Nicole Petrin
The fourth century was the golden age of patristics, illustrated by towering figures such as St John Chrysostom, the Cappadocian Fathers and other eminent writers. The centuries which followed witnessed the activities of notable writers such as St John Damascene, St John Climacus, and St Maximus Confessor but the great Fathers of the Fourth Century never lost their fundamental importance.
Their writings were, however, voluminous and difficult to consult, especially in the days of hand written codices. Moreover, in the days when all writing was done on parchment (made from the skins of sheep), these codices were simply too expensive for rural churches and remote monasteries. In the ninth century, rag paper was invented: left over bits of fabric recycled into luxurious looking but affordable writing material. Fortunately, in the meantime, some unknown person had devised a method for distilling efficiently and transmitting the wealth of the Church Fathers: a running commentary to match the scriptural text.
The technique was not new: it was familiar from secular literature, in particular the Greek classics; Jewish expositors of Scriptures relied on a similar, though oral, method. Amongst Byzantine and Syriac exegetes the custom grew to compile excerpts from trusted ecclesiastical authors and organize them so that they could be read in parallel with the scriptural text. These are called chain commentaries, though scholars often prefer the technical Latin term catena (plural catenae).
Catenae provided a handy teaching guide, as well as a reference tool for the churchman preparing a treatise or a sermon. But catenae were especially useful during controversies as they supplied arguments supporting orthodoxy against various heresies. In fact, some of our most valuable collections were assembled during perods of unrest.
Nowadays catenae provide scholars with the means to reconstruct the history of texts, and of some periods of Church history where documentation is sparse. We still have remnants of iconodule catenae, anti-Nestorian catenae, Christological catenae, and some all purpose collections titled Panarion (plural Panaria): Medicine Chests against Heresies.
Some collections were designed to be read independently, for information, inspiration or other devotional uses. In the international language of scholars, they are known as florilegia. Because these collections reminded them of the gathering of pollen by bees, the Byzantines called them "melissa" and the Slavs "pchela" (see Trifunovic below).
Most of these exegetical works survive in Greek; some in Syriac, and one famous one in Slavonic: the Izbornik of 1073, known from a Kievan copy, but South Slavic in origin. The compilers of the Izbornik proposed arguments against the Filioque, the modification imposed upon the Creed by Emperor Charlemagne at the Council of Frankfurt in 795.
During the centuries from ca 600 to 1400, catenae, florilegia and other compilations proliferated in the Byzantine world: they are distinguished by their abundance, and their variety. In fact, since books in those days were produced by hand, each compiler produced his own individual version. These were working codices, humble productions having nothing in common with prestigious creations like the Codex purpureus (see pictures on the Internet). The philologist who wishes to specialize in this field must first of all be an expert at finding rare manuscripts, usually fragments in semi-deserted monasteries in the Greek countryside. The premier codicologist of the XXth century was a French priest, the Abbe Marcel Richard, who spent many weeks almost every year visiting remote monasteries in Greece, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia. In the early sixties, Belgrade's Institute for Byzantine Studies (Vizantoloski Institut) held an international Congress for Byzantinists in Macedonia. The Abbe Richard was naturally invited and he took this opportunity to photograph Greek manuscripts which are abundant in Skopje and Ohrid. He wrote in his articles that he was delighted with his hosts' diligence in facilitating his research.
In these articles, the Abbe Richard includes charming travelogues of his trips on the back of donkeys or aboard leaky ferries in the Greek islands hunting elusive bits of catenae and other compilations. He naturally visited Mount Athos several times and on one occasion was invited to Hilandar Monastery. This was a courtesy visit: the Abbe Richard was a specialist of Greek manuscripts while Hilandar is famous for its Slavonic collections. This was in the late fifties; the newly appointed librarian of Hilandar, Father Sava, proudly showed the treasures in his care to his guest from Paris. Afterwards, the Abbe attended Vespers at which the choir was composed of professors from Belgrade's Faculty of Theology who happened to be visiting.
That was back in the fifties and the sixties. Very little work has been done in English, or recently, upon the vast, unwieldy field of catenae study. Before the devastation of World War I and the coming of communism, some philological investigations were carried out by Russian and Serbian scholars but this material is nearly inaccessible today.
Those who read French and/or German can find further leads from the citations below. These can be found in university libraries in Toronto, including one title in Serbian which I was able to locate here, though in a private library (the Pontifical Institute).
Because of the deep neglect into which catenae research has fallen, even a trained librarian would find it nearly impossible to assemble a reading list. I have prepared a brief list of books and article to be posted on my weblog: www.texttransmssion.blogspot.com.
Devresse, Robert. "\Chanes exegetiques grecques." Dictionnaire de la Bible: Supplement. Paris: Letouzey et Ane, 1928. I:1084-1234.
Faulhaber, Michel. "Katenen und Katenenforschung." Byzantinische Zeitschrift. 18 (1909) 383-395.
Karo, Georg, and Johann Lietzmann. "\Catenarum Graecarum Catalogus." Nachrichten von der Koeniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft zu Goettingen. Philologisch-historische Klasse. 1 (1902) Part I: 1-66; Part II:299-350; Part III:559-610.
Richard, Marcel. "Florileges spirituels grecs." Dictionnaire de spiritualite.
Speranski, Mikhail Nestorovich, editor. Pchela: Serbische und bulgarische Florilegien. 1904; reprint Munich: Funk, 1970.
Stanojevic, St., and Dusan Glumac. Sv. Pismo u nasim starim spomenicima. Srpska Kral\jevska Akademija. Posebna izdan\ja, 89. Drustveni i istorijski spisi, 39. Belgrade: Narodna Stamparija, 1932.
Trifunovic, D\jord\je. "Pcela." Azbucnik srpskih sredn\jovekovnih kn\jizevnih pojmova. 2d edition. Belgrade: Nolit, 1990. Pages 300-301.
