![]() ‘If he really were the first-fruits,’ one might say, ‘then he would have to have been the first man in order to offer himself for the first-fruits are the first shoots, the first sprouts.’ But it is not the first-fruits, beloved, when we offer a first fruit that is blemished and of poor quality, but rather when we bring forth an acceptable offering. Rather, by offering a small portion one procures a blessing for the whole by means of the part. But why did he not offer the entirety of human nature? Because it is not the first-fruit when someone offers everything. Through this one flesh and offering of first-fruits he caused the entire human race to be blessed. And just as is done in the case of plains bearing grain, where a few grains are taken, gathered into a small sheaf, and presented to God, who blesses the whole field for the sake of this small portion – this is precisely what Christ did. For by assuming our nature just as if it were first-fruits, he offered it up to the Master. So this present day is the source of these blessings. And that you may learn that they are angels of peace, listen to the words that the deacons always repeat in their prayers: “Implore the angel of peace.” Do you see then how the angels are present, as well as the martyrs? So what was the reason he saw the host and army of angels over the earth? Just as when a king orders garrisons to settle in each city to keep barbarian invasions from breaking out and overrunning the cities, so also, since in the midst of this air there are also demons, barbaric and savage, constantly stirring up wars and hostile to peace, God has set against them the hosts of angels, so that by their mere appearance they might subdue them to vouchsafe peace for us. And once again Jacob: I have seen the host of angels (Gen 32:2). ![]() And those who were in the house with the apostles said to Rhoda about Peter, It is his angel (Acts 12:15). And again Jacob: The angel, he says, who has delivered me from my youth (Gen 48:15). ![]() That you may know that all the air is filled with angels, listen to what Paul says when urging the women to have a covering for their heads, how women must have a veil on their heads because of the angels (1 Cor 11:10). And if you wish to see both martyrs and angels, open up the eyes of faith and you will behold this sight for if the whole air is filled with angels, so is the Church even more so and if this is true of the Church, all the more so on this present day when their Master is ascended. That is why we have brought you here, so that the assembly would become more radiant and the spectacle more brilliant, since not only are the people here assembled, but also the martyrs and not only martyrs, but also angels. It is the only authentic homily on the Ascension of the nineteen on this topic attributed to St John Chrysostom. Given that the homily was delivered in Antioch, it can be dated anywhere between the years 386 and 397, i.e., the time of Chrysostom’s service in Antioch, before his move to Constantinople. The first section of the homily reveals Chrysostom’s habit of exhorting his congregation to visit these shrines for eucharistic celebrations outside of the days when specific martyrs were commemorated. Based on this and other homilies by Chrysostom, it seems clear that this cemetery contained a number of martyria (shrines of martyrs) which may have meant a grave or casket preserving a martyr’s remains, though it could also refer to a chapel dedicated to a martyr, where his or her relics would have been available for veneration. The translation presented here is a witness to one such occasion, namely the liturgical celebration of the feast of the Lord’s Ascension, which took place at a large, local Christian cemetery, close to one of the main gates of the city. These were originally preached on their annual feast days, many of which were already established in the liturgical calendar of the late-fourth-century church of Antioch. Though known primarily for his exegetical homilies, in which he expounded the meaning of the Scriptures, St John Chrysostom also delivered a number of festal homilies and panegyrics on martyrs.
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