In ramos palmarum (homilia 3) (olim sub nomine Joannis Chrysostomi)

A sermon of Leontius, presbyter of Constantinople, on the pre-illuminations, and on the palm branches, and on the raising of Lazarus

Already the gifts of the Lord's festival are appearing, already the summonses of the all-praised feast run ahead, already the robes of the immaterial bridegroom shine forth, already the delights of the universal resurrection herald the spring, already the pledge of the resurrection shines forth, which Lazarus received and became a fellow guest with the Lord, already the myrrh of the gift makes fragrant those who run to it, already the faithful guards of the king have taken possession of this great city, already the faithful people, running to meet the Lord, cry out, saying, as you have heard: Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel, the ineffable one. Blessed is he who comes and is found with us and is in no way outside of all things.

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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Truly that crowd recognized a royal entry; for just as in the present day, when a worldly king has campaigned against a tyrant, and is returning from victory, all the citizens of his city meet him bearing flowers, weaving praises, casting eulogies instead of roses and what leads them to this is not vainglorious love but a desire for victory celebration, in the same way, in the case of the Lord Christ, as for a trophy-bearing king, the whole multitude, both by their words and by the palm branches, acknowledged that he who had arrived was a victor, or rather, was recognized as God; for to God alone are fitting the cries that were then uttered, are now read, and flourish in the divine mysteries. Hosanna in the highest. What is "Hosanna in the highest"? It is, "Save, we pray, O you who are in the highest"; for "Hosanna" is interpreted as "save, we pray" in the Hebrew language. Hosanna in the highest. That is, as there is salvation above, so also there is love for mankind below. Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. They were performing an angelic ministry, treading the earth and traversing heaven, clothed in a body and pursuing the things of the incorporeal, Jews by name and Christians by deed, worldly in their way of life and apostolic in their beauty, having received the interpretation from above and not from below. For just as Peter, the chief of the apostles, not from his own study, but from the divine revelation from the Father above, said to the Lord: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" wherefore the Lord, indicating to him and blessing him and making known that he did not receive the revelation from his own study but from the Father, said: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven," in the same way the crowd also, having received the revelation from above, uttered fitting cries to the Lord, saying: Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. And someone might certainly say: "And from where do we have the proof that the Jewish crowd received the testimony from above?" From where? From the very cries and the fitting praise. For if they had uttered some simple cries, they would have made the praise from their own resources; but if they also called him savior and king and Lord and "Hosanna," it is clear to everyone that they received the revelation from above. For from where did the crowd know the Lord as king? He did not wear a worldly diadem, he was not clothed in purple, he was not accompanied by a multitude of an army, horses and gold-inlaid chariots did not run before him, he was not riding in a chariot

In ramos palmarum (homilia 3) (olim sub nomine Joannis Chrysostomi)

Λεοντίου πρεσβυτέρου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως λόγος εἰς τὰ προφωτίσματα καὶ εἰς τὰ βαΐα καὶ εἰς τὴν ἔγερσιν τοῦ Λαζάρου

Ἤδη τῆς δεσποτικῆς πανηγύρεως παρακύπτει τὰ χαρίσματα, ἤδη τῆς πανευφήμου ἑορτῆς προτρέχει τὰ σήμαντρα, ἤδη τοῦ ἀΰλου νυμφίου προλάμπει τὰ πέπλα, ἤδη τῆς καθολικῆς ἀναστάσεως προεαρίζουσιν αἱ ἡδοναί, ἤδη ὁ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἀρραβὼν προλάμπει ὃν δεξάμενος ὁ Λάζαρος τῷ κυρίῳ συνέστιος γίνεται, ἤδη τῆς δωρεᾶς τὸ μύρον τοὺς προστρέχοντας εὐωδιάζει, ἤδη οἱ τοῦ βασιλέως πιστοὶ φύλακες τὴν μεγαλόπολιν ταύτην κατέλαβον, ἤδη ὁ πιστὸς λαὸς εἰς ἀπάντησιν τῷ κυρίῳ προσδραμὼν βοᾷ λέγων, καθὼς ἤκουες· Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ὁ ἄρρητος. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος καὶ μεθ' ἡμῶν εὑρισκόμενος καὶ ἔξω τῶν πάντων μηδαμῶς γινόμενος.

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Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Ὄντως ὁ ὄχλος ἐκεῖνος βασιλικὴν ἐγνώρισεν εἴσοδον· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς παροῦσι κοσμικοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιστρατεύσαντος τυράννῳ, καὶ ἐκ τῆς νίκης ὑποστρέφοντι πάντες οἱ πολῖται τῆς αὐτοῦ πόλεως συναντῶσιν ἄνθη βαστάζοντες, ἐπαίνους πλέκοντες, ἀντὶ ῥόδων ἐγκώμια βάλλοντες ἄγει δὲ αὐτοὺς πρὸς τοῦτο οὐ κενόδοξος ἔρως ἀλλ' ἐπινίκιος πόθος, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ ὡς ἐπὶ βασιλεῖ τροπαιούχῳ ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ἐκ τῶν λόγων καὶ ἐκ τῶν βαΐων ἐγνώριζον ὡς νικητὴς ὁ παραγενάμενος, μᾶλλον δὲ ὡς θεὸς <ὁ> γνωριζόμενος· θεῷ γὰρ μόνῳ ἁρμόδιοι αἱ τότε μὲν βληθεῖσαι φωναί, νυνὶ δὲ παραναγνωσθεῖσαι, ἐν τοῖς θείοις δὲ μυστηρίοις ἀνθοῦσαι. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Τί ἐστιν Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις; Τουτέστι Σῶσον δὴ ὁ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις· τὸ γὰρ Ὡσαννὰ σῶσον δὴ ἑρμηνεύεται τῇ Ἑβραΐδι φωνῇ. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Τουτέστιν ὡς ἄνω σωτηρία, οὕτως καὶ κάτω φιλανθρωπία. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Ἀγγελικὴν διακονίαν μετῄεισαν, γῆν πατοῦντες καὶ οὐρανὸν χωροβατοῦντες, σῶμα περικείμενοι καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀσωμάτων μετερχόμενοι, Ἰουδαῖοι τὴν προσηγορίαν καὶ Χριστιανοὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν, κοσμικοὶ τὴν διαγωγὴν καὶ ἀποστο λικοὶ τὴν καλλονήν, ἄνωθεν καὶ οὐ κάτωθεν τὴν ἑρμηνείαν δεξάμενοι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ κορυφαιότατος τῶν ἀποστόλων Πέτρος οὐκ ἐξ οἰκείας μελέτης, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς θείας ἄνωθεν πατρόθεν ἀποκαλύψεως ἔλεγε πρὸς τὸν κύριον· Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντοςδιὸ καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐμφαίνων αὐτῷ καὶ μακαρίζων καὶ γνωρίζων ὅτι οὐκ ἐξ οἰκείας μελέτης, ἀλλὰ πατρόθεν ἔλαβε τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν ἔλεγεν· Μακάριος εἶ, Σίμων Βὰρ Ἰωνᾶ, ὅτι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψέ σοι, ἀλλ' ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ὁ ὄχλος ἄνωθεν τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν δεξάμενος ἁρμοδίους φωνὰς πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἔβαλλε λέγων· Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Ἔστι δὲ πάντως εἰπεῖν τινα· Καὶ πόθεν ἡμῖν ἡ ἀπόδειξις ὅτι ὁ Ἰουδαϊκὸς ὄχλος ἄνωθεν ἔλαβε τὴν μαρτυρίαν; Πόθεν; Ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν φωνῶν καὶ τῆς ἁρμοδίου εὐφημίας. Εἰ μὲν γάρ τινας λιτὰς ἔβαλλον φωνάς, οἴκοθεν ἐποιοῦντο τὴν εὐφημίαν· εἰ δὲ καὶ σωτῆρα καὶ βασιλέα καὶ κύριον καὶ ὡσαννὰ προσηγόρευον, παντί που δῆλον ὅτι ἄνωθεν ἐδέξαντο τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν. Πόθεν γὰρ ἐγνώριζεν ὁ ὄχλος τὸν κύριον βασιλέα; Οὐκ ἐφόρει διάδημα κοσμικόν, οὐ περιεβέβλητο ἁλουργίδα, οὐκ ἐπεφέρετο πλῆθος στρατοῦ, οὐ προέτρεχον αὐτοῦ ἵπποι καὶ ἅρματα χρυσοκόλλητα, οὐκ ἐπωχεῖτο ἅρματι