This article deals with the preaching of the Greek church fathers. Genres, themes and hermeneutics are discussed. It appears that not only the biblical text, but also historical events are considered as messages from God and have to be interpreted in order to understand their meaning. A remarkable paradigm shift occurred in the 4th century when the church became a dominant cultural and political factor. In the early period, the preaching focused on Christ, glorious in his suffering. After the transformation under Constantine, themes of worldview and even submission to the emperor became the subject of preaching. Preaching, which supported existing political powers, replaced the early Christian view of life as strangers on earth. In the last section, the relevance of this for preaching in the 21st century is discussed.
The church fathers are at present receiving more attention than has been the case for a long time. Now that the Christian faith in the Western world is under pressure, we notice a large variety of groups and communities seeking new expressions for their faith. Theologians are looking for relevant approaches, on the one hand, and searching for the means of orientation, on the other. The church fathers are of eminent importance in this regard. It is amazing that, for instance, in the Netherlands, where secularisation is even accelerating, translations of the writings of church fathers are published frequently; not only the works of Augustine, but also Origenes’s
This article is devoted to the sermons of the Greek fathers. How did they preach? Is their way of preaching indeed relevant for today? The sermons are from the period of the second to the beginning of the 5th century AD, that is, from the earliest preserved sermons to the time of the consolidation of the Christian empire of the Byzantine emperors. The context of preaching changed radically during this period: from the small, often persecuted communities to the dominant culture under the rule of protecting emperors. An analysis of the influence of this shifting context in early Christianity on preaching is of new interest now that the
When we investigate the sermons of the Greek fathers, we must first consider that only a very small part of the innumerable sermons of the first centuries have been preserved. Most of them were lost. Moreover, most of them were never written down. So, we only have a very small selection. This, however, is not a random selection.
A sermon was often saved because of its special appeal to the hearers, that is, the people of that time. It might very well be that many sermons, which would have appealed to people of the 21st century, have been lost, because they did not appeal very much to the Christians of that time.
Moreover, it was not only a matter of writing down a sermon, but also of copying it – which begs the question: Which of the written sermons were saved by later generations? These sermons would have had to be worth the effort and cost of making copies. Thus, not only the content of sermons was relevant for their selection for later generations, but also who delivered them, or to whom were they ascribed. Naturally, sermons of authoritative figures would have received priority.
The choices made during the research for this article were also guided by personal interest – in this case of myself. Which sermons were selected as more or less relevant? What emphases were highlighted? As research does not happen in a void but in a community of scholars, their influence will also be apparent in this article. So we can conclude that a discourse about sermons of the Greek fathers does not only reveal something about their hermeneutics, but also about their reception history, that is, the history of the hermeneutics by which ancient texts have been valued, selected and interpreted. The final steps in this process, the selection and focus of modern authors, can be reconstructed rather well, because not only the positive choices are available, but also the rejected or neglected writings or sections. The earlier steps in this process, however, can only be reconstructed from external evidence. Generally, it is not possible to trace why sermons have been lost, or why sermons were never written down, because their content is unknown to us. Our only positive conclusion is that the preserved sermons appealed to their own time and were relevant enough to be copied and preserved for later generations. This selection reflects the hermeneutical position of the first and of later generations.
In the selection for this article, different genres of sermons, main themes of focus, chronological periods, and variety in hermeneutic approaches have been taken into account.
Sermons in the Early Church do not all have the same character. This affects the hermeneutical processes. The main distinction is between homilies in a
Homilies on parts of the Bible in a
Sermons which were not related to the
A characteristic example of such occasional preaching is a sermon of John Chrysostomos (
A third category is that of sermons on Christian festivals. The events to which the festivals referred, were decisive for the preaching on such days. Because the festivals are about the core issues of Christian faith, the focus is on the themes of the Creed. Here, the poles are the Creed and the interpreter and, as the meaning of the Creed is standardised by councils and tradition, the preacher did not have much room for his own interpretation. Thus, subtle nuances become even more interesting.
The last category is that of sermons on texts and subjects of free choice. These come close to the daily homilies, but because of the free text choice, the interpreter has much more room. He does not have to deal with a prescribed text, and he can give his own message related to a self-chosen text.
Many sermons of the Greek fathers are exhortations to Christian life. They follow the parenesis of the New Testament. Christians are different from pagans and their lives must display this. The famous fifth chapter of
… for, whenever they hear from us that God says: ‘No thank have ye, if you love them which love you, but you have thank, if you love your enemies and them which hate you’ – whenever they hear these words, they marvel at the surpassing measure of their goodness; but when they see, that not only do we not love those who hate, but that we love not even those who love, they laugh us to scorn, and the name is blasphemed. ([Pseudo-] Clemens of Rome,
They are hearers of the word, but the message appears to have evaporated as soon as they left the assembly. It has no impact on their lives ([Pseudo-] Clemens of Rome,
An important theme is the use of money. The authors of the New Testament already wrote very critically about riches (Mt 6:24; 13:22; Lk 6:24; 8:14; 16:13–15; 1 Tm 6:9, 17; Ja 1:10ff.). According to the Gospels, Jesus himself opposes those who adhere to their wealth. He opposes wealth in his parables: the rich fool (Lk 12:15–21), and the rich man and the poor Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31), as well as in the story of the rich young man (Mt 19:16–26; Mk 10:17–27; Lk 18:18–27). It is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God (Mt 19:23f; Mk 10:24f; Lk 18:24ff.). Some decades later, Jesus’ brother, James (4:1–6), holds a philippic against the rich people in the congregation. The risk of wealth continues to be an important topic in Christian literature during the following centuries. Clement of Alexandria discusses extensively the question whether a rich man can be saved (Clemens of Alexandrië,
After the transformation under Constantine, the theme became even more urgent. Christians were then on the positive side of the social balance. They had obtained good positions and many good opportunities. By the end of the 4th century, Basil the Great devoted a sermon to the danger of wealth (Basilius,
The earthquake did not only serve as a correction of the wealthy in the congregation. It was also a punishment for wrongdoing. What should the reaction be after such a disaster? For Chrysostomos, the answer is clear: When God chastises us in such a manner, it can only be to call us to conversion. Fortunately, Chrysostomos (
Both in the homilies and in the sermons, Christian life is a connecting theme in the preaching of the church fathers. In the early period, it aimed to instil perseverance, but the focus was more on distancing from pagan uses and ways of life: licentiousness, alcohol abuse, hatred, quarrels and sexual abuses. Christians were called to demonstrate the Christian way of life through practical love, care and responsibility for each other, for the poor and the weak in society, tolerance and non-violence. Once again: the fact that this was proclaimed, did not mean that reality reflected this calling; rather the opposite: it had to be continuously impressed on the Christians. Nevertheless, it is also clear that the parenesis was not totally without effect. If that had been the case, apologists would not have been able to plead for Christians with reference to their way of life. So, the preaching in interaction with the apologetic writings provides a view into the dynamic practice of the Christian community in its earliest centuries.
For the early fathers, Christian ethics was not an alternative on the market of worldviews, human traditions, and their corresponding ways of life. It was not about the application of a Christian philosophy as a model for society. Christian life is founded on the new reality, which dawned with Christ. Ethics did not arise from his teaching, but from his identity and from the liberating reality, which came through his death and resurrection. Because people participate in Christ, they participate in his life, and this becomes visible in their actions. The Christian lifestyle is not separately available. It exists only in Christ as the expression of the divine life that he bestowed.
II Clement ([Pseudo-] Clemens of Rome,
For the early Greek fathers, Christian ethics was not an option without being in Christ who, being God himself, has the final judgement over us, and who, in his suffering and servantship, in his divinity which became visible in his suffering humanity, is the paradigm of the good. This is the focus of the very first sermon, which the Christian tradition has preserved, and this approach is basic for the centuries that followed. In the Alexandrian tradition, Cyrillus of Alexandria (
Not only ethics is viewed in Christological perspective. In the sermons of the Greek fathers,
… in the beginning God created heaven and earth. What is the beginning of all things except our Lord and Savior of all, Jesus Christ, the first born of all creatures? (Origenes,
Christ is
Because the Old Testament is not literally about Jesus, a literal reading of the Old Testament is not sufficient. Consequently, Origenes comes to his allegorical interpretation. He enunciates the theory of his exegesis in the fourth book of his
Allegorical exegesis certainly does not lead to arbitrariness with Origenes. He has a clear hermeneutical key, exactly in order to avoid arbitrariness and irrelevance. His key is that everything must be understood according to the Logos. For him, the Logos is not neutral reason, but the person of Christ. Christ is the Logos according to whom the whole Scripture, also the Old Testament, should be interpreted. Christ is not the general reason of being, but the divine Logos expressed in texts consisting in letters and in narratives of events which may be historical or not. So, everything must be interpreted according to the Logos who is Christ, who appeared in this world and who is present in the church. Therefore, Christ cannot be interpreted randomly, but only in the community of the church. The exegesis is borne by the teaching of the church (Origenes,
Since early Christianity, Christ is the key to understand biblical texts and it is no wonder that many sermons are explicitly about him. Of course, this is the case with sermons on the great festivals such as Epiphany and Easter.
The baptism of Jesus was a cherished subject in early Christian preaching. This is the theme of one of the finest sermons in Greek patristics. This sermon is ascribed to (Pseudo-?) Hippolytus and is known as the ‘Sermon on the festival of Epiphany’ (
The church fathers liked to point out contrasts displaying expressively the paradox between the exaltedness and the humiliation of Christ as is clear in a sermon of Alexander of Alexandria (
… behold, you sons of men! Behold, all you people, these new wonders! They suspended Him on the tree, He who stretches out the earth; they transfixed Him with nails, He who laid firm the foundation of the world; they circumscribed Him, He who circumscribed the heavens; they bound Him, He who absolves sinners; they gave Him vinegar to drink, He who has made them to drink of righteousness; they fed Him with gall, He who has offered them the Bread of Life; they caused corruption to come upon His hands and feet, He who healed their hands and feet; they violently closed His eyes, He who restored sight to them; they gave Him over to the tomb, He who raised their dead to life both in the time before His Passion and also while He was hanging on the tree. (p. 598; transl. Hawkins
The Christological focus is often expressed with reference to the Christological debates in the Early Church. Dogmas and heretics are mentioned explicitly. Of course, this happened most frequently in the times of the great councils, as in the sermons of Cyrillus of Alexandria (
It is remarkable that sermons, which are ascribed to pre-Nicene fathers, but are of a later date according to critical research, are always about the exaltedness of Christ in his humiliation. If these sermons are indeed later, then those who ascribed them to earlier theologians were obviously convinced that such sermons were typical of the earlier period.
After the transformation under Constantine, a change also took place in the sermons, especially in the Greek-speaking regions north of the Mediterranean where the influence of Constantinople was great. Sermons about Christian life continued to be held. However, these were no longer based on Christology, but on ordinary human wisdom. It was still argued that Christians should avoid anger towards others (see e.g. Basilius,
Now that the empire had become Christian, Christians had to be decent citizens and reliable subjects. The preaching of the church served this end. The themes might have been the same as two centuries before, but the context and the foundation had changed. Origenes
Besides a different founding of Christian ethics, sermons characterised by a general worldview were remarkable. How is the world organised? What are the basic principles of the universe? How is contemporary physical science related to biblical texts on nature?
It could be argued that by doing so, Basil and Gregory resumed an old tradition of the 2nd century apologists. In one respect this is true: in both cases it was about a
There is a much lesser shift in the explicit Christological sermons. Sermons, which extol the exaltedness of Christ, continue even after Constantine, and not only on festivals, but also in series of homilies. In these sermons, the preachers came closer to their hearers, as in a sermon of Chrysostomos on Galatians 2:20: ‘I no longer live, but Christ lives in me’. Paul does not say: ‘I live for Christ’, but something far greater: ‘Christ lives in me’. Paul:
… does not say: ‘who loved us’ but ‘who loved me’ … He shows that each of us ought to render as much thanks to Christ as though Christ had come for him alone. For God would not have withheld this gift even from one person. He has the same love for every individual as for the whole world. (Edwards
Sermons about Christ were at the heart of the preaching in the church – both before and after Constantine. However, there was a real difference whether Christ was thought of as the one who bears his cross in the midst of his persecuted followers, or as the
The difference in approach is best visible when sermons on the same texts are compared – most of all in a
Origenes immediately interprets the waters allegorically. The text is about the waters above and under the earth. God separated what is above and what is below, as he separated light and darkness. The water above the earth is the spiritual water where Christ is, and it is this water that we receive from Christ (with reference to Jn 7:38). The water under the earth is the water of the abyss – the place of demonic powers. Christians live on the line of separation. They are called to distinguish between these waters. God withdrew our dwelling place from the waters under the earth, where the demons and darkness rule, by making it dry. We therefore have to free our earthly life from the powers of darkness– the waters under the earth. Only then will we bear fruit through the spiritual waters of the grace of Christ.
Basil, in his sermon, enters into a discussion with the physicists of his day. How can the water stay on the dome of the sky? Would it not flow down along the dome? (Basilius,
Chrysostomos, in his turn, opts for yet another approach. First, he introduces the theme with a lengthy exposé about the use and preparation of sermons. From this, we can gather that the theme was not an easy subject for him. Subsequently, he clears away any misunderstanding about the number of heavens
Regarding the content, he mainly elaborates the theme aesthetically. It is good that God created order in the chaos, by separating light and darkness and creating the expanse. Chrysostomos (
The goal of these theologians differs greatly. Origenes wants to encourage his hearers to lead a life in Christ and bear fruit by withstanding the powers of evil. Basil explains how the world is a well-structured, ordered and balanced system. Chrysostomos wants to instil admiration and reverence for God’s greatness in his hearers’ way of life.
How relevant is the preaching of the early patres for preaching today? Firstly, we can learn that it is very important to have a clear paradigm for our proclamation. Such a paradigm prevents us from preaching randomly without a clear message, and from succumbing to any influence by the whim of the day.
Preaching in the church should also keep to the paradigm of the Early Church regarding the content: Jesus Christ is the Logos by which we interpret Scripture and organise our lives. This has consequences for the interpretation of the Old Testament. Early Christian interpretation did justice to the unity of the canon with the New Testament as the last redaction layer. While 21st-century Christians live in a different culture, they cannot apply the relation of sign and reality to such a detailed extent as Origenes did, but they cannot omit the principle: God’s revelation is one, and his revelation is revelation in Christ. Consequently, it is not possible to apply Old Testament texts directly to our present-day society, or laws and promises for Israel to any national state today. These texts must always be interpreted through the lens of Christ whom we know from his life, death and resurrection.
A third point in these sermons of the fathers is their attention to events which happen to us and around us such as earthquakes, social upheaval, or war. To what extent do they provide texts which must be interpreted in light of God’s actions? And if we regard them as such, interpretation requires extreme precision. In these cases, the paradigm of Christ crucified is essential. Critique and judgement can easily be applied incorrectly as was the case with Chrysostomos.
The shifts in the proclamation of the church in the 4th century should once again remind us to be careful not to provide a theological underpinning for a given situation, a dominant power, and a leading culture, while forgetting that Christians are strangers and resident aliens in the world. Are we critical enough?
To maintain these standards, it is necessary to preach explicitly Christological sermons in which the exaltedness of his grace and power is expressed. Indeed, Christ should be present in all preaching and its orientating paradigm. A dogmatic moment might also be helpful today, for the dogma alerts and prevents us from being uncritical and fashionable.
Finally, from the patres we can learn the importance of rhetoric. Regarding the content, they sometimes opposed the rhetorical tradition of their time, but methodically they used it continually, even if they did so alternatively. Rhetoric is not an aim in itself; it serves to bring the message across. ‘It is not the beauty of speech … but the reason of life’.
The author declares that no competing interest exists.
I declare that I am the sole author of this research article.
This article followed all ethical standards for a research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Date sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the author.
Up to modernity, it was usual to consider natural events as an act of God with a message for men. Compare
Formally this is an Easter letter, but its character and content are like a sermon.
The oldest conserved sermon for a festival is the famous Easter sermon of Melito of Sardis (Lohse
A fine example about the praise of Jesus is a sermon about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Pseudo-) Methodius,
The sermon is generally regarded as being from a later time (4th–6th century), thus several possible authors are mentioned; see Bardenhewer
There is a debate about the authorship of the sermon. Bardenhewer (
Alexander borrows from Melito of Sardis. Like Melito, Israël is portrayed as the perpetrator of the deeds against Jesus. The point, however, is not against the Jews, for Alexander focuses on the sufferings that the Son of God endured for us. Opposite the deeds of Israel is not punishment for the murder of God, but the healing and the life that Christ gives.
See examples in footnotes 4–6.
See, for example, the sermons of Basilius about anger (
Origenes (
See especially his sermons (Chrysostomos,
Chrysostomos (
See especially the sermons of Basilius (
On the contrary, Basilius (
Origenes,