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E02975: Peter Chrysologus, bishop of Ravenna (attested 448/449, died before 458), preaches a Latin sermon in Ravenna, for the feast of *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288).

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posted on 2017-06-13, 00:00 authored by mpignot
Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 122.1

The sermon is the continuation of a previous sermon (Sermon 121) on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, and thus Peter preaches on that topic, noting however at the beginning that he should have spoken about Andrew:

Deberet, fratres, sermo noster hodie sancti Andreae, in quantum sufficit, referre virtutes. Sed quia de divite illo et Lazaro, evangelico paupere, quod superest nos diximus reddituros, et beato Andreae apostolatus et martyrii sui praerogativa sufficit et abundat ad gloriam, si placet, nos quae promisimus, quae debemus, ipso domino reddente solvamus.

'Today, brethren, our sermon ought to treat adequately the virtues of St. Andrew. However, we promised to go back and treat the remainder of the subject of the rich man and Lazarus, the poor man of the Gospel. Furthermore, the prerogative of St. Andrew’s apostolate and martyrdom suffice – yes, more than suffice – for his glory. Therefore, if it is agreeable to you, we shall, with the aid of the Lord, give you what we promised and owe.'

Text: Olivar 1981, 732. Translation: Ganss 1953, 208-209.

History

Evidence ID

E02975

Saint Name

Andrew, the Apostle : S00288

Saint Name in Source

Andreas

Type of Evidence

Literary - Sermons/Homilies

Language

  • Latin

Evidence not before

426

Evidence not after

458

Activity not before

426

Activity not after

458

Place of Evidence - Region

Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Ravenna

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Ravenna Sardinia Sardinia Sardegna Sardinia

Major author/Major anonymous work

Peter Chrysologus

Cult activities - Liturgical Activity

  • Sermon/homily

Cult activities - Festivals

  • Saint’s feast

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Peter Chrysologus was bishop of Ravenna in the second quarter of the 5th century. The chronology of his life remains uncertain: he is attested as bishop in 448/449 and he died before 458 when there is evidence of his successor Neo receiving a letter from pope Leo the Great: see PCBE 2, 'Petrus Chrysologus 9', pp. 1728-9. While most of Peter's sermons were transmitted in a collection put together by bishop Felix of Ravenna in the 8th century, the current body of sermons attributed to him has been established and critically edited by Olivar, who rejected a number of sermons from Felix's collection as spurious and added 15 sermons not transmitted in the collection but which he considered authentic. All the sermons were preached in Ravenna, generally on specific topics or liturgical feasts that can be identified. Most, however, do not bear indications of their date, although Olivar has attempted to find chronological units within Felix' collection. For an overview of these sermons and hypotheses on their chronology, see A. Olivar, Los sermones de San Pedro Crisologo: estudio critico (Montserrat, 1962); F. Sottocornola, L’anno liturgico nei sermoni di Pietro Crisologo (Cesena, 1973); V. Zangara, “I silenzi nella predicazione di Pietro Crisologo”, Rivista di storia e letteratura religiosa 32 (1996), 225-265, and further bibliography in W.B. Palardy, Peter Chrysologus: Selected Sermons, vol. 2, (Fathers of the Church 109; Washington DC, 2004), xiii-xvi.

Discussion

It can be assumed that this sermon was preached for the feast of Andrew, despite Peter choosing to continue preaching on Lazarus and the rich man. Another sermon of Peter is preached for the feast of Andrew (E02979).

Bibliography

Edition: Olivar, A., Petrus Chrysologus, Sermones (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 24A; Turnhout, 1981), 732-737. Translation: Ganss, G.E., Saint Peter Chrysologus, Selected Sermons, and Saint Valerian, Homilies (Fathers of the Church 17; New York, 1953), 208-213.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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