The subject of this short communication is a sermon on the Ascension (CPG 5281) that was transmitted under the name of Athanasius of Alexandria and is preserved in just two manuscripts, as well as in an Armenian version. The Greek text of the sermon was edited and plausibly attributed to Cyril of Alexandria by C. Datema in 1974, and since then has received little or no scholarly attention. To my knowledge no translation of the sermon has been published in a modern language.
In this short communication I will present the results of a multifaceted, contextual analysis of the sermon. The analysis situates Cyril’s sermon in relation both to his larger body of work and to other patristic sermons and homilies on the Ascension. On the basis of that contextualization, the analysis of the sermon takes up Cyril’s account of the Ascension, which he pursues via an exposition of Isaiah 63. The Christological and soteriological implications of that exposition form important parts of Cyril’s account. The analysis of the sermon next turns to the rhetorical strategy that Cyril adopts in an effort to impart the fruits of his exegetical and theological labour to his hearers; Cyril aims to persuade them to appropriate his account of the Ascension and, out of that newly enriched understanding of the divine economy, to participate enthusiastically in the feast.
This multifaceted, contextual analysis of Cyril’s sermon on the Ascension makes a contribution to the relatively underserved pastoral and homiletic side of Cyril studies by showing how Cyril adapted his theological and exegetical concerns to the needs of his hearers. The analysis also makes a contribution to the study of Greek festal sermons and to the history of the celebration of the Ascension; the results of the analysis, as well as an English translation of the Greek text, are being incorporated into a larger study (already underway) on the formation of Christian identity in Greek patristic sermons on Ascension and Pentecost.
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