E00095: John Chrysostom delivers in Greek his homily On *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), during the saint’s festival in Antioch (Syria). He recounts the miraculous destruction of Apollo’s temple at Daphne, after the removal of the saint’s remains, and how Bishop *Meletios (S01192) built a new shrine for the martyr, and was buried next to him. Written in Antioch, in the late 380s or 390s.

John Chrysostom, On Babylas (CPG 4348; BHG 207)

1. Although he had intended to finish an earlier sermon, Chrysostom postpones that subject in order to talk about Babylas, whose feast it is.

2. Ὅπως μὲν οὖν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προέστη τῆς παρ’ ἡμῖν, καὶ τὴν ἱερὰν ταύτην διέσωσε ναῦν, ἐν χειμῶνι, καὶ κλύδωνι, καὶ κύμασι, καὶ ὅσην πρὸς βασιλέα παῤῥησίαν ἐπεδείξατο, καὶ πῶς τὴν ψυχὴν ἔθηκεν ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων, καὶ τὴν μακαρίαν ἐκείνην ἐδέξατο σφαγήν· ταῦτα, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τῶν διδασκάλων καὶ τῷ κοινῷ πατρὶ ἡμῶν ἀφήσομεν εἰπεῖν. Τὰ γὰρ ἀρχαιότερα τῶν πραγμάτων οἱ γεγηρακότες ὑμῖν δύνανται διηγεῖσθαι καλῶς· ὅσα δὲ νεωστὶ γέγονε, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἡλικίας τῆς ἡμετέρας, ταῦτα ὁ νέος ἐγὼ πρὸς ὑμᾶς διηγήσομαι, τὰ μετὰ τελευτὴν λέγω, τὰ μετὰ τὴν ταφὴν τοῦ μάρτυρος, τὰ ἡνίκα ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ διέτριβε. Καὶ οἶδα μὲν, ὅτι γελάσονται τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν ἡμῶν Ἕλληνες, εἰ μετὰ τελευτὴν καὶ ταφὴν τὰ τοῦ ταφέντος καὶ διαλυθέντος εἰς κόνιν ὑπισχνούμεθα λέγειν ἀνδραγαθήματα· οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦτο σιγήσομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δι’ αὐτὸ τοῦτο μάλιστα ἐροῦμεν, ἵνα τὸ παράδοξον τοῦτο δείξαντες ἀληθῶς, τὸν γέλωτα εἰς τὴν ἐκείνων περιτρέψωμεν κεφαλήν. Ἀνθρώπου μὲν γὰρ ἁπλῶς οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο κατορθώματα μετὰ τελευτήν· μάρτυρος δὲ γένοιτ’ ἂν πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα, οὐχ ἵνα ἐκεῖνος λαμπρότερος γένηται (οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ δεῖ τῆς παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν δόξης), ἀλλ’ ἵνα σὺ μάθῃς ὁ ἄπιστος, ὅτι θάνατος μαρτύρων οὐκ ἔστι θάνατος, ἀλλὰ ζωῆς βελτίονος ἀρχὴ καὶ πολιτείας πνευματικωτέρας προοίμια, καὶ μετάστασις ἀπὸ τῶν ἐλαττόνων πρὸς τὰ βελτίω. Μὴ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο ἴδῃς, ὅτι γυμνὸν τοῦ μάρτυρος τὸ σῶμα πρόκειται τῆς ψυχικῆς ἐνεργείας ἔρημον· ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνο σκόπει, ὅτι τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἑτέρα παρακάθηται μείζων αὐτῷ δύναμις, ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χάρις, πᾶσιν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἀπολογουμένη, δι’ ὧν θαυματοποιεῖ. Εἰ γὰρ νεκροῖς σώμασι καὶ διαλυθεῖσιν εἰς κόνιν μείζονα τῶν ζώντων ἁπάντων δύναμιν ὁ Θεὸς ἐχαρίσατο, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς ζωὴν χαριεῖται βελτίω τῆς προτέρας, καὶ μακαριωτέραν κατὰ τὸν τῶν στεφάνων καιρόν. [……]

‘… Now, how he led our church and preserved this holy ship through storm, rough waters, and waves, how much boldness he displayed before the emperor, and how he laid down his own life for his sheep [cf. John 10:11] and submitted to that blessed slaughter – these things and their like we shall leave to the more senior preachers and our common father to speak about. For the elderly are able to relate to us beautifully the events of the more remote past. As for the things that happened recently and at the time of our generation, I, the younger one, will relate to you. I mean those events that occurred after his death, after the martyr’s burial, when he dwelled at the suburb. I know, of course, that the Hellenes [pagans] will laugh at our promise, if we undertake to speak of feats after death and burial, performed by a person who has been buried and disintegrated into dust. Yet we shall not be silent, because of that, but shall rather speak precisely for that reason, in order to turn the laughter back in their face, by proving this paradox to be true. Indeed, there cannot be feats by a person after death, just like that. But by a martyr there can be several and great feats, not in order that he may become more famous (for he has no need of the glory of the multitude), but so that you, the unbeliever, may learn that a death of martyrs is no death at all, but rather the beginning of a better life, prelude to a more spiritual existence, and a passing from the lesser to a loftier state. Indeed, do not look at the fact that the martyr’s body lies before you bare and bereft of the energy of the soul. Rather consider this: that a greater power, other than the soul itself, abides with it – the grace of the Holy Spirit, which, through the miracles it performs, testifies to the resurrection before all. For, if God has granted bodies that are dead and disintegrated into dust a power greater than that of all the living, then even more will He grant them a life better and more blessed than their first one, at the time of the crowns … .’

3. Chrysostom recalls the events of the reign of Julian, who attempted to destroy the Christian faith.

4. All the emperor’s acts were doomed, while Christianity triumphed.

5-6. Julian employed oracles and sorcerers, and every place was full of demons. The result was the destruction of cities, famine, social unrest, and drought. Julian visited Daphne, attempting to receive an oracle from Apollo, but the demon instructed him to remove the dead from the area, because they supposedly prevented him from speaking. True defilement, however, does not lie with the bodies of the dead, but with the actions of the living.

7. The demon was, in fact, afraid of Babylas, and this was demonstrated by the fact that they removed only his body and none of the other burials. And Julian was afraid of the martyr too, since, if he had only detested the body, he could have destroyed the sarcophagus and the remains, but he did not dare do that.

8. Immediately when the body was removed, a thunderbolt struck and destroyed the temple of Apollo. And although Julian could have ordered the destruction of the martyr’s shrine (martyrion) and the restoration of the temple, he did neither, clearly out of fear.

9. Καὶ γὰρ ἑστήκασιν οἱ τοῖχοι νῦν ἀντὶ τροπαίων, σάλπιγγος λαμπροτέραν ἀφιέντες φωνὴν, τοῖς ἐν τῇ Δάφνῃ, τοῖς ἐν τῇ πόλει, τοῖς πόῤῥωθεν ἀφικνουμένοις, τοῖς συνοῦσι, τοῖς αὖθις ἐσομένοις ἀνθρώποις ἅπαντα διηγοῦνται διὰ τῆς ὄψεως, τὴν πάλην, τὴν συμπλοκὴν, τὴν νίκην τοῦ μάρτυρος. Τὸν γὰρ πόῤῥωθεν ἀφιστάμενον τοῦ προαστείου, καὶ τὸ μὲν μαρτύριον τοῦ ἁγίου τῆς λάρνακος ἔρημον, τὸν δὲ ναὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τὴν στέγην ἀφῃρημένον ὁρῶντα, εἰκὸς τὴν αἰτίαν τούτων ἑκατέρων ζητεῖν· εἶτα πᾶσαν μαθόντα τὴν ἱστορίαν, οὕτως ἀπελθεῖν ἐκεῖθεν. Τοιαῦτα τοῦ μάρτυρος τὰ κατορθώματα, τὰ μετὰ τὴν τελευτήν.

10. Διὸ καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν μακαρίζω πόλιν, ὅτι πολλὴν περὶ τὸν ἅγιον τοῦτον ἐπεδείξασθε τὴν σπουδήν. Καὶ γὰρ τότε, ἡνίκα ἀπὸ τῆς Δάφνης ἐπανῄει, πᾶσα μὲν ἡμῖν ἡ πόλις εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν ἐξεχύθη, καὶ κεναὶ μὲν αἱ ἀγοραὶ ἀνδρῶν, κεναὶ δὲ γυναικῶν ἦσαν αἱ οἰκίαι, ἔρημοι δὲ παρθένων οἱ θάλαμοι. Οὕτω καὶ ἡλικία πᾶσα, καὶ φύσις ἑκατέρα τῆς πόλεως ἐξεπήδησαν, ὥσπερ πατέρα ἀποληψόμενοι χρόνιον, ἐκ μακρᾶς ἐπανιόντα τῆς ἀποδημίας. Καὶ ὑμεῖς μὲν αὐτὸν τῷ τῶν ὁμοζήλων ἀπεδώκατε χορῷ· ἡ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάρις οὐκ εἴασεν ἐκεῖ διηνεκῶς μεῖναι, ἀλλὰ πάλιν αὐτὸν τοῦ ποταμοῦ πέραν μετέστησεν, ὥστε πολλὰ τῶν χωρίων τῆς εὐωδίας ἐμπλησθῆναι τοῦ μάρτυρος. Καὶ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ἐλθὼν μόνος ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι, ἀλλὰ ταχέως γείτονα καὶ ὁμόσκηνον τὸν ὁμότροπον ἔλαβε. Καὶ γὰρ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐκοινώνησεν αὐτῷ τῆς αὐτῆς, καὶ παῤῥησίαν ἴσην ἐπεδείξατο τῆς εὐσεβείας ἕνεκεν. Τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἐπόνει τὸν χρόνον ἐκεῖ, βασιλεῖ συνεχῶς ἐπιστέλλων, ἄρχοντας ἐνοχλῶν, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος λειτουργίαν εἰσφέρων τῷ μάρτυρι. Ἴστε γὰρ δήπου, καὶ μέμνησθε, ὅτι μὲν θέρους τῆς ἀκτῖνος μέσης κατεχούσης τὸν οὐρανὸν, μετὰ τῶν προσεδρευόντων αὐτῷ, καθ’ ἑκάστην ἐβάδιζεν ἐκεῖ τὴν ἡμέραν, οὐχ ὡς θεατὴς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς κοινωνὸς τῶν γινομένων ἐσόμενος. Καὶ γὰρ λίθου συνεφήψατο πολλάκις, καὶ σχοῖνον εἵλκυσε, καὶ οἰκοδομίας δεομένῳ τινὸς, πρὸ τῶν ὑπουργούντων ὑπήκουσεν· ᾔδει γὰρ, ᾔδει πόσοι τούτων αὐτῷ κείσονται οἱ μισθοί. Διὸ καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν ἔλαχεν αὐτῷ τὴν αὐτὴν, οὐ μάτην, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὁ θαυμαστὸς οὗτος τοῦ μάρτυρος ζηλωτής. Τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἐπόνει τὸν χρόνον ἐκεῖ, βασιλεῖ συνεχῶς ἐπιστέλλων, ἄρχοντας ἐνοχλῶν, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος λειτουργίαν εἰσφέρων τῷ μάρτυρι. Ἴστε γὰρ δήπου, καὶ μέμνησθε, ὅτι μὲν θέρους τῆς ἀκτῖνος μέσης κατεχούσης τὸν οὐρανὸν, μετὰ τῶν προσεδρευόντων αὐτῷ, καθ’ ἑκάστην ἐβάδιζεν ἐκεῖ τὴν ἡμέραν, οὐχ ὡς θεατὴς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς κοινωνὸς τῶν γινομένων ἐσόμενος. Καὶ γὰρ λίθου συνεφήψατο πολλάκις, καὶ σχοῖνον εἵλκυσε, καὶ οἰκοδομίας δεομένῳ τινὸς, πρὸ τῶν ὑπουργούντων ὑπήκουσεν· ᾔδει γὰρ, ᾔδει πόσοι τούτων αὐτῷ κείσονται οἱ μισθοί. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο διετέλει θεραπεύων τοὺς μάρτυρας, οὐκ οἰκοδομαῖς μόνον λαμπραῖς, οὐδὲ ἐπαλλήλοις ἑορταῖς, ἀλλὰ τῷ βελτίονι τούτων τρόπῳ. Τίς δέ ἐστιν οὗτος; Μιμεῖται τὸν βίον αὐτῶν, ζηλοῖ τὴν ἀνδρείαν, διὰ πάντων κατὰ δύναμιν τὴν εἰκόνα διασώζει τῶν μαρτύρων ἐν ἑαυτῷ· ὅρα γάρ· Ἐπέδωκαν ἐκεῖνοι τὰ σώματα τῇ σφαγῇ· ἐνέκρωσεν οὗτος τὰ μέλη τῆς σαρκὸς τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἔστησαν ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς φλόγα πυρὸς, ἔσβεσεν οὗτος τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τὴν φλόγα· ἐμαχήσαντο πρὸς ὀδόντας θηρίων ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος τὸ χαλεπώτατον τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν παθῶν, τὴν ὀργὴν ἐκοίμισεν.

11. Ὑπὲρ δὴ τούτων ἁπάντων εὐχαριστήσωμεν τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι καὶ μάρτυρας οὕτω γενναίους ἡμῖν ἐχαρίσατο, καὶ ποιμένας μαρτύρων ἀξίους, εἰς καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων, εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ’ οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ δόξα, τιμὴ, κράτος, σὺν τῷ ἁγίῳ καὶ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

‘9. Indeed the walls now stand like a monument, uttering a sound clearer than a trumpet, and relating by their sight to those living in Daphne, those in the city, those arriving from afar, those living in our time, and those who will be in the future, everything: the fight, the confrontation, and the victory of the martyr. For it is natural that a person arriving at the suburb from afar and seeing, on the one hand, the martyr’s shrine (martyrion) bereft of the saint’s sarcophagus, and, on the other, the temple of Apollo missing its roof, should seek out the cause of each one of these events. Next, having heard the whole story, they will leave the place. Such are the martyr’s feats, after his death.

10. For the same reason, I call your city blessed too, because you demonstrated a great deal of enthusiasm for this holy man. Indeed, back then, when he was coming back from Daphne, our whole city poured out onto the road, and marketplaces were empty of men, houses empty of women, and chambers deserted by girls. Thus all age groups and both sexes bounded out of the city as if about to welcome a father returning from a long journey. Yet, although you commended him to the company of men sharing his zeal [other martyrs