Maria Theotokos Adams, SSVM: Beyond Diabasis Alone: Philo’s Alternative Liturgical Theology of Pascha as Received in Early Christian Computus

Drawing on Philo of Alexandria, Origen famously promoted a corrective etymology for pascha as meaning “crossing” (diabasis) from the transliterated Hebrew word fasek, as opposed to “suffering” (paschein) from the homophone Greek verb. Many early Christian authors readily accepted and shared this view including Eusebius of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzus, Jerome, Maximus of Turin, and Augustine. Philo seems to interpret feast of pascha as a memorial emphasizing the crossing of the Red Sea (diabasis) over and above the slaughter of the lamb and the miracle of its protection for the Hebrew families on 14 Nisan. However, a more comprehensive reading of Philo’s etymologies and references to pascha reveals that he equally used diabateria as a second term to explain the meaning of the feast. His choice of this expression meaning “the sacrifice before a crossing” suggests a daring Classical allusion to Spartan practice which recasts the two poles of the Exodus events – sacrifice and passage – into a new harmonic whole. Anatolius of Laodicea and Eusebius of Caesarea demonstrate how the alternative etymology diabateria was preferred within the context of the technical and theological challenges of paschal computus. Like Origen they invoke the antiquity and authority of the Jewish scholars to defend their methods, but they depart from Origen in his nearly exclusive use of diabasis in favor of a balanced solution between sacrifice on 14 Nisan (diabateria) and victorious passage on “the third day” (diabasis).