The Asterius of Amasea reading was particularly interesting to me because I feel like it encompasses (to a basic degree) a lot of the themes we have already covered. The text starts off with “The commemoration of the saints is good and useful, especially for those who strive for what is noble. Those who long for virtue and true religion are not only taught by words but also have in front of them, as visible lessons, the deeds of people who lived in a just way” (Amasea, 1.1). The text goes on to proclaim the glory received from God for those that respond in a noble fashion and praise is given to previous martyrs (including Phocas and Stephen). Within the same context of glory and honor with God, is the idea of relics being used to further the cause or make one worthy of fighting for God. Phocas gave himself willingly and selflessly as a martyr and was considered “A pillar of support to the churches of God, so do we have him from that moment until now” (Amasea, 9.1). In this statement and ones that follow regarding praise for Phocas, the reader can start to see the veneration of saints and the phenomenon that relics become. The shrine for Phocas becomes important to Christians because they can be close to the power of Phocas, who by his martyrdom received God’s favor, and therefore closer to God. The passage also talks about relics of Phocas being sent to other places in in order to spread the glory of Christianity and become “remarkable places to be sought by Christians; and this is also true for this holy place of assembly for those who celebrate” (Amasea, 9.1).
There are a lot of different components within the text to discuss, but the main reason why I am interested in the collection and belief of relics and sainthood is because of the contribution the modern-day Christian memory. Even though it’s a concept from early in the term, it has stuck with me. I think it’s important to recognize that the transition of Roman spectacle, to religions martyr, to saint is one that has formed much of the Christian church. It’s fascinating for me to regard how the Asterius of Amasea makes connections to dying in the name of God and the importance of those people after their gone, making shrines and places to be close to God out of their relics. -Lyndsey Goforth Tim
John Chrysostom talks about the overwhelming rewards that martyrs will receive after death. Chrysostom acknowledges that God is “a generous giver and loves humankind”, but names another important reason why martyrs are not only honored on earth, but also rewarded immensely in heaven (Chrysostom, 129). He says that since these people are dying for the sake of God, God is “in their debt” (Chrysostom, 129). God “freely gave eternal life” to everyone and Jesus “was crucified and shed his blood for” even “those who hate him” (Chrysostom, 129). If God gives such rewards to those to whom he owes nothing, then the rewards he gives those to whom he is in debt must be incredible. The idea of God being in debt to a human is interesting because it seems to create a shift in a power relationship that would otherwise be thought of as eternally unchanging. An individual with another individual in debt to him is in a position of power. This puts a martyr in a position of power over Christ and God. This seems completely out of the ordinary from anything else we have read. But perhaps Chrysostom did not mean it in exactly this way. Maybe this was just his way of explaining the idea in terms that could more easily be understood by the common person. The way he uses athletic metaphors seems to serve the same purpose. Chrysostom uses this imagery to take the focus off of the gruesome and painful deaths that martyrs often suffer and creates an idea of a noble battle in which earth is the battle ground, dying in the name of God is a defeat of the Devil, and Heaven is the reward. He uses the image of an individual boxing the Devil and defeating him in this earthly boxing ring. Unlike a victorious wrestler, however, who is “proclaimed winner and crowned all in the same pit of sand”, the individual “proved superior” to the Devil is given his reward in the afterlife to come. By Alexandria
Something I definitely noticed while reading the First Homily on the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste by Gregory Nyssa was his constant use of biblical text to support his arguments. It felt like there was at least a quote (if not many) from Scripture in almost every paragraph I read. For example in a paragraph in which he argued that martyrs were responsible for restoring human nature after it was brought down by the sins of Adam and Eve; Gregory mentioned that Adam and Eve were chased from Paradise to earth and martyrs were transferred from earth to Paradise. To back up this point about Adam and Eve he quoted Scripture, "For Scripture says that sin is the weapon of death (cf. 1 Cor. 15:56)" (Nyssa, 102-103). He also used Scripture to strengthen his argument about martyrs, "the latter rendered death that was armed with sin ineffective through their courage; by their endurance of sufferings they blunted the point of the sting, in agreement with what is beautifully said: 'Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?' (cf. 1 Cor. 15:55)" (Nyssa, 103). He definitely isn't shy about quoting Scripture and once even blatantly started out his argument with, "What does Scripture say about Eve?", he goes on to mention that Scripture says "She saw that is was attractive to see and good to taste' (Gen. 3:6)" (Nyssa, 103). Here he doesn't even shed light on his own opinion first, he just jumps right in to Scripture and uses it almost as an icebreaker for his ideas. After finally getting to the point in his homily where he begins to discuss the forty martyrs of Sebaste, he begins to describe the mother of one of the martyrs' and her devotion. He tells the reader that she endured the cold with her son and witnessed his death. But instead of trying to keep him warm, she nobly stood her ground. Gregory said, "When his mother had seen these things, did she experience any motherly feeling? Was she moved to the bottom of her heart, did she tear up her clothing or did she throw herself on her child to warm the withering body with the warmth of her arms? Not at all! Even to mention such a thing is absurd. No, truly, by the fruit we recongnise the tree: a diseased tree cannot produce good fruits (cf. Matt. 7:16-18; Luck 6:43-4)" (Nyssa, 106). These three examples are few among the dozens of Scripture quotations found throughout the text and they are good evidence that Gregory of Nyssa puts his trust in the teachings of the bible. |
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