Customer Reviews

On Pascha and Fragments (Early Christian Texts)

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Reading Melito's homily was a great pleasure for me. It is really a work of a genius, the person who felt keenly the horror of humankind's rejecting God.

For a long time, scholars knew almost nothing about the works of Melito, a second-century bishop of Sardis in Asia Minor. Discovery of his homily in the 1930s and its subsequent reconstruction are a landmark in the modern patristic studies. There are several English translations of Melito's work, but the standard scholarly translation is that of S. G. Hall, "Melito of Sardis: On Pascha and Fragments" (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979).

"On Pascha" is a beatiful example of Asian style of poetry. It can be roughly divided into two parts. In the first part of the homily, Melito recollects the episodes of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt and gives them his own interpretation. He believes that many events in the Old Testament were just models, which can be properly understood only through the Incarnation of Christ. That is why, while describing Lord's protection of Israel, Melito discusses typology in principal and in general.

In the second part of the homily, Melito turns to Jesus Christ, the true Passover. He gives reasons for His Incarnation, lists persons who prefigured Him in the Old Testament, and mentions some prophesies about Him. Then he demonstrates that through His Coming, Passion, and Crucifixion, Jesus Christ indeed fulfilled these prophesies. The ingratitude of Israel, who rejected the Messiah, makes Melito reproach the Jews. Finally, he explicates the consequences of Israel's ignoring its own Lord, depicts vividly the crime of Deicide and its effect on Israel, and makes evident the triumph of the the resurrected Lord.

In my opinion, "On Pascha" is a pearl of second-century Christian literature. Everyone who is interested in early Christianity must read this work of a great Christian saint of the second century. Even if you are not interested in Christianity at all, but want to know more about ancietn rhetoric, you still have to read Melito's homily. His rhetoric and the way he uses the language are brilliant and fascinating.

Reading Melito's homily was a great pleasure for me. It is really a work of a genius, the person who felt keenly the horror of humankind's rejecting God.

For a long time, scholars knew almost nothing about the works of Melito, a second-century bishop of Sardis in Asia Minor. Discovery of his homily in the 1930s and its subsequent reconstruction are a landmark in the modern patristic studies. There are several English translations of Melito's work, but the standard scholarly translation is that of S. G. Hall, "Melito of Sardis: On Pascha and Fragments" (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979).

"On Pascha" is a beatiful example of Asian style of poetry. It can be roughly divided into two parts. In the first part of the homily, Melito recollects the episodes of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt and gives them his own interpretation. He believes that many events in the Old Testament were just models, which can be properly understood only through the Incarnation of Christ. That is why, while describing Lord's protection of Israel, Melito discusses typology in principal and in general.

In the second part of the homily, Melito turns to Jesus Christ, the true Passover. He gives reasons for His Incarnation, lists persons who prefigured Him in the Old Testament, and mentions some prophesies about Him. Then he demonstrates that through His Coming, Passion, and Crucifixion, Jesus Christ indeed fulfilled these prophesies. The ingratitude of Israel, who rejected the Messiah, makes Melito reproach the Jews. Finally, he explicates the consequences of Israel's ignoring its own Lord, depicts vividly the crime of Deicide and its effect on Israel, and makes evident the triumph of the the resurrected Lord.

In my opinion, "On Pascha" is a pearl of second-century Christian literature. Everyone who is interested in early Christianity must read this work of a great Christian saint of the second century. Even if you are not interested in Christianity at all, but want to know more about ancietn rhetoric, you still have to read Melito's homily. His rhetoric and the way he uses the language are brilliant and fascinating.