Theodosius

During Pope Theodosius’s papacy, the Chalcedonian emperor of Constantinople, Justinian, inherited the legacy of intimate involvement in the affairs of the Church which began with Emperor Constantine (ironically at the behest of the Church). According to Coptic sources, Pope Theodosius’s predecessor, Abba Timothy, denounced (or possibly formally excommunicated) Emperor Justinian due to his affirmation of Chalcedon. With a new man in charge, Justinian thought to try and mend the fracturing of the “One Universal Church” caused by this council, so he invited Pope Theodosius to attend doctrinal conversations in Constantinople to convince him of his error. But Pope Theodosius refused to be persuaded and he reunited with the rest of the non-Chalcedonians.

Interestingly, among those non-Chalcedonians was Emperor Justinian’s wife, Empress Theodora, who sided with the non-Chalcedonians and therefore greatly empathized with Pope Theodosius. He was not allowed to return to Alexandria and was instead deposed and sent off along with some three hundred non-Chalcedonian clergy to a fortress at Derkos in Thrace, thirty miles from Constantinople, where Empress Theodora made them as comfortable as she could. Pope Theodosius died there in exile in A.D. 567 (interestingly, the location of his exile and departure is cited in the Coptic Synaxarion as being Upper Egypt, but non-Coptic sources typically agree on Constantinople). Before he died, Pope Theodosius was considered a great champion of the non-Chalcedonians, particularly after the death of Severus of Antioch. Many non-Chalcedonians even referred to themselves as Theodosians. This hymn is further evidence of his exalted status in people’s minds.

Pope Theodosius and St. John the Baptist

The hymn quotes a small portion of a very famous sermon given by Pope Theodosius about St. John. It was so well known that the 40th pope of Alexandria, John III (A.D. 681–689) refers to it about 100 years later: “For my father Abba Theodosius said in the sermon which he delivered concerning him [i.e., John the Baptist] …”

The hymn attributes the following as being derived from that sermon:

For a very beautiful scholarly homage to Pope Theodosius’s sermon on St. John the Baptist, where you can learn about the extant manuscripts, evidence of authorship, and view the Coptic text as well as an English translation of the sermon, you can review the work titled “A Panegyric on John the Baptist,” translated by K.H. Kuhn.

Contemplation on the Musical Tune of the Hymn

The tune of this beautiful hymn follows the exact tune as the hymn of the Descent of the Holy Spirit – Pi Epenvma, which we chant during the Feast of Pentecost and during the Sacrament of Matrimony.  As you can guess, nothing that the Church Fathers have prepared for praise and prayers is by accident; there is a significance to the tunes being the same for both feasts – Pentecost and Theophany.

Connection Between Theophany and Pentecost

The Feast of the Theophany celebrates the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ and marks the beginning of Christ’s ministry. Let’s draw a parallel to the feast of Pentecost:  We call this day the “Birthday of the Church” because through the descent and dwelling of the Holy Spirit with the faithful, they became one in the Body of Christ, i.e. the Church, (Eph 1:22-23; Col 1:24), and started their ministry.  This parallel carries even further with the same tune chanted during the establishment of every new church, and during the Sacrament of Matrimony. In the latter, the Holy Spirit unites husband and wife, bonding them into a new entity, and institutes a new church in their household to start their ministry to one another.  But this is not where the correlations between these feasts end.

The Alpha and the Omega: Beginning of Ministry; End of Time

In the Old Testament, the fiftieth day, which is when we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, and where the tune of this hymn is derived from, was also several feasts in one. It had several names such as the Feast of Weeks, Feast of the Harvest, and Feast of the Firstfruits (at the end of the harvest). It was one of three major feasts in which all firstborn males were to be present in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices along with the Feast of the Firstfruits (at the beginning of the harvest) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Ex 23:15-17; Deut 16:16; 2 Chr 8:12-13).

The Feast of the Firstfruits (at the beginning of the harvest) always fell on the day after the first Sabbath following the Passover. So, the Feast of Weeks, i.e. the fiftieth day, was seven weeks from the Feast of Firstfruits (Ex 34:22; Num 28:26; Deut 16:10), making it was a Sabbath of Sabbaths. Since barley appeared first amongst the crops, it was offered on the Feast of the Firstfruits (at the beginning of the harvest). But by the time of the Feast of Weeks, the wheat had appeared, and it was harvested. Thus, it was also the Feast of the Harvest and a Feast of the Firstfruits.

It is the same in the New Testament. The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ occurred on the same day as the Feast of the Firstfruits of the Jews. Therefore, the descent of the Holy Spirit occurred on the Pentecost, the fiftieth making it a reminder of the preparation for that final harvest on the last day when the general resurrection will occur, and all will be judged. Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection and when all rise from the dead on the last day and the judgment occurs, it will be the final fulfillment of the salvation of the righteous for eternal life with Christ in His kingdom, a Sabbath of Sabbaths.

Of note, the first Pentecost in the Old Testament, i.e. the fiftieth day following the first Passover, was the day that the cloud of God’s presence descended on Mount Sinai and Moses began to receive the law. Thus, the feast of Pentecost is also a celebration of God’s presence with His people. How beautiful a parallel this is: the same tune used to celebrate God’s presence with His people (Pentecost), is used to celebrate God’s manifestation to His people (Theophany).