Chrysippus, presbyter of Jerusalem, Homily on Mary, the Mother of God (CPG 6075, BHG 1144n)
The author focuses on the Annunciation, which was the theme of the Gospel of the day. There is no information as to the precise venue and date of the sermon.
Evidence ID
E04681Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Saint Name in Source
ΜαρίαType of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Literary - Sermons/HomiliesEvidence not before
455Evidence not after
479Activity not before
455Activity not after
479Place of Evidence - Region
Palestine with SinaiPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
JerusalemPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Jerusalem
Caesarea Maritima
Καισάρεια
Kaisareia
Caesarea
Kayseri
Turris StratonisMajor author/Major anonymous work
Chrysippus of JerusalemCult activities - Festivals
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergySource
Chrysippus (c. 405-479) was born in Cappadocia and grew up in Syria. Together with his brothers, Kosmas and Gabrielios, he came to Palestine and joined the ascetic community (laura) of *Euthymios. At the instigation of the empress Aelia Eudocia, then living in Jerusalem, the three brothers were ordained priests in 456. Chrysippus and Kosmas joined the clergy of the Anastasis, whereas Gabrielios was appointed abbot of the shrine of Stephen the First Martyr. In 467, Chrysippus became staurophylax (Keeper of the True Cross), succeeding in this office his elder brother, Kosmas, who was ordained bishop of Scythopolis. Chrysippus died in 479. Our source about his life, Cyril of Scythopolis' Life of Euthymios, reports that Chrysippus excelled as an author. From his work, only four homilies are known.
This text is known from one manuscript:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/7153/Discussion
This is one of the earliest homilies composed for a Marian feast, focusing on the narrative of the Annunciation. The text contains manifold references to passages from the Old Testament, which are interpreted as references to the virginity of Mary and the incarnation of Christ. An interesting aspect of the text are the repeated salutations, paraphrasing the words of Gabriel (chaire/ ’Hail’...), which anticipate a form of Marian prayer that culminates in the Akathist.Bibliography
Text:
Jugie, M., Homélies mariales byzantines II (Patrologia Orientalis 19, fasc. 3; Paris: Firmin-Didot et Companie, 1926), 336-343.
Further reading:
Di Berardino, A., Patrology: The Eastern Fathers from the Council of Chalcedon (451) to John of Damascus (+750). English translation A. Walford (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2006), 251-252.
Sigalas, A. Des Chrysippos von Jerusalem Enkomion auf den hl. Johannes den Täufer. Untersuchungen und Ergänzungen zu den Schriften des Chrysippos (Texte und Forschungen zur Byzantinisch-Neugriechischen Philologie 20; Athens: Verlag der "Byzantinisch-neugriechischen Jahrbücher", 1937).
