers of words.
khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-sanctum-stephanum-ii:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Ἦν μὲν οὖν τοῦ χοροῦ τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸ καλλώπισμα, καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐγκατελέγετο· ἡμερότητι ἐκράτει πάντων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ φιλάνθρωπον εἶχεν ἐξαίρετον, καὶ οὐδ' οὕτω τοῖς αὑτοῦ πόνοις, ὡς τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐνύττετο, καὶ τὴν τοῦ πλησίον ἔνδειαν ἰδίαν ἐνόμιζε, καὶ τὸ προσὸν πάθος ἑτέρῳ ὡς αὐτῷ προσὸν ἐθεράπευεν. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς πρώτοις τοῦ λόγου κηρύγμασι, δαψιλῶς ἀνθούσης τῆς πίστεως, καὶ παραχρῆμα οἱ μὲν πλουτοῦντες ἀπετίθεντο τῶν χρημάτων τὸν φόρτον, οἱ δὲ ἐνδεεῖς τὸ λεῖπον ἐλάμβανον. Τῆς οὕτω καλῆς ἁρμονίας καὶ τάξεως οἰκονόμος ὑπῆρχεν ὁ Στέφανος, καὶ τοῦτον εἶχεν ἡ πενία προστάτην καὶ σύμμαχον, ὁ δὲ πλοῦτος ἡνίοχον. Ἐπανεπαύετο μὲν ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος δύναμις, καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἴδιον οἶκον εἶχεν ἡ χάρις. Ἀνυμνήσωμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀγαπητοὶ, σὺν τῷ πρωτομάρτυρι Στεφάνῳ τὸν τοὺς στεφάνους δωρούμενον, τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ ὁμοούσιον Τρίαδα, ὅτι αὐτῇ πρέπει ἡ δόξα, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
English
He was the adornment of the choir of the apostles and was numbered among the disciples of piety. He prevailed over all men by his gentleness, and he possessed an exceptional philanthropy; and he was not so much stung by his own labors as by those of others, and he considered the need of his neighbor as his own, and he treated the affliction present in another as if it were present in himself. In the first proclamations of the word, when faith was abundantly flourishing, immediately the wealthy laid down the burden of their riches, and the needy received what was lacking. Stephen was the steward of such beautiful harmony and order; poverty had him as a protector and ally, while wealth had him as a charioteer. The power of the Spirit rested upon him, and grace had the man as its own dwelling. Therefore, let us also, beloved, together with the protomartyr Stephen, hymn the one who bestows the crowns, the holy and consubstantial Trinity, for to it belongs the glory, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Citation. Tergwame, “In sanctum Stephanum ii”, khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-sanctum-stephanum-ii:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-sanctum-stephanum-ii#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: $0.0017 · generated 2026-11-15.