On Pascha: With the Fragments of Melito and Other Material Related to the Quartodecimans (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press "Popular Patristics" Series)

On Pascha: With the Fragments of Melito and...
Translated with notes by Alistair Stewart-Sykes

 As lent began, I thought it would be a good time to read On Pascha, with its liturgical reflections on the deliverance of humanity from the bondage of sin, death and evil through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. It is certainly very much worth the brief amount of time it takes to read, and I am left with a deeper appreciation of the early Asian church's understanding of the interplay between the Passion of Jesus Christ and the "deliverance history" of the Old Testament. Nothing is random in salvation history, and Melito's typological approach is beautiful to read and reflect upon.

The actual translation is euphonic, and I actually found it more powerful when I read it aloud. This is connected to Melito's oratory power, and the superb introduction to the text gives a detailed account of how Melito's style fits into the oratory context of the second century. And speaking of the introduction, readers who have more than a devotional interest will be highly impressed with the succinct and detailed overview of the following themes: the role of Judaism in Christianity in the second century in Asia and the West; liturgical rites of Paschal (Easter) celebrations in use at the time, including the resulting controversies (namely, the Quartrodeciman); rhetorical traditions of the time; the Asian church's eschatology, Christology, liturgical rites, and much more. An extensive bibliography and index are included. Please also check out the translator's detailed The Lamb's High Feast: Melito, Peri Pascha, and the Quartodeciman Paschal Liturgy at Sardis (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae).