The Christian Church and the Jews of the Diaspora ment to the Bible and hope of the Promised Land were not known. It also
reflects the universal assumption that the conversion of Jews was desirable,
neither obligatory on the one hand nor ruled out on racial grounds on the
other. There we must leave the story.
Given profound uncertainties about authenticity and attribution,^51 we
may merely note a letter attributed to Nilus of Ancyra, addressed to a Sa-
maritan, on biblical interpretation (Ep. , ) and another group of letters,
to a different Samaritan, on the Resurrection (, –), and as well as a fur-
ther one to a Jew named Benjamin on the Sabbath (, ). Another refers
to the claim being made by a Jew that the loss of Palestine had been due to
crimes other than the Crucifixion itself (, ).
Finally, we may note that the perception of Jewish onlookers as a hos-
tile chorus, rejoicing in Christian misfortunes or divisions, is applied also to
Constantinople. Palladius, in hisDialogue on the Life of John Chrysostom(),
records how Jews and pagans jeered at John’s expulsion in ;^52 while Nes-
torius, writing his autobiographical polemic,The Book(orBazaar)of Hera-
cleides, from his exile in Egypt, recalls that Jews, pagans, and heretics had
been roused against him in .^53 But perhaps no passing allusion catches the
tone and assumptions of the time better than Palladius’ report in hisDia-
logueon John Chrysostom () of how John’s supporters, after condemna-
tion, were escorted from Constantinople round by land to exile in Egypt and
were deliberately housed overnight by their military escorts in Samaritan or
Jewish synagogues, especially after they had passed through Tarsus in Cilicia.
Such synagogues could be assumed to be there, and being given lodging in
them was intended as a deliberate humiliation.
Conclusion
The scattered evidence, of various types, at which we have looked is obvi-
ously insufficient to allow definite conclusions. But it is coherent and tends
in the same direction. In essence what has been offered here is a return to the
implications of older collections of Christian evidence relating to Jews, by
Jean Juster, or by Marcel Simon, focusing on the Jews viewed as a hostile, or
. See Alan Cameron, ‘‘The Authenticity of the Letters of St Nilus of Ancyra,’’Gr.Rom.
andByz.St. (): . The letters are printed inPGLXXXIX, cols. –.
. See A.-M. Malingrey, ed.,Palladius, Dialogue sur la vie de Jean ChrysostomeI(Sources
Chrétiennes, ).
. Nestorius,Book of HeracleidesII., English trans. G. R. Driver and L. Hodgson (),
; French trans. F. Nau,Nestorius, Le livre d’Héraclide de Damas(), .