Johan Leemans: Diatribe and Scripture: the Power of Asterius of Amaseia

Sermons were (and still are!) a great medium for communicating the Christian message to a large and diverse audience. The first flowering of preaching in quantity of extant texts, we encounter in the fourth and fifth centuries. In my paper I will focus on a lesser-known Greek preacher who was active at the turn of the fourth to the fifth century: Asterius, bishop of Pontic Amaseia. Of him we have sixteen sermons extant. They show that Asterius was a powerful, vigorous homilist who preferred to be very clear to his congregation about what he thought was right or wrong in belief, doctrine or ethical practice. Soft and subtle communication was not his forte. Yet, his sermons also
clearly show him to have been a pastoral bishop, genuinely concerned about the
well-being of his flock. Sermons were vital in his self-understanding as a
bishop: he calls them "schoolrooms for the souls" of his audience.In my paper I will focus on Asterius' use of the diatribe, a rhetorical means with a long history. Drawing on some examples, I
will demonstrate how the combination of the classical diatribe and the use of
Scriptural quotations gave Asterius' preaching a unique sound. This is
especially relevant as Asterius is one of the few Greek preachers we know of
that were active in middle-sized cities, not in metropoleis like Antioch or
Constantinople. Thus, my contribution will also help to understand better Greek
patristic sermons and the modes of knowledge they display and construe.