'Let Us Die That We May Live': Greek Homilies on Christian Martyrs from Asia Minor, Palestine, and Syria (c. AD 350-AD 450) (review)

This study approaches the topic of martyrdom in the early Church from a homiletic viewpoint. Of the fourteen Greek homilies included in the volume, by authors as diverse as Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Asterius of Amasea, and Hesychius of Jerusalem, some are translated here for the first time. The authors have provided for each homilist a short biography together with a brief introduction to the text. The latter usually discusses items such as place and date of presentation, relevant information about the martyr in question (beyond that found in the homily itself), and other features specific to the homily or to the martyr under consideration.

Leemans' general introduction to the volume is well organized and very informative. Following the theme that the cult of saints contributed to the Christianization of place and time, he outlines how martyria, the centers of martyr celebrations, developed from simple to more elaborate architectural monuments which were moved from the outskirts of the city to become edifices attached to churches. Leemans also covers the major points to be considered in studying panegyrics. In addition to treating the martyrium as a physical center for veneration of the martyrs and their relics, he discusses other issues of veneration including the invention and translation of relics, invocations and intercessions, the blessings and miracles related to the martyrs' relics, and incubation, i.e., sleeping in the martyrs' sanctuary. Leemans also discusses the liturgical background for homilies including a discussion of the dignitaries attending the celebrations, the audience of the homilies, and the activities going on during the delivery of the sermons. In addition to discussing the influence of classical rhetoric on the homilies, he presents the pros and cons of treating the homilies as historical sources, or approaching them from a diachronic perspective, i.e. the historical-critical approach, or a synchronic perspective, or from the perspective of the preacher and his audience.

Allen (chapters 1 and 5) translated four homilies: two for Basil of Caesarea and two for Hesychius of Jerusalmen The latter's homily on Stephen the First Martyr is a captivating piece in which the speaker engages his audience in an exegesis of Deuteronomy 28, aiming to show the fulfillment of the text in the New Testament. Allen connects some of the themes in the homily on the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste by Basil and Hesychius' homily on St. Percopius with Severus' writings. Chapter 2, which is handled by Leemans, focuses on Gregory of Nyssa, who also wrote on the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Thus, the reader can compare two different approaches to the topic of the Forty Martyrs by different homilists. Leemans' choice of two homilies on the Martyrs of Sebaste is also interesting because it shows the power of the audience to interrupt the homilist's delivery and is a good example of approaching these sermons from the perspective of the preacher and his audience.

The third chapter presents four translations of homilies on the Holy Martyrs Julian, Babylas, and Pelagia by John Chrysostom. Included here is the only homily on a woman martyr in this study. In her introduction to this part of the volume Mayer, who did the translation, alerts the reader that suicide was considered a valid means of martyrdom for women. Mayer also highlights some of the liturgical elements which are present in Chrysostom's homilies.

In chapter 4, which includes two homilies on Phocas and Stephen the First Martyr by Asterius of Amaseaand an ecphrasis or a description of a painting that narrates the martyrdom of Euphemia, Dehandschutter introduces Asterius as a well-trained classicist and an orator with clear theological understanding and some anti-Judaic sentiments.

The book provides some important primary sources for the study of homiletics, panegyrics, and the cult of...