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Jean Chrysostome, Homélies sur la Résurrection, l'Ascension et la Pentecôte. Tome premier. Edited by Nathalie Rambault. (Sources Chrétiennes, 561.) Pp. 333. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 2013. €30 (paper). 978 2 204 10191 2; 0750 1978

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2015

Judith L. Kovacs*
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Abstract

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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

This welcome addition to the Sources Chrétiennes series is the first of two volumes that together present text and translation of six homilies tied to the liturgical cycle from Easter through Pentecost. The second volume was published in 2014 as SC dlxii. Each volume contains two homilies assigned to Chrysostom's preaching in Antioch (386–97) and one pseudonymous homily, as follows: volume i: On the resurrection of the dead; Against drunkenness and on the resurrection; appendix: On Easter; volume ii: On the ascension of Christ; On Pentecost 1; appendix: On Pentecost 2. In this first volume, in addition to a critical text, French translation and explanatory notes, Rambault provides lucid introductions to the homilies’ content, setting, textual history and significance for the development of paschal theology and liturgy (pp.11–84, 231–62), with extensive bibliography (pp. 85–103). Her detailed consideration of textual history – which varies for each of the homilies – treats particulars and bibliography for each important manuscript, text families (with stemma), manuscripts used in the early editions, and the principles followed in her edition. The text of Migne (PG l, lii [1834]) is dependent on the early editions of Savile, Fronton du Duc and Montfaucon (published between 1595 and 1721), where these texts were first presented together. For On the resurrection, Rambault's edition is based on twenty-two manuscripts, compared to three for the early editions; it draws on two text families as well as a fifth-century Armenian translation. For Against drunkenness she has collated twenty-four manuscripts, compared with two or three for the early editions. For On Easter she establishes the text of a short version, printed here along with the longer version. For the history of liturgy the festal homilies in SC dlxi, dlxii mark ‘a fundamental stage in the genesis of the most important festivals of the Christian religion’ (p. 14). In Chrysostom's day, Antioch played an important role in the development of a liturgical cycle for Holy Week in which Good Friday became the primary observance of the passion of Christ. The Easter liturgy thus lost its penitential focus and became an intensely joyful celebration of the triumphal resurrection of Christ and the promised resurrection of believers. Also at this time Pentecost began to be celebrated separately from the Ascension. Rambault's first volume contains sermons associated with Easter. On the resurrection of the dead defends the resurrection of the body against Manichean opponents. Although probably delivered before Easter (during Lent), it is included because its verse-by-verse exegesis of 2 Corinthians v.1–5 is a relevant complement to Against drunkenness and on the resurrection, Chrysostom's only surviving genuine paschal sermon. This second homily begins with a lengthy denunciation of raucous celebration of the breaking of the Lenten fast, followed by praises of becoming spiritually ‘drunk’ through participation in the eucharist. The pseudonymous On Easter, dated between the sixth and eighth centuries, is a pastiche of extracts from several genuine and apocryphal Chrysostom sermons. Rambault's introduction to the homily and its textual history provides a fascinating glimpse into the creation of a Pseudo-Chrysostom text. Drawing on Against drunkenness, the composer omits the invective against insobriety and reworks and supplements other parts to create a more stylistically polished paschal sermon. In sum, this volume is well-conceived and meticulously executed, an erudite contribution to Sources Chrétiennes.