John Chrysostom, Against the Jews

He leads them in, saying: Become as I am, for I also was as you are. For did I not come from the Gentiles? he says; for was I 48.865 inexperienced in the legal way of life, and of the punishment laid up for those who transgress the law? A Hebrew of Hebrews, according to the law a Pharisee, according to zeal persecuting the Church. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ; that is, I have utterly forsaken them. Become, therefore, as I am; for I also was as you are. And what am I saying about myself? Three hundred fathers, or even more, coming together in the land of the Bithynians, legislated these things; and do you dishonor all of them? For it is one of two things: either you condemn them for foolishness, as not knowing accurately, or for cowardice, as knowing, but acting hypocritically and betraying the truth. For when you do not abide by what they legislated, these things necessarily follow. And that they displayed both great wisdom and courage then, all that happened makes clear. For their wisdom is shown by the faith set forth at that time, which stopped the mouths of the heretics, and like an unbreakable wall repelled all their plots; and their courage by the recently ceased persecution, and the war against the Churches. For just as some champions who have set up countless trophies, and received many wounds, so from all sides did the leaders of the Churches then return, bearing the marks of Christ, and able to count many punishments which they endured for their confession. For some could speak of mines and the hardship in them, others of the confiscation of all their possessions, others of famines, others of continual scourgings; and some could show their sides torn, others their backs broken, others their eyes gouged out, others themselves deprived of some other part of the body for Christ's sake. And from these athletes the whole synod was then composed, and along with the faith they also legislated this, so that they should celebrate this feast in common and in harmony. Were those, then, who did not betray the faith in such very difficult times, about to act hypocritically for the sake of observing days? See what you are doing, condemning so many fathers, so courageous and wise. For if the Pharisee, by condemning a tax collector, lost all the good things he had, what pardon will you have, what defense, for rising up against so many teachers who are friends of God, and this unjustly and with great irrationality? Have you not heard Christ himself saying that, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them? And if where two or three are, Christ is in the midst, where three hundred and many more were present, much more was he present, and was shaping and legislating all things. But you condemn not only them, but also the whole world, which has also praised their decision. Or do you consider the Jews to be wiser than the fathers throughout the earth, and this when they have fallen from their ancestral way of life, and celebrate no feast? For there is no unleavened bread among them, nor Passover—for I hear many saying this, that the Passover is with the unleavened bread—but that there is no unleavened bread among them, hear the lawgiver saying, You will not be able to celebrate the Passover in any of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you, but only in the place, where 48.866 his name shall be called upon; speaking of Jerusalem. Do you see how, having confined the feast to one city, he later also destroyed the city itself, so that he might lead them away from that way of life, even against their will? For that God foresaw what would follow is surely clear to everyone. For what reason, then, did he drive them there from the whole world, foreseeing that the city would be destroyed? Is it not very clear that he wanted the feast to be abolished? God abolished it, and do you follow the Jews, concerning whom the prophet says: And who is blind, but my servants, and deaf, but they that rule over them? For concerning whom were they not ungrateful and senseless; concerning the apostles, concerning the prophets, concerning their own

αὐτοὺς ἐνάγει, λέγων· Γίνεσθε ὡς ἐγὼ, ὅτι κἀγὼ ὡς ὑμεῖς. Μὴ γὰρ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἦλθον; φησί· μὴ γὰρ 48.865 ἄπειρος ἤμην τῆς νομικῆς πολιτείας, καὶ τῆς τιμωρίας τῆς κειμένης τοῖς παραβαίνουσι τὸν νόμον; Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων, κατὰ νόμον Φαρισαῖος, κατὰ ζῆλον διώκων τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν· τουτέστιν, Ἀπέστην αὐτῶν καθάπαξ. Γίνεσθε οὖν ὡς κἀγώ· καὶ γὰρ κἀγὼ ὡς ὑμεῖς ἤμην. Καὶ τί λέγω περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ; τριακόσιοι πατέρες, ἢ καὶ πλείους, εἰς τὴν Βιθυνῶν χώραν συνελθόντες ταῦτα ἐνομοθέτησαν· καὶ πάντας ἀτιμάζεις ἐκείνους; ∆υοῖν γὰρ θάτερον, ἢ ἄνοιαν αὐτῶν ὡς οὐκ ἀκριβῶς εἰδότων καταγινώσκεις, ἢ δειλίαν, ὡς εἰδότων μὲν, ὑποκριναμένων δὲ καὶ προδόντων τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Ὅταν γὰρ μὴ μένῃς ἐφ' οἷς ἐνομοθέτησαν ἐκεῖνοι, ταῦτα ἕπεται πάντως. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ σοφίαν πολλὴν καὶ ἀνδρείαν ἐπεδείξαντο τότε, τὰ γεγενημένα ἅπαντα δηλοῖ. Τὴν μὲν γὰρ σοφίαν αὐτῶν δείκνυσιν ἡ τότε ἐκτεθεῖσα πίστις, καὶ τὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἐμφράξασα στόματα, καὶ καθάπερ τεῖχος ἀῤῥαγὲς τὰς ἐπιβουλὰς αὐτῶν ἀποκρουσαμένη πάσας· τὴν δὲ ἀνδρείαν ὁ προσφάτως παυσάμενος διωγμὸς, καὶ ὁ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν πόλεμος. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἀριστεῖς τινες μυρία στήσαντες τρόπαια, καὶ πολλὰ δεξάμενοι τραύματα, οὕτω πανταχόθεν ἐπανῄεσαν τότε τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν οἱ προστάται τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ βαστάζοντες, καὶ πολλὰς ἔχοντες ἀριθμεῖν τιμωρίας, ἃς διὰ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ὑπέμειναν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ εἶχον εἰπεῖν μέταλλα καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς ταλαιπωρίαν, οἱ δὲ δημεύσεις τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων, οἱ δὲ λιμοὺς, οἱ δὲ πληγὰς συνεχεῖς· καὶ οἱ μὲν τὰς πλευρὰς κατεξεσμένας, οἱ δὲ τὰ νῶτα συντριβέντα, οἱ δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξορυγέντας, οἱ δὲ ἄλλο τι τοῦ σώματος μέρος ἀφῃρημένους ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι εἶχον. Καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀθλητῶν τούτων ἡ σύνοδος ἅπασα συγκεκρότητο τότε, καὶ μετὰ τῆς πίστεως καὶ τοῦτο ἐνομοθέτησαν, ὥστε κοινῇ καὶ συμφώνως τὴν ἑορτὴν ταύτην ἐπιτελεῖν. Οἱ τοίνυν τὴν πίστιν μὴ προδόντες ἐν οὕτω χαλεπωτάτοις καιροῖς, οὗτοι δι' ἡμερῶν παρατήρησιν καθυποκρίνεσθαι ἔμελλον; Ὅρα τί ποιεῖς τοσούτους κατακρίνων πατέρας, οὕτως ἀνδρείους καὶ σοφούς. Εἰ γὰρ τελώνην κατακρίνας ὁ Φαρισαῖος, πάντα ἀπώλεσεν ἅπερ εἶχεν ἀγαθὰ, τίνα ἕξεις συγγνώμην, ποίαν δὲ ἀπολογίαν τοσούτων κατεξανιστάμενος διδασκάλων τῶν τῷ Θεῷ φίλων, καὶ ταῦτα ἀδίκως καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀλογίας; Οὐκ ἤκουσας αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγοντος ὅτι, Ὅπου δύο ἢ τρεῖς εἰσι συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν; Εἰ δὲ ὅπου δύο ἢ τρεῖς, μέσος ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστὸς, ὅπου τριακόσιοι καὶ πολλῷ πλείους παρῆσαν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον παρῆν, καὶ πάντα ἐτύπου καὶ ἐνομοθέτει. Σὺ δὲ οὐ μόνον ἐκείνων καταγινώσκεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης, ἣ καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων γνώμην ἐπῄνεσεν. Ἢ καὶ τῶν ἁπανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς πατέρων σοφωτέρους Ἰουδαίους εἶναι νομίζεις, καὶ ταῦτα τῆς πατρῴας ἐκπεσόντας πολιτείας, καὶ ἑορτὴν οὐδεμίαν τελοῦντας; Ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄζυμα παρ' αὐτοῖς, οὐδὲ πάσχα καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούω λεγόντων πολλῶν, ὅτι μετὰ τοῦ ἀζύμου τὸ πάσχα ἐστίν, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι παρ' αὐτοῖς ἄζυμα, ἄκουσον τοῦ νομοθέτου λέγοντος, Οὐ δυνήσεσθε ποιῆσαι τὸ Πάσχα ἐν οὐδεμιᾷ τῶν πόλεών σου, ὧν Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι, ἀλλ' ἢ εἰς τὸν τόπον, ὃν ἐὰν 48.866 ἐπικληθῇ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ· περὶ τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ λέγων. Ὁρᾷς πῶς εἰς μίαν πόλιν συγκλείσας τὴν ἑορτὴν, ὕστερον καὶ τὴν πόλιν καθεῖλεν αὐτὴν, ἵνα καὶ ἄκοντας αὐτοὺς ἀπαγάγῃ τῆς πολιτείας ἐκείνης; Ὅτι γὰρ προεῖδε τὸ ἑπόμενον ὁ Θεὸς, παντί που δῆλόν ἐστι. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐκεῖ συνήλασεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης, προειδὼς ὅτι ἀπολεῖται ἡ πόλις; οὐκ εὔδηλον, ὅτι καταλυθῆναι βουλόμενος τὴν ἑορτήν; Ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὴν κατέλυσε, καὶ Ἰουδαίοις ἀκολουθεὶς, περὶ ὧν φησιν ὁ προφήτης· Καὶ τίς τυφλὸς, ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ παῖδές μου, καὶ κωφὸς, ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ κυριεύοντες αὐτῶν; Περὶ τίνα γὰρ οὐκ ἐγένοντο ἀγνώμονες ἐκεῖνοι καὶ ἀναίσθητοι· περὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους, περὶ τοὺς προφήτας, περὶ τοὺς αὐτῶν