The Jews of the Graeco-Roman Diaspora are not directed against the Jews of Antioch as such, but against Christians
from his congregation who allowed themselves to be drawn into participat-
ing in the Jewish festivals, both the season of High Festivals—New Year with
its trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles—in the autumn, and
Passover in the spring. We should not miss the significance of this evidence
that the annual cycle of festivals was indeed observed by the synagogue com-
munity of Antioch, and in such a way as to attract the attention, favourable
or hostile, of their Christian neighbours.^85 Chrysostom reverts several times
to the destruction of the Temple, to the consequent Jewish inability to sac-
rifice, and to the failure of Julian’s attempt to restore it. But the attractions
of Judaism are strong—partly because the synagogues were revered as the
place where the Law and the Prophets were kept.^86 Catholic Christianity was
still threatened on all sides: ‘‘here we are fighting not only against Jews but
against the pagans and many heretics.’’^87
The sense of danger and rivalry which Chrysostom expresses here was
however already in the course of being answered by appropriate imperial
action. The reign of Theodosius I (–) had begun with an emphatic
assertion of the sole legality of the Catholic Church.^88 Thereafter all non-
Catholic forms of Christianity were to suffer progressive disability and op-
pression on the part of the state. Action against the pagan cults followed more
slowly and, in many places, was preceded and stimulated by local Christian
violence, led by bishops and often carried out by bands of monks. Just as
Chrysostom was delivering his warning sermons, his fellow citizen of An-
tioch, Libanius, was addressing hisOration:On Behalf of the Temples,to
Theodosius: surely imperial orders, however repressive of the pagan cults,
had never authorised the physical destruction of the temples, such as was
now being witnessed in the East? They had indeed not done so; but within
a few years orders prohibiting all forms of sacrifice or pagan cult practices
did follow.^89 If the actual destruction of temples was still not specifically
ordered, it was none the less just at this time () that imperial agents and
local Christians, acting together, destroyed the great temple of Serapis in
Alexandria. Similar acts of destruction followed elsewhere, following an ir-
discourses by P. Harkins,Saint John Chrysostom: Discourses against Judaising Christians(Fathers
of the Church , ).
. A. M. Rabello, ‘‘L’osservanza delle feste ebraiche nell’impero romano,’’ScriptaClassica
Israelica (–): .
.Discourse, , .
.Discourse, , , trans. Harkins (n. ).
.Cod.Theod.,,()and().
.Cod.Theod.,,,..; , .