Origenes Band 6 vol.1 Homilien zum Hexateuch in Rufins Übersetzung.
Teil 1 Die Homilien zu Genesis, Exodus und Leviticus
(ed. W.A. Baehrens), Leipzig 1920, pp. 396, 397.
Origen, Homilies on Levitcus (transl. G.W. Barkley),
The Catholic University of America Press, 1990, p. 156.
Κανείς από όλους τους αγίους δεν υπάρχει που να τηρούσε μια ξεχωριστή μέρα γιορτής ή να έκανε μεγάλη γιορτή την ημέρα της γέννησής του. Κανείς δεν υπάρχει που να διασκέδαζε την ημέρα της γέννησης του γιου ή της κόρης του. Μόνο αμαρτωλοί χαίρονται με τέτοια γενέθλια. Διότι πράγματι υπάρχει στην Παλαιά Διαθήκη ο Φαραώ, ο βασιλιάς της Αιγύπτου, ο οποίος γιορτάζει την ημέρα της γέννησής του κάνοντας γιορτή, και στην Καινή Διαθήκη, ο Ηρώδης. Όμως, και οι δυο τους κηλίδωσαν τη γιορτή της γέννησής τους με έκχυση ανθρώπινου αίματος. Διότι ο Φαραώ σκότωσε τον "αρχισιτοποιό", και ο Ηρώδης τον άγιο προφήτη Ιωάννη "στη φυλακή". Αλλά οι άγιοι όχι μόνο δεν κάνουν γιορτή την ημέρα της γέννησής τους, αλλά, γεμάτοι με Άγιο Πνεύμα, καταριούνται εκείνη την ημέρα.
Also:
<Καὶ> ὁ μὲν Ἡρώδης, κρατήσας τὸν Ἰωάννην, δήσας ἀπέθετο ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ, μὴ τολμῶν πάντη ἀποκτεῖναι «τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον» καὶ ἀνελεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ· ἡ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς Τραχωνίτιδος γυνή, πονηρά τις οὖσα δόξα καὶ μοχθηρὰ (10) διδασκαλία, θυγατέρα ἐγέννησεν ὁμώνυμον, ἧς τὰ δοκοῦντα εὔρυθμα κινήματα ἀρέσαντα τῷ Ἡρώδῃ τὰ γενέσεως ἀγαπῶντι πράγματα, αἴτια γεγένηται τοῦ μηκέτι εἶναι ἐν τῷ λαῷ κεφαλὴν προφητικήν. Μέχρι δὲ τοῦ δεῦρο νομίζω τὰ δοκοῦντα κατὰ τὸν νόμον εἶναι κινήματα τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν (15) Ἰουδαίων μὴ ἄλλο τι τυγχάνειν ἢ τῆς Ἡρωδιάδος θυγατρός. Ἀλλ’ ἡ Ἡρωδιάδος ὄρχησις ἐναντία ἦν ὀρχήσει ἁγίᾳ, ἣν οἱ μὴ ὀρχησάμενοι ὀνειδισθήσονται ἀκούοντες· «Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε.» Καὶ ἐν γενεθλίοις δὲ παρανόμου βασιλεύοντος αὐτῶν λόγου ὀρχοῦνται, ὡς ἀρέσκειν ἐκείνῳ τῷ λόγῳ τὰς κινήσεις αὐτῶν. Ἐτήρησε μὲν οὖν τις τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν τὴν ἀναγεγραμμένην ἐν Γενέσει τοῦ Φαραὼ γενέθλιον καὶ διηγήσατο ὅτι ὁ φαῦλος τὰ γενέσεως ἀγαπῶν πράγματα ἑορτάζει γενέθλιον. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀπ’ ἐκείνου ταύτην εὑρόντες ἀφορμὴν ἐπ’ οὐδεμιᾶς γραφῆς εὕρομεν ὑπὸ δικαίου γενέθλιον (25) ἀγομένην. Ἄδικος γὰρ μᾶλλον ἐκείνου τοῦ Φαραὼ ὁ Ἡρώδης· καὶ γὰρ ὑπ’ ἐκείνου μὲν ἐν γενεθλίῳ ἀρχισιτοποιὸς ἀναιρεῖται, ὑπὸ δὲ τούτου Ἰωάννης, οὗ «μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν οὐδεὶς ἐγήγερται», περὶ οὗ ὁ σωτὴρ λέγει· «Ἀλλὰ τί ἐξεληλύθατε; προφήτην ἰδεῖν; ναὶ λέγω (30) ὑμῖν, καὶ περισσότερον προφήτου.»Origenes, Commentarium in evangelium Matthaei
[Εις το Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον Εξηγητικών] 10.22. *
[R. Girod, Origène. Commentaire sur l'évangile selon Matthieu, vol. 1 (Sources chrétiennes 162.
Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1970)]
3 comments:
What are the origins of birthday celebrations? And did the faithful ancient Israelites and 1st century Christians celebrate them?
In their book titled The Lore of Birthdays (1952), Ralph and Adelin Linton, gives a brief look at the history of birthday celebrations: “The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or daemon who attended his birth and watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born.” Furthermore, in the same book we read:
“[T]he idea [of birthday greetings and wishes for happiness] was rooted in magic. The working of spells for good and evil is the chief usage of witchcraft. One is especially susceptible to such spells on his birthday, as one’s personal spirits are about at that time. Dreams dreamed on the birthday eve should be remembered, for they are predictions of the future brought by the guardian spirits which hover over one’s bed on the birthday eve. Birthday greetings have power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day. Good wishes bring good fortune, but the reverse is also true, so one should avoid enemies on one’s birthday and be surrounded only by well-wishers. ‘Happy birthday’ and ‘Many happy returns of the day’ are the traditional greetings”
And:
“Birthdays are intimately linked with the stars, since without the calendar, no one could tell when to celebrate his birthday. They are also indebted to the stars in another way, for in early days the chief importance of birthday records was to enable the astrologers to chart horoscopes” (The Lore of Birthdays)
“The Egyptians… discovered to which of the gods each month and day is sacred; and found out from the day of a man’s birth, what he will meet with in the course of his life, and how he will end his days, and what sort of man he will be” (Herodotus, Persian Wars, Book II, ch. 82)
Rawlinson’s translation of Herodotus includes the following footnote: “Horoscopes were of very early use in Egypt… and Cicero speaks of the Egyptians and Chaldees predicting… a man’s destiny at his birth"...
***There is an affinity of such commemoration among the wicked as recorded in The Satanic Bible (Anton Szandor LaVey, (Air) Book of Lucifer – The Enlightenment, Avon Books, 1969, Ch XI, Religious Holidays, p. 96) regarding Birthdays:
"The highest of all holidays in the Satanic religion is the date of one’s own birthday. This is in direct contradiction to the holy of holy days of other religions, which deify a particular god who has been created in an anthropomorphic form of their own image, thereby showing that the ego is not really buried. The Satanist feels: ‘Why not really be honest and if you are going to create a god in your image, why not create that god as yourself." Every man is a god if he chooses to recognize himself as one. So, the Satanist celebrates his own birthday as the most important holiday of the year. After all, aren’t you happier about the fact that you were born than you are about the birth of someone you have never even met? Or for that matter, aside from religious holidays, why pay higher tribute to the birthday of a president or to a date in history than we do to the day we were brought into this greatest of all worlds? Despite the fact that some of us may not have been wanted, or at least were not particularly planned, we’re glad, even if no one else is, that we’re here! You should give yourself a pat on the back, buy yourself whatever you want, treat yourself like the king (or god) that you are, and generally celebrate your birthday with as much pomp and ceremony as possible."
___
Part 1
Part 2
The Jews "regarded birthday celebrations as parts of idolatrous worship . . . , and this probably on account of the idolatrous rites with which they were observed in honor of those who were regarded as the patron gods of the day on which the party was born."- M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopaedia (1882, Vol. I, p. 817)
"The later Hebrews looked on the celebration of birthdays as a part of idolatrous worship, a view which would be abundantly confirmed by what they saw of the common observances associated with these days."—The Imperial Bible-Dictionary (London, 1874), edited by Patrick Fairbairn, Vol. I, p. 225
The first century Jewish historian Josephus noted that Jewish families did not celebrate birthdays:
Nay, indeed, the law does not permit us to make festivals at the birth of our children, and thereby afford occasion of drinking to excess (Josephus. Translated by W. Whiston. Against Apion, Book II, Chapter 26. Extracted from Josephus Complete Works, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids (MI), 14th printing, 1977, p. 632).
“Early Christians [from time of Christ until the 2th century] frowned on [celebrating anyone’s birthday], which was too closely linked with pagan customs to be given the approval of the church.” - How It Started, Garrison, copyright 1972 by Abingdon Press, p. 213
The Christian Book of Why, by Dr. John C. McCollister (Lutheran minister and university professor, graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary), Jonathan David Publishers, Inc., 1983, tells us on p. 205:
"Christians of the first century did not celebrate the festival honoring the birth of Jesus - for the same reason they honored no other birthday anniversary. It was the feeling at that time by ALL Christians that the celebration of all birthdays (even the Lordâs) was a custom of the PAGANS. In an effort to divorce themselves from ALL pagan practices, the early Christians refused to set aside a date marking Jesus' birth. As a result, the first celebration of Christmas by Christians did not take place until the fourth century."�
Historian Augustus Neander writes: "The notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this period." (The History of the Christian Religion and Church, During the Three First Centuries, translated by H. J. Rose, 1848, p. 190)
Thank you for the sources.
Post a Comment