E02697: John Chrysostom, in his homily On Eleazar and the Seven Boys, delivered one day before a feast held at a shrine of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303) in the outskirts of Constantinople, defends the validity of the martyrdom and cult of these martyrs, even though they died before Christ. Written in Greek at Constantinople, 397/399.

John Chrysostom, On Eleazar and the Seven Boys (CPG 4441.13; BHG 1010a)

Summary

John speaks after an elderly clergyman has preached. He initially intended not to speak, but both the lay audience and the clergy insisted that he take the pulpit. Although he intended to continue on the subject of an earlier sermon, he prefers to talk about the Maccabees, whose festival is on the next day. This sermon is given in advance of the feast, for the correction of those members of the community, who refuse to venerate these figures as martyrs. The Maccabees are not only proper martyrs, but also greater than the others, because they suffered martyrdom in an era when death had not been defeated. Before Christ’s resurrection death was terrifying even for holy men like Abraham or Peter. It is therefore clear that their martyrdom was an act of great courage. To argue that the Maccabees suffered for the Law rather than for Christ is wrong, because Christ had given the Law. Chrysostom discusses the continuity between the Old and the New Covenant, based on various Scriptural passages. He concludes as follows:

Ἀλλ’ ὅτι μὲν τὸν νόμον ὁ Χριστὸς ἔδωκεν, ἀπὸ τούτων δῆλον· καὶ ὅτι σφαγέντες ὑπὲρ τοῦ νόμου, ὑπὲρ τοῦ νομοθέτου τὸ αἷμα ἐξέχεον καὶ τοῦτο σαφές· παρακαλῶ δὲ λοιπὸν τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προθυμίας εἰς τὴν πανήγυριν ἀπαντῆσαι· καθάπερ μέλισσαι τῶν σίμβλων ἐκπηδήσατε ἐπὶ τὰ τραύματα τῶν μαρτύρων, καὶ περιπτύξασθε αὐτῶν τὰς βασάνους, μηδὲν πρὸς τὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ κατοκνήσαντες μῆκος. Εἰ γὰρ γέρων ὁ Ἐλεάζαρος πυρὸς κατετόλμησε, καὶ ἡ μήτηρ τῶν μακαρίων ἐκείνων ἐν ἐσχάτῳ γήρᾳ τοσαύτας ὑπέμεινεν ὀδύνας· ποίαν ἂν σχοίητε ἀπολογίαν, ποίαν συγγνώμην, μηδὲ ὀλίγους σταδίους διαπερῶντες ὑπὲρ τῆς θεωρίας τῶν παλαισμάτων ἐκείνων;

‘It is then obvious from all these things that Christ gave the Law. And the fact that those slain for the sake of the Law poured out their blood for the sake of the Lawgiver is also clear. Accordingly, I beg of your love to join the festival with great eagerness. Like bees from the hives, leap off to the wounds of the martyrs, embrace their torments, without shrinking at all from the length of the journey. For if Eleazar, an old man, braved fire, and the mother of those blessed men endured so much pain in extreme old age, what defence would you have, what excuse, for not traversing a few stades in order to watch those struggles?’

Text: J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus (series Graeca) (MPG) 63, Paris: Migne, 1857-1866: 523-530. (quote: col. 530, 42-55).
Summary and translation: E. Rizos