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Popular Patristics Series #55
On Pascha: With the Fragments of Melito and Other Material Related to the Quartodecimans
The Quartodecimans were early Christians who maintained the tradition derived from Judaism, and observed Pascha on the same occasion that the Jews observed Passover. In this work, Alistair Stewart-Sykes, the leading authority on Melito and the Quartodecimans, presents a unique collection of material in a format ideal for classroom use as well as for the general reader. At the head of this collection stands a new translation of On Pascha by Melito of Sardis, a liturgical work deriving from Quartodeciman circles in Asia. Alongside this is an extensive introduction and annotation pointing out not only that parallels to Jewish practice, but also offering an analysis of the work in terms of classical rhetoric. In addition, the translator has included a selection of Melito's fragments, testimonies to Melito and other material vital for understanding the Quartodeciman liturgies from Rome, Syria, and Asia. All texts are translated, described and discussed. On Pascha is part of the POPULAR PATRISTIC SERIES.
103 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 170
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
March 31, 2024
Update: re-read just the On Pascha for Easter and was reminded how good it is. Abundant typology between the Exodus and Christ, but also the OT more generally and Christ. This, along with Irenaeus’s On the Apostolic Preaching are superb examples of the rich typological reading of Scripture at work in the early church.
Interesting to see Melito's typological reading of the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Christ. But the text of Melito's On Pascha was only about one third of the book; the rest related to introductory and historical issues, particularly related to those known as Quartodecimans because the observed the Lord's Supper on the 14 Nisan (the Jewish Passover).
Interesting to see Melito's typological reading of the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Christ. But the text of Melito's On Pascha was only about one third of the book; the rest related to introductory and historical issues, particularly related to those known as Quartodecimans because the observed the Lord's Supper on the 14 Nisan (the Jewish Passover).
December 10, 2021
The actual text of On Pascha was lovely and I liked the way that he hearkened back to the Old Testament and brought in several types of Christ into the hymnography.
There was a lot of extra material, however, which got quite long. Honestly, I don't worry too much about the Quartodecimans or who was one. Therefore, spending so much time on whether Melito was or not was not that interesting.
However, one of the fragments that was included, an article on Baptism, features this beauty: "If the sun, together with the starts and the moon, is bathed in the ocean, why should Christ not bathe in the Jordan, the King of the heavens and the ruler of creation, the sun of uprising who appeared to mortals in Hades and on earth alike, and who rose along as a sun out of heaven." Sublime.
There was a lot of extra material, however, which got quite long. Honestly, I don't worry too much about the Quartodecimans or who was one. Therefore, spending so much time on whether Melito was or not was not that interesting.
However, one of the fragments that was included, an article on Baptism, features this beauty: "If the sun, together with the starts and the moon, is bathed in the ocean, why should Christ not bathe in the Jordan, the King of the heavens and the ruler of creation, the sun of uprising who appeared to mortals in Hades and on earth alike, and who rose along as a sun out of heaven." Sublime.
December 11, 2018
Melito of Sardis, On Pascha and Fragments. Ed. Alistair Stewart-Sykes. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2001.
If you were to walk into a Pascha service in 190 AD, what you would expect? The church bulletin is listed below.
The structure of the work follows the typical Asianist oratory (16):
“Propositio/thesis: Here the orator sets out in brief what the speech will achieve. Narratio/diegema: Here the orator tells a story. In the case of a courtroom speech it might be the facts of the case, or else the background to the occasion. On a religious occasion a story relating to the god being praised, or to the feast, might be told.
Probatio/kataskeue: Here the case is proved. The diegema is shown to be true (or false!). In a courtroom speech the weight might well be found in this part of the speech.
Peroratio/epilogos: Here the orator sums up, ensuring the audience is on his side, and bringing about in the audience an emotional response proper to the occasion.”
On Pascha should be read as a liturgical text for celebrating “Easter.”
Notes (the numbers in paragraph refer to the verse sections, not to the pagination)
(9) “He is Father, in that he begets.” The subject here is clearly Christ, which makes this line very unsettling. His Melito guilty of an incipient modalism, as some allege? Maybe not, for Emmanuel is called “Father” in Isaiah 9. Though, it is not clear whom Christ is supposed to be begetting.
(11) “I shall narrate the Scriptural story.” In the OT the recitation of God’s mighty acts was itself praise.
(35) “Nothing is spoken without an analogy.” We perceive through the prototype.
(40) The people were a type. The law was the writing of analogy. The Gospel is the narrative fulfillment of the law.
(53) Melito condemns sodomy.
(65) Melito now moves from “probatio” to peroratio.
(67) He sealed our souls with his spirit, and the members of our body with his blood.”
(69) Melito points out the numerous types of Christ:
a. He was murdered in Abel.
B. Tied up in Isaac.
C. Exiled in Jacob.
D. Sold in Jospeh.
E. Exposed in Moses.
F. Slaughtered in the Lamb.
G. Hunted down in David.
H. Dishonored in the prophets.
(96) “He who hung the earth is hanging….God has been murdered.”
(99) By not lamenting the Lord, Israel now laments her firstborn. She has become the New Egypt.
Fragments
Most of these are from Eusebius. Jerome, quoting Tertullian, makes an odd reference to Melito as a “prophet,” but doesn’t clarify how this term should be glossed (Jerome, On Famous Men, 24). The fact that Tertullian, himself a moderate Montanus, speaks of Melito and “us,” certainly indicates that Tertullian, or at least some in his community, saw him as an ecstatic prophet. This appears to be Sykes’ conclusion as well (Sykes 81).
Many of the other fragments show the convoluted controversy on when to celebrate Easter. That the early church celebrated Easter isn’t up for discussion. It is one of the more universally attested points. The problem is on what date: the 14th of Nisan or on a rotating calendar.
If you were to walk into a Pascha service in 190 AD, what you would expect? The church bulletin is listed below.
The structure of the work follows the typical Asianist oratory (16):
“Propositio/thesis: Here the orator sets out in brief what the speech will achieve. Narratio/diegema: Here the orator tells a story. In the case of a courtroom speech it might be the facts of the case, or else the background to the occasion. On a religious occasion a story relating to the god being praised, or to the feast, might be told.
Probatio/kataskeue: Here the case is proved. The diegema is shown to be true (or false!). In a courtroom speech the weight might well be found in this part of the speech.
Peroratio/epilogos: Here the orator sums up, ensuring the audience is on his side, and bringing about in the audience an emotional response proper to the occasion.”
On Pascha should be read as a liturgical text for celebrating “Easter.”
Notes (the numbers in paragraph refer to the verse sections, not to the pagination)
(9) “He is Father, in that he begets.” The subject here is clearly Christ, which makes this line very unsettling. His Melito guilty of an incipient modalism, as some allege? Maybe not, for Emmanuel is called “Father” in Isaiah 9. Though, it is not clear whom Christ is supposed to be begetting.
(11) “I shall narrate the Scriptural story.” In the OT the recitation of God’s mighty acts was itself praise.
(35) “Nothing is spoken without an analogy.” We perceive through the prototype.
(40) The people were a type. The law was the writing of analogy. The Gospel is the narrative fulfillment of the law.
(53) Melito condemns sodomy.
(65) Melito now moves from “probatio” to peroratio.
(67) He sealed our souls with his spirit, and the members of our body with his blood.”
(69) Melito points out the numerous types of Christ:
a. He was murdered in Abel.
B. Tied up in Isaac.
C. Exiled in Jacob.
D. Sold in Jospeh.
E. Exposed in Moses.
F. Slaughtered in the Lamb.
G. Hunted down in David.
H. Dishonored in the prophets.
(96) “He who hung the earth is hanging….God has been murdered.”
(99) By not lamenting the Lord, Israel now laments her firstborn. She has become the New Egypt.
Fragments
Most of these are from Eusebius. Jerome, quoting Tertullian, makes an odd reference to Melito as a “prophet,” but doesn’t clarify how this term should be glossed (Jerome, On Famous Men, 24). The fact that Tertullian, himself a moderate Montanus, speaks of Melito and “us,” certainly indicates that Tertullian, or at least some in his community, saw him as an ecstatic prophet. This appears to be Sykes’ conclusion as well (Sykes 81).
Many of the other fragments show the convoluted controversy on when to celebrate Easter. That the early church celebrated Easter isn’t up for discussion. It is one of the more universally attested points. The problem is on what date: the 14th of Nisan or on a rotating calendar.
August 26, 2023
On Pascha is an Easter liturgy from the second century. Melito of Sardis was a quartodeciman, who held that Easter was to be celebrated on the same day as the Jewish Passover memorial meal, on the 14th day of Nisan. The liturgy therefore really draws out the parallels between the Passover and Jesus’ passion, with lots of other typology. Really good stuff!
Here’s a flavour:
“This is the one who clad death in shame
And, as Moses did to Pharaoh,
Made the devil grieve.
This is the one who struck down lawlessness
And made injustice childless,
As Moses did to Egypt.
This is the one who delivered us from slavery to freedom,
From darkness into light,
From death to life,
From tyranny into an eternal kingdom,
And made us a new priesthood
And a people everlasting for himself.
This is the Pascha of our salvation:
This is the one who in many people endured many things.
This is the one who was in Abel
Tied up in Isaac
Exiled in Jacob
Sold in Joseph
Exposed in Moses
Slaughtered in the lamb
Hunted down in David
Dishonoured in the prophets.
This is the one made flesh in a virgin
Who was hanged on a tree
Who was buried in the earth
Who was raised from the dead
Who was exalted to the heights of heaven.”
Ch68-70.
Here’s a flavour:
“This is the one who clad death in shame
And, as Moses did to Pharaoh,
Made the devil grieve.
This is the one who struck down lawlessness
And made injustice childless,
As Moses did to Egypt.
This is the one who delivered us from slavery to freedom,
From darkness into light,
From death to life,
From tyranny into an eternal kingdom,
And made us a new priesthood
And a people everlasting for himself.
This is the Pascha of our salvation:
This is the one who in many people endured many things.
This is the one who was in Abel
Tied up in Isaac
Exiled in Jacob
Sold in Joseph
Exposed in Moses
Slaughtered in the lamb
Hunted down in David
Dishonoured in the prophets.
This is the one made flesh in a virgin
Who was hanged on a tree
Who was buried in the earth
Who was raised from the dead
Who was exalted to the heights of heaven.”
Ch68-70.
August 20, 2024
An early Biblical theology of Pascha, one I will return to and rejoice through every Easter!
Read
January 31, 2022Read 2 translations for an assignment for second semester Dogmatics; this one is more poetic (which suits the repetitious style) but the other one (in The Christological Controversy) has better Scriptural footnotes, and is the actual 11 pages worth of book-page-sized text it is if you translate it as prose.
February 13, 2024
The introduction and all the extra texts on the quartodeciman controversy stuff is meh and skippable. But, “On Pascha” is gold. It is so good it is worth the price of the book, even though you can find it free on the internet.
On Pascha is an Easter poem (possibly a sermon) that explains how the Passover was ultimately fulfilled in Christ. It is one of my favorite things I have ever read in the fathers.
On Pascha is an Easter poem (possibly a sermon) that explains how the Passover was ultimately fulfilled in Christ. It is one of my favorite things I have ever read in the fathers.
Read
August 12, 2025Everyone acts gangsta about Low Christology til they read my boy Melito
Genuinely such fantastic writing, I feel like this would also go crazy in Greek based on the homily structure. Doing some research on this guy and he seems like a pretty incredible saint. Love it, wish he was more well known
Genuinely such fantastic writing, I feel like this would also go crazy in Greek based on the homily structure. Doing some research on this guy and he seems like a pretty incredible saint. Love it, wish he was more well known
October 28, 2025
Amazing!
Could be read in one sitting or studied for months. Some of the richest typology I’ve read.
Extremely devotional, theological, and worship inducing
Could be read in one sitting or studied for months. Some of the richest typology I’ve read.
Extremely devotional, theological, and worship inducing
July 15, 2016
A short, well written examination of Melito's "On Pascha", including a fresh translation of this week, as well as biographical information about Melito and his world. The Author has an "easy to read" approach, which makes this book quite accessible.
Whilst the Author argues quite well for the Liturgical Nature of "On Pascha", I still find the arguments for it being a Sermon a bit more convincing - but am in no way an expert in this area :)
This book also has a good coverage of how the Early Church viewed Passover / Pascha / Easter and I had very little knowledge of the conflict between Quartodecimans (those who celebrate on the 14th of the month wherever that occurs) and the Sunday-keepers (those who celebrate on the Sunday on or following the 14th).
I also appreciated the examination of various fragments.
Whilst this is a scholarly work, it is easy to read and very well referenced - worth a look just to read the translation of "On Pascha" in a more modern English than I had previously (many years ago).
Whilst the Author argues quite well for the Liturgical Nature of "On Pascha", I still find the arguments for it being a Sermon a bit more convincing - but am in no way an expert in this area :)
This book also has a good coverage of how the Early Church viewed Passover / Pascha / Easter and I had very little knowledge of the conflict between Quartodecimans (those who celebrate on the 14th of the month wherever that occurs) and the Sunday-keepers (those who celebrate on the Sunday on or following the 14th).
I also appreciated the examination of various fragments.
Whilst this is a scholarly work, it is easy to read and very well referenced - worth a look just to read the translation of "On Pascha" in a more modern English than I had previously (many years ago).
January 30, 2025
This is a fantastic exercise in typology and figural exegesis, as well as a shining example of very early post-apostolic hermeneutics. Melito's work here is a like a bite-size summary of Hebrews. Brief but dense, and worth meditating on. Also, the introduction, interlinear Greek text, and explanatory notes/appendices are great features in this edition.
April 14, 2020
Melito’s address is excellent and beautiful. You can definitely get by without the introduction or the historical fragments for sure, though.
Read
April 19, 2025Excellent meditation before for the Easter Vigil. Will make this an annual tradition.
April 28, 2020
I really liked the poetical aspects of Melito's liturgy. Comparing Jesus' death and resurrection to the sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22.
October 31, 2025
Beautiful 2nd-century liturgical text which was to be read during Pascha-Easter. This is one of the earliest and most detailed texts that shows how Jesus Christ fulfills the lamb of God typology from the Old Testament.
I will be praying over this one again this Easter.
I will be praying over this one again this Easter.
February 10, 2022
This fascinating little volume is a window into one particular part of the practice of the very early church. The primary text in the book, On Pascha, is dated from AD 190, which is a liturgy written for a Christian Passover practice that was considered quite old at that time (old enough to be attributed to the disciples of John).
Melito was the leader of the church in Sardis, and part of the Asian church community that included the churches in Palestine and modern-day Turkey. These were primarily churches with Jewish heritage. Unlike the western churches, these Asian churches celebrated a fast and feast in remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection that was timed in conjunction with the Jewish Passover. They were referred to as Quartodecimans, because the date of the Jewish Passover was the 14th of Nissan. The western church celebrated the remembrance of the death and resurrection on a Sunday (the Lord’s Day), but because the Jewish Calendar is Lunar, the date for Passover floated, and might be on other days. This particular controversy and its nuances aren’t that interesting or relevant to modern Christians, and seem to be an artifact from the time when most of the early Christians were also Jewish still trying to place their new beliefs and practices in the matrix of their Jewish culture.
What remains interesting is that Melito’s text shows with eloquent clarity how the early Christians read the Hebrew Bible, and the ways that they saw Christ prefigured in that text. The Liturgy that Melito writes is soaked in Hebrew scripture. The modern idea that one could be a “New Testament Christian,” with little regard or understanding of the Old Testament would have been considered the highest absurdity.
This particular volume also includes text fragments quoting Melito in other, later patristic writings, as well as references to the Quartodeciman practices in other writings of the time. Listening to these ancient Christian leaders argue and discuss these things is interesting in its own way. But the high point is the text of Melito’s liturgy, a beautiful oratory to be read at the celebration of the resurrection. Melito was clearly a well-educated, thoughtful theologian as well as a powerful communicator. His Pascha liturgy ends with this, beautiful, soaring passage:
“The Lord clothed himself with humanity,
and with suffering on behalf of the suffering one,
And bound on behalf of the one constrained,
And judged on behalf of the one convicted,
And buried on behalf of the one entombed,
He rose from the dead and cried out aloud:
“Who takes issue with me? Let him stand before me.
I set free the condemned,
I give life to the dead,
I raise up the entombed,
Who will contradict me?”
“It is I,” says the Christ,
“I am he who destroys death,
and triumphs over the enemy,
And crushes Hades,
And binds the strong man,
And bears humanity off to the heavenly heights,
It is I,” says the Christ.
“So come all families of people,
Adulterated with sin,
And receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom,
I am the Passover of salvation,
I am the lamb slaughtered for you,
I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your King.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
There shall I show you the everlasting Father.”
He it is who made the heaven and the earth,
And formed humanity in the beginning,
Who was proclaimed through the law and the prophets,
Who took flesh from a virgin,
Who was buried in the earth,
Who was raised from the dead,
And ascended to the heights of heaven,
Who sits at the right hand of the Father,
Who has the power to save all things,
Through who the Father acted from the beginning and for ever.
This is the Alpha and Omega,
This is the beginning and the end,
The ineffable beginning and the incomprehensible end.
This is the Christ,
This is the King,
This is Jesus,
This is the commander,
This is the Lord,
This is he who rose from the dead,
This is he who sits at the right hand of the Father,
He bears the Father and is bourne by Him,
To Him be the glory and the might forever,
Amen.”
Melito was the leader of the church in Sardis, and part of the Asian church community that included the churches in Palestine and modern-day Turkey. These were primarily churches with Jewish heritage. Unlike the western churches, these Asian churches celebrated a fast and feast in remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection that was timed in conjunction with the Jewish Passover. They were referred to as Quartodecimans, because the date of the Jewish Passover was the 14th of Nissan. The western church celebrated the remembrance of the death and resurrection on a Sunday (the Lord’s Day), but because the Jewish Calendar is Lunar, the date for Passover floated, and might be on other days. This particular controversy and its nuances aren’t that interesting or relevant to modern Christians, and seem to be an artifact from the time when most of the early Christians were also Jewish still trying to place their new beliefs and practices in the matrix of their Jewish culture.
What remains interesting is that Melito’s text shows with eloquent clarity how the early Christians read the Hebrew Bible, and the ways that they saw Christ prefigured in that text. The Liturgy that Melito writes is soaked in Hebrew scripture. The modern idea that one could be a “New Testament Christian,” with little regard or understanding of the Old Testament would have been considered the highest absurdity.
This particular volume also includes text fragments quoting Melito in other, later patristic writings, as well as references to the Quartodeciman practices in other writings of the time. Listening to these ancient Christian leaders argue and discuss these things is interesting in its own way. But the high point is the text of Melito’s liturgy, a beautiful oratory to be read at the celebration of the resurrection. Melito was clearly a well-educated, thoughtful theologian as well as a powerful communicator. His Pascha liturgy ends with this, beautiful, soaring passage:
“The Lord clothed himself with humanity,
and with suffering on behalf of the suffering one,
And bound on behalf of the one constrained,
And judged on behalf of the one convicted,
And buried on behalf of the one entombed,
He rose from the dead and cried out aloud:
“Who takes issue with me? Let him stand before me.
I set free the condemned,
I give life to the dead,
I raise up the entombed,
Who will contradict me?”
“It is I,” says the Christ,
“I am he who destroys death,
and triumphs over the enemy,
And crushes Hades,
And binds the strong man,
And bears humanity off to the heavenly heights,
It is I,” says the Christ.
“So come all families of people,
Adulterated with sin,
And receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom,
I am the Passover of salvation,
I am the lamb slaughtered for you,
I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your King.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
There shall I show you the everlasting Father.”
He it is who made the heaven and the earth,
And formed humanity in the beginning,
Who was proclaimed through the law and the prophets,
Who took flesh from a virgin,
Who was buried in the earth,
Who was raised from the dead,
And ascended to the heights of heaven,
Who sits at the right hand of the Father,
Who has the power to save all things,
Through who the Father acted from the beginning and for ever.
This is the Alpha and Omega,
This is the beginning and the end,
The ineffable beginning and the incomprehensible end.
This is the Christ,
This is the King,
This is Jesus,
This is the commander,
This is the Lord,
This is he who rose from the dead,
This is he who sits at the right hand of the Father,
He bears the Father and is bourne by Him,
To Him be the glory and the might forever,
Amen.”
January 4, 2025
An excellent brief treatise on the typology of the Passover (Pascha), doctrinally rich with helpful discussions of type and antitype promise and fulfilment motifs in the Old and New Testament. Melito shows his Christ-centered typological fulfilment of the Old testament as he weaves various texts together to show their fulfilment in Christ.
June 21, 2020
On Pascha is an annotated liturgical message on Pacha by Melito of Sardis. In addition to the main message, in both Greek and English, the book also contains a short scholarly introduction to Melito and the historical background of the message and some assorted fragments of Melito's letters.
The introduction sets the stage well for reading the book and fills in some helpful background knowledge, especially about the Quartodeciman controversy. The Quartodeciman controversy is about what day to celebrate Easter. Do we celebrate it on the 14th on the month regardless of day of the week, or must it always fall on a Sunday? This controversy is in the background of Melito's message given in the book.
The introduction also gives us some helpful background knowledge about Melito, e.g., he came from a Jewish background, he was a bishop, he was considered a prophet by many, and he was celibate. We are also given an overview of Melito's theology, much of which seems to come from this message. Of particular note is Melito's method of exegesis. He uses historical typology, a method where the past events were rooted in history instead of merely being used to tie into whatever observation was needed. This method is used throughout On Pascha to great effect, and the introduction is helpful in alerting us to his method of exegesis, especially to Protestant readers who may be unfamiliar with typology.
In On Pascha, Melito divides his message into four parts, each of which is clearly marked and separated by a doxology. He starts with a propositio where he gives an introduction to what the speech will cover. For Melito, this is the slaughter of sheep and the life of the Lord. In the second part, narratio, Melito tells us the story of the passover in graphic detail. The slaughter of the firstborns is told in a way to capture the horror of what has been done to the Egyptians. It includes such moving passages as:
A lowing was heard in the plains of the land, the moaning of beasts over their sucklings, the cow with sucking calf and the horse with foal, and the rest of the beasts bearing young and carrying milk, and their moaning over their first-born was bitter and piteous.
At the human loss there was howling and grief over the dead first-born, and all Egypt was stinking with unburied bodies.
It was a terrible spectacle to watch, the mothers of the Egyptians with hair undone, and fathers with minds undone, wailing terribly in the Egyptian tongue: "By evil chance we are bereaved in a moment of our first-born issue." They were beating their breasts, they were tapping time with their hands for the dance of the dead.
On Pascha 27-29
After the story of the passover is told, Melito then gives us a digression and explains his method of typology. For Melito, nothing is spoken of without an analogy or sketch. He compares stories in the Old Testament to preliminary sketches of what will be. We only get to see the full picture in Christ, but the Old Testament is filled with these sketches, or types. He gives several examples of this. The most central is the lamb being a type which is later fulfilled by Christ. He also gives Abel who was slain like Christ, Isaac who is likewise tied up, Joseph who is traded, Moses who is exposed, David who is hunted down, and the prophets who suffer. All of these are types which have their ultimate fulfillment in Christ. In his fragments 9-11, he also further expounds how Isaac prefigures Christ. Isaac was bound like Christ, but Isaac also carried his own wood to be slaughtered.
After finishing up his digression, Melito moves on to the probatio where the argument is proved. Here he tells the story of man from Adam up till Christ, showing the necessity of Christ and how Christ was foretold in the Old Testament.
Melito finishes up with a lengthy oration where he places the blame on Israel and counters with the triumph of Christ. Even though Israel has rejected Christ, he still has conquered. This is best perhaps best shown in two paragraphs
96 He who hung the earth is hanging. He who fixed the heavens in place has been fixed in place. He who laid the foundations of the universe has been laid on a tree. The master has been profaned. God has been murdered. The King of Israel has been destroyed by an Israelite right hand.
104 He it is who made the heavens and the earth, and formed humanity in the beginning, who was proclaimed through the prophets, who took flesh from a virgin, who was hung on a tree, who was buried in earth, who was raised from the dead, and ascended to the heights of heaven, who sits at the right hand of the Father, who has the power to save all things, through whom the Father acted from the beginning and for ever.
Analysis
Reading the church fathers has always been both incredibly fruitful and incredibly challenging. They have tremendous scriptural insight and knowledge, and they can see clearly the call for both justice and truth. Reading Basil the Great early in my Christian life has helped me stay rooted in both truth and justice because he, nor any of the church fathers found a dichotomy between exhorting to good works and truth in doctrine.
Reading the fathers can also be incredibly challenging as well. I am beginning to understand them better, but also to understand how different pre-modern ways of reading scripture and the world are than the one I inhabit. This makes understanding and truly reading the church fathers more needed than ever, but also harder than ever before.
Reading Melito of Sardis fits into this framework, though his writing is clearer than others (Gregory the Great and Gregory of Nyssa for example), and he gives an outline of his method which is helpful historically, but also for my own understanding of scripture. I had connected Christ as the true sacrifice in Gen 22, but Melito was able to make other connections that I had missed. I continue to believe that we need to rediscover typology to understand the scriptures well, and the church fathers contain depths we need to plump if we are to do this well.
While the typology of Melito was helpful and highlight, reading his criticisms of the Jews was unpleasant. Reading this on the other side of the holocaust and historic antisemitism makes me more aware of anti Jewish readings of scripture. To be sure, the bible does talk a great deal about Israel rejecting Christ, and Peter blames the Jewish leaders for killing God in Acts, but he also assigns blame to the Romans, and later in Acts we don't even see Jews in other cities blamed for the death of Christ. While this book is helpful and informative, I don't think the anti-Jewish stance is the correct one, something the introduction acknowledges as well.
Overall, this is a short book which provides a good look at a forgotten and neglected church father. The church fathers lived in a time and place which was alien to us. We need to listen again to the ways they saw scripture, and this book is a good way to listen to them.
The introduction sets the stage well for reading the book and fills in some helpful background knowledge, especially about the Quartodeciman controversy. The Quartodeciman controversy is about what day to celebrate Easter. Do we celebrate it on the 14th on the month regardless of day of the week, or must it always fall on a Sunday? This controversy is in the background of Melito's message given in the book.
The introduction also gives us some helpful background knowledge about Melito, e.g., he came from a Jewish background, he was a bishop, he was considered a prophet by many, and he was celibate. We are also given an overview of Melito's theology, much of which seems to come from this message. Of particular note is Melito's method of exegesis. He uses historical typology, a method where the past events were rooted in history instead of merely being used to tie into whatever observation was needed. This method is used throughout On Pascha to great effect, and the introduction is helpful in alerting us to his method of exegesis, especially to Protestant readers who may be unfamiliar with typology.
In On Pascha, Melito divides his message into four parts, each of which is clearly marked and separated by a doxology. He starts with a propositio where he gives an introduction to what the speech will cover. For Melito, this is the slaughter of sheep and the life of the Lord. In the second part, narratio, Melito tells us the story of the passover in graphic detail. The slaughter of the firstborns is told in a way to capture the horror of what has been done to the Egyptians. It includes such moving passages as:
A lowing was heard in the plains of the land, the moaning of beasts over their sucklings, the cow with sucking calf and the horse with foal, and the rest of the beasts bearing young and carrying milk, and their moaning over their first-born was bitter and piteous.
At the human loss there was howling and grief over the dead first-born, and all Egypt was stinking with unburied bodies.
It was a terrible spectacle to watch, the mothers of the Egyptians with hair undone, and fathers with minds undone, wailing terribly in the Egyptian tongue: "By evil chance we are bereaved in a moment of our first-born issue." They were beating their breasts, they were tapping time with their hands for the dance of the dead.
On Pascha 27-29
After the story of the passover is told, Melito then gives us a digression and explains his method of typology. For Melito, nothing is spoken of without an analogy or sketch. He compares stories in the Old Testament to preliminary sketches of what will be. We only get to see the full picture in Christ, but the Old Testament is filled with these sketches, or types. He gives several examples of this. The most central is the lamb being a type which is later fulfilled by Christ. He also gives Abel who was slain like Christ, Isaac who is likewise tied up, Joseph who is traded, Moses who is exposed, David who is hunted down, and the prophets who suffer. All of these are types which have their ultimate fulfillment in Christ. In his fragments 9-11, he also further expounds how Isaac prefigures Christ. Isaac was bound like Christ, but Isaac also carried his own wood to be slaughtered.
After finishing up his digression, Melito moves on to the probatio where the argument is proved. Here he tells the story of man from Adam up till Christ, showing the necessity of Christ and how Christ was foretold in the Old Testament.
Melito finishes up with a lengthy oration where he places the blame on Israel and counters with the triumph of Christ. Even though Israel has rejected Christ, he still has conquered. This is best perhaps best shown in two paragraphs
96 He who hung the earth is hanging. He who fixed the heavens in place has been fixed in place. He who laid the foundations of the universe has been laid on a tree. The master has been profaned. God has been murdered. The King of Israel has been destroyed by an Israelite right hand.
104 He it is who made the heavens and the earth, and formed humanity in the beginning, who was proclaimed through the prophets, who took flesh from a virgin, who was hung on a tree, who was buried in earth, who was raised from the dead, and ascended to the heights of heaven, who sits at the right hand of the Father, who has the power to save all things, through whom the Father acted from the beginning and for ever.
Analysis
Reading the church fathers has always been both incredibly fruitful and incredibly challenging. They have tremendous scriptural insight and knowledge, and they can see clearly the call for both justice and truth. Reading Basil the Great early in my Christian life has helped me stay rooted in both truth and justice because he, nor any of the church fathers found a dichotomy between exhorting to good works and truth in doctrine.
Reading the fathers can also be incredibly challenging as well. I am beginning to understand them better, but also to understand how different pre-modern ways of reading scripture and the world are than the one I inhabit. This makes understanding and truly reading the church fathers more needed than ever, but also harder than ever before.
Reading Melito of Sardis fits into this framework, though his writing is clearer than others (Gregory the Great and Gregory of Nyssa for example), and he gives an outline of his method which is helpful historically, but also for my own understanding of scripture. I had connected Christ as the true sacrifice in Gen 22, but Melito was able to make other connections that I had missed. I continue to believe that we need to rediscover typology to understand the scriptures well, and the church fathers contain depths we need to plump if we are to do this well.
While the typology of Melito was helpful and highlight, reading his criticisms of the Jews was unpleasant. Reading this on the other side of the holocaust and historic antisemitism makes me more aware of anti Jewish readings of scripture. To be sure, the bible does talk a great deal about Israel rejecting Christ, and Peter blames the Jewish leaders for killing God in Acts, but he also assigns blame to the Romans, and later in Acts we don't even see Jews in other cities blamed for the death of Christ. While this book is helpful and informative, I don't think the anti-Jewish stance is the correct one, something the introduction acknowledges as well.
Overall, this is a short book which provides a good look at a forgotten and neglected church father. The church fathers lived in a time and place which was alien to us. We need to listen again to the ways they saw scripture, and this book is a good way to listen to them.
March 17, 2025
Melito very poetically narrates the story of the Passover. His theology of God is close to Trinitarian. The Father and Spirit are not discussed at length, so we cannot know what he believed about the Spirit. Yet his Christology is very clearly in accordance with Nicaea and Ephesus. He speaks of the Son as the Creator, who formed all things, who delivered Israel out of Egypt, who is the eternal Word, who became incarnate in the virgin, who was exalted to the right hand of the Father, who is the Alpha and the Omega. The fragments section of this book is very helpful, too. There we find his canon list, which is very Protestant-like. Fragment 14 is particularly interesting, since it reflects very advanced Christology, distinguishing Christ’s humanity and divinity, expressing the truth of the Incarnation, while retaining the immutability and omnipresence of His divinity. The author, very reasonably, doubts whether this is an authentic fragment with later interpolations and expansions. Fragment 15 says, “He, with the Father, is the Creator, he is the one who formed humanity, he is all in all.” The author again sees this fragment as a bit suspicious.
January 30, 2017
It was actually really good, but my reasons for three stars, was primarily the theological accuracy. There is a plethora of good to say in regards to this work, which is a sermon on Jesus as the typological fulfillment of the Passover. There is a lot of good typology in here and some bad typology as well. That is typical of the church fathers to find them going back and forth between good and bad typology. Also there are some hints of early Modalism when it comes to discussing Trinitarian theology, but since Modalism wasn't really named until the 4th century, we don't want to be anachronistic towards Melito but still be careful and discerning about what they may be espousing theologically. I recommend everyone to read this. Especially around Passover.
March 29, 2018
It's rare that I enjoy reading the church "fathers" so much (The pioneer generation of Christianity). This is worth its weight in gold. Great for preparing my heart and mind for Easter; a masterpiece of rhetoric too.
October 19, 2021
This is a great edition with the Greek and English on facing pages. It’s a wonderful insight into the early Christian viewpoint of how and why Pascha (commonly called Easter today) is celebrated, and tied the First Testament to the Second Testament.
April 22, 2025
This book features a stunning Paschal text by Melito of Sardis, composed around AD 170 but only rediscovered in 1940! It likely formed part of an Easter vigil celebrated on the night of 14 Nisan, in accordance with the Quartodeciman tradition—a Christian observance rooted in Asia Minor and tracing its lineage to the apostle John. Unlike the Alexandrian and Roman churches, which fixed Pascha to a Sunday, these communities aligned their celebration with the Jewish Passover, regardless of the day of the week. While some liberal Protestant scholars initially dismissed the text as a mere homily, John Behr persuasively argues that it is a eucharistic liturgical composition, noting its references to the bread and the Christological identifications that follow
It adopts a standard Hellenistic structure of a well-oiled speech: i) introductory propositio, ii) narrative, iii) proof, iv) epilogue of recapitulation. This is the first study in 'typology'. Melito takes a type to be a prototype and a first draft. He clearly rejects any conception of the testaments as moving from 'promise to fulfilment'. He speaks to his hearers as "You, Israel". By the end of the work, his hearers have killed the Christ. Moreover, using the law, Melito has killed his congregation: "you lie dead"! We are then addressed by the resurrected Christ. After all, we must first be in the tomb if we want to be resurrected! Yet this also shows how the first Christians celebrated Jesus' suffering, death, burial, resurrection & ascension all on one day: they did not make these events out to be separate as we do today with Friday vs Sunday, and they had no Christmas celebration of the incarnation. For them, incarnation meant the passion of Christ. And in Melito's hands, the veil of Exodus is torn to reveal the crucified God: he weaves a luminous tapestry in which the blood of the Lamb stains both lintel and cross.
The translation is fantastic but you need to be very careful with the notes and the introduction. Contra the editor Alistair Stewart, Behr rightly points out there's nothing remotely suspicious about Melito calling Christ 'Father because he begets'. After all, this patrological title is straight out the key messianic text Isaiah 9! "He will be called Wonderful, Counsellor...Everlasting Father!" And Saint Paul repeatedly uses language of begetting children to describe his gospel ministry, even though he had never physically fathered anyone.
It adopts a standard Hellenistic structure of a well-oiled speech: i) introductory propositio, ii) narrative, iii) proof, iv) epilogue of recapitulation. This is the first study in 'typology'. Melito takes a type to be a prototype and a first draft. He clearly rejects any conception of the testaments as moving from 'promise to fulfilment'. He speaks to his hearers as "You, Israel". By the end of the work, his hearers have killed the Christ. Moreover, using the law, Melito has killed his congregation: "you lie dead"! We are then addressed by the resurrected Christ. After all, we must first be in the tomb if we want to be resurrected! Yet this also shows how the first Christians celebrated Jesus' suffering, death, burial, resurrection & ascension all on one day: they did not make these events out to be separate as we do today with Friday vs Sunday, and they had no Christmas celebration of the incarnation. For them, incarnation meant the passion of Christ. And in Melito's hands, the veil of Exodus is torn to reveal the crucified God: he weaves a luminous tapestry in which the blood of the Lamb stains both lintel and cross.
The translation is fantastic but you need to be very careful with the notes and the introduction. Contra the editor Alistair Stewart, Behr rightly points out there's nothing remotely suspicious about Melito calling Christ 'Father because he begets'. After all, this patrological title is straight out the key messianic text Isaiah 9! "He will be called Wonderful, Counsellor...Everlasting Father!" And Saint Paul repeatedly uses language of begetting children to describe his gospel ministry, even though he had never physically fathered anyone.
July 26, 2022
Ok, so, I didn't know this was a thing. I literally walked into this book blind knowing NOTHING about Melito or Quartodecimans or anything. Wow, ok. I know now!
This is a scholarly English translation of Melito's speech on Pascha, delivered during the ancient Christian observance of the Resurrection at the same time as the Jewish Passover. It includes a lengthy introduction on Melito and the different Paschal celebrations of the time as well as an afterward of ancient fragments concerning Melito and Quartodeciman practice.
My takeaway from this, as someone who knows nothing, is that there are scores more ancient Christian documents than I ever realized. This is from about 190 AD. That's amazing! And it was beautiful and well thought-out and fully in support of a liturgical tradition and deep theology in the ancient Church. I am struck yet again by just how much of my own religious history I don't know. The more I interact with these older works, the more humbled I become. How dare we moderns think these people were "simple"!
My only complaint is that the commentary is pretty scholarly and not written for the average layman. It presupposes knowledge on a number of things and was definitely written for use within the seminary. I would've loved something a little more accessible to the average, confused, Western reader. Ha!
Overall, I was encouraged and enlightened and definitely convicted about needing to know more history. The more ancient history I learn, the more modern theories I need to unlearn!
This is a scholarly English translation of Melito's speech on Pascha, delivered during the ancient Christian observance of the Resurrection at the same time as the Jewish Passover. It includes a lengthy introduction on Melito and the different Paschal celebrations of the time as well as an afterward of ancient fragments concerning Melito and Quartodeciman practice.
My takeaway from this, as someone who knows nothing, is that there are scores more ancient Christian documents than I ever realized. This is from about 190 AD. That's amazing! And it was beautiful and well thought-out and fully in support of a liturgical tradition and deep theology in the ancient Church. I am struck yet again by just how much of my own religious history I don't know. The more I interact with these older works, the more humbled I become. How dare we moderns think these people were "simple"!
My only complaint is that the commentary is pretty scholarly and not written for the average layman. It presupposes knowledge on a number of things and was definitely written for use within the seminary. I would've loved something a little more accessible to the average, confused, Western reader. Ha!
Overall, I was encouraged and enlightened and definitely convicted about needing to know more history. The more ancient history I learn, the more modern theories I need to unlearn!
August 27, 2025
I didn't come to this book for Melito's work on Passover, as I have read it before. I came to it to read what Stewart-Sykes had to say about it. I wanted something short, but if I wanted a fuller explanation, I probably would have been better off with his book The Lamb's High Feast. And then again, I wasn't sure I wanted to read that long a discussion of the work.
As an intro text, this one works fine. One learns who Melito was and what the basic context was and receives a short analysis of the text. Melito, Stewart-Sykes claims, was Jew with a strong background in Greek rhetorical tradition. The text itself has annotations that further explore the allusions. Following it is a collection of fragments having to do with Melito or with the Quartodeciman movement.
I think the main thing I learned is that there were, according to Stewart-Sykes, more than one type of Quartodeciman. While all kept the Pascha on the fourteenth, some kept it at the same time as certain Jewish people, while others kept it at midnight. There wasn't much discussion about whether that meant the fourteenth or the fifteenth, since there was also a controversy, among Jews, on whether to keep Passover at the start of the fourteenth or the end.
As an intro text, this one works fine. One learns who Melito was and what the basic context was and receives a short analysis of the text. Melito, Stewart-Sykes claims, was Jew with a strong background in Greek rhetorical tradition. The text itself has annotations that further explore the allusions. Following it is a collection of fragments having to do with Melito or with the Quartodeciman movement.
I think the main thing I learned is that there were, according to Stewart-Sykes, more than one type of Quartodeciman. While all kept the Pascha on the fourteenth, some kept it at the same time as certain Jewish people, while others kept it at midnight. There wasn't much discussion about whether that meant the fourteenth or the fifteenth, since there was also a controversy, among Jews, on whether to keep Passover at the start of the fourteenth or the end.
September 16, 2024
What a beautiful liturgy! 🔥🔥
#100-103
“The Lord clothed himself with humanity, and with suffering on behalf of the suffering one, and bound on behalf of the one constrained,
and judged on behalf of the one convicted,
and buried on behalf of the one entombed,
rose from the dead and cried out aloud:
“Who takes issue with me?
Let him stand before me.
I set free the condemned.
I gave life to the dead.
I raise up the entombed.
Who will contradict me?”
“It is I”, says the Christ, “I am he who destroys death,
and triumphs over the enemy,
and crushes Hades,
and binds the strong man,
and bears humanity off to the heavenly heights.”
“It is I,” says the Christ.
So come all families of people, adulterated with sin,
and receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom.
I am the Passover of salvation
I am the lamb slaughtered for you, I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your resurrection,
I am your King.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
there shall I show you the everlasting father.”
#100-103
“The Lord clothed himself with humanity, and with suffering on behalf of the suffering one, and bound on behalf of the one constrained,
and judged on behalf of the one convicted,
and buried on behalf of the one entombed,
rose from the dead and cried out aloud:
“Who takes issue with me?
Let him stand before me.
I set free the condemned.
I gave life to the dead.
I raise up the entombed.
Who will contradict me?”
“It is I”, says the Christ, “I am he who destroys death,
and triumphs over the enemy,
and crushes Hades,
and binds the strong man,
and bears humanity off to the heavenly heights.”
“It is I,” says the Christ.
So come all families of people, adulterated with sin,
and receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom.
I am the Passover of salvation
I am the lamb slaughtered for you, I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your resurrection,
I am your King.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
there shall I show you the everlasting father.”
January 29, 2023
Read this for my Divinity course, but it's pretty cool how Melito wrote this poem around 160-170 A.D. on the Passover. He writes how Christ, the sacrificial lamb, is the reality and how the Scriptures in Exodus 12 and references to the Lamb in the Old Testament are the "type". Type-coming from the Greek word meaning "to hit," shows how the prophecies of the coming Lamb, the Passover, and the sacrifices of atonement were all the "type," as in they were imprints/images of Christ's coming. Christ's death on the cross was never Plan B, but was always Plan A (Christ existed before the Fall and his death was always part of the plan even before the Fall) since the creation of the world according to this book. And therefore, Christ's coming was not a consequence of the Fall, but his death on the cross was predetermined long before the Creation. It's a pretty cool perspective on the Passover I must say.
December 6, 2025
I would highly recommend listening to the leading patristics scholar Fr. John Behr read the On Pascha homily by Melito of Sardis. He also stops throughout to explain the text. Its awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Ayt...
enjoy
ps. I know its a bit liturgically odd to read a paschal homily in the first week of advent but just hear me out... As Fr. Behr notes this homily is the earliest record of a paschal celebration. So early in fact that it was before any standardized celebration of Advent or Christmas. He makes note that there are
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Ayt...
enjoy
ps. I know its a bit liturgically odd to read a paschal homily in the first week of advent but just hear me out... As Fr. Behr notes this homily is the earliest record of a paschal celebration. So early in fact that it was before any standardized celebration of Advent or Christmas. He makes note that there are
October 31, 2022
This was referenced in a book I read about the Orthodox Church. I like reading source material and this fits the bill. The actual text is not long and included some really interesting connections with Jewish tradition, which maybe wasn’t even that well defined at the time. The commentary was helpful for me as I’m not well-versed in the early church. Striking that this was written closer to the time of Christ than I am to the US Declaration of Independence.
April 23, 2020
One of the most theologically profound homilies (or liturgical prayer, if you accept the translator's thesis) from the early church. I read this work every year during Lent in preparation for Orthodox Pascha. The work deals with the power and causes of the atonement from an early Jewish Christian perspective, as Melito of Sardis was of the Quartodeciman wing of early Chrstianity.
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