Chrysippus, presbyter of Jerusalem, Encomium on Michael the Archangel (CPG 6707, BHG 1290b)
The author composes an encomium in praise of Michael, referring to several Old Testament passages about him.
Evidence ID
E04679Saint Name
Michael, the Archangel : S00181Saint Name in Source
ΜιχαὴλType of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Literary - Sermons/HomiliesEvidence not before
455Evidence not after
479Activity not before
455Activity not after
479Place of Evidence - Region
Palestine with SinaiPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
JerusalemPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Jerusalem
Caesarea Maritima
Καισάρεια
Kaisareia
Caesarea
Kayseri
Turris StratonisMajor author/Major anonymous work
Chrysippus of JerusalemCult activities - Liturgical Activity
Cult activities - Festivals
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Composing and translating saint-related textsCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergySource
Chrysippus (c. 405-479) was born in Cappadocia and grew up in Syria. Together with his brothers, Kosmas and Gabrielios, he came to Palestine and joined the ascetic community (laura) of *Euthymios. At the instigation of the empress Aelia Eudocia, then living in Jerusalem, the three brothers were ordained priests in 456. Chrysippus and Kosmas joined the clergy of the Anastasis, whereas Gabrielios was appointed abbot of the shrine of Stephen the First Martyr. In 467, Chrysippus became staurophylax (Keeper of the True Cross), succeeding in this office his elder brother, Kosmas, who was ordained bishop of Scythopolis. Chrysippus died in 479. Our source about his life, Cyril of Scythopolis' Life of Euthymios, reports that Chrysippus excelled as an author. From his work, only four homilies are known.
The text is known from one manuscript, on which see:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/4782/Discussion
The text provides no evidence about the date, venue and occasion of the homily. It was very probably delivered during a festival in Jerusalem.Bibliography
Text:
Sigalas, A. "Χρυσίππου πρεσβυτέρου ἐγκώμιον εἰς τὸν Ἀρχάγγελον Μιχαήλ," Ἐπετηρὶς Ἑταιρείας Βυζαντινῶν Σπουδῶν 3 (1926), 88-93.
Further reading:
Arnold, J.C., The Footprints of Michael the Archangel: The Formation and Diffusion of a Saintly Cult, c. 300‒c. 800 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
On Chrysippus:
Di Berardino, A., Patrology: The Eastern Fathers from the Council of Chalcedon (451) to John of Damascus (+750). English translation A. Walford (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2006), 251-252.
Sigalas, A. Des Chrysippos von Jerusalem Enkomion auf den hl. Johannes den Täufer. Untersuchungen und Ergänzungen zu den Schriften des Chrysippos (Texte und Forschungen zur Byzantinisch-Neugriechischen Philologie 20; Athens: Verlag der "Byzantinisch-neugriechischen Jahrbücher", 1937).
