Saint Melito of Sardis was Bishop of the Church in Sardis and a prominent ecclesiastical writer in the latter half of the second century. Indications are that he was the second Bishop of Sardis and was successor to“the angel of the Church of Sardis”(the apostle of that Church) to whom was addressed one of the apocalyptic messages. Very little is known of his life and the majority of his writings exist only in fragments and quotations fromEusebius, Polycrates, Tertullian and others. A letter of Polycrates of Ephesus to Pope Victor about 194 states that“Melito the eunuch (this is interpreted “the virgin” by Rufinus in his translation of Eusebius), whose whole walk was in the Holy Spirit”,was interred at Sardis and had been one of the great authorities in the Church of Asia who held the Quartodeciman theory (this was those Churches, primarily in Asia Minor, who celebrated Easter according to the Jewish calendar for Passover).
Saint Melito gave us the earliest indications of the Canon of the Old Testament in his writings and Saint Jerome, speaking of this canon, quotes Tertullian that Melito was esteemed as a prophet by many of the faithful. Saint Melito, also wrote an apology to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, in which he defended the Christians against accusations made against them, urged the emperor to end the persecutions of the Christians and even urged Aurelius to proclaim Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire!
In the early 20th century, there was great excitement among Christian scholars when a homily by Saint Melito on Easter, “Peri Pascha”, was discovered. This homily shows how the early Christians saw Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection foreshadowed throughout The Old Testament. Indeed, in the writings attributed to Saint Melito by Eusebius, the prolific writer Melito gave a listing of the books of The Old Testament, which Saint Melito referred to as “The Old Books”, which indicates to many scholars that the Church of Melito’s time may well have had a New Testament as well. There is also a strong indication from the fragments of Melito’s writing that exist in references by Tertullian, Eusebius, Polycrates, and others, that Saint Melito made extensive use of the Gospel of Saint John and he may have been acquainted with Saint Polycarp, Saint Ignatius of Antioch and other Early Church Fathers of his day. His writings influenced the thinking of St Irenaeus of Lyons, St Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian.
In regard to the death of Melito, there is not much information preserved or recorded. Polycrates of Ephesus, in a letter addressed to Pope Victor (AD. 196) preserved in Eusebius’ history, says,“What shall I say of Melito, whose actions’ were all guided by the operations of the Holy Spirit? Who was interred at Sardis, where he waits the resurrection and the judgement?”. From this it may be inferred that he had died some time previous to the date of this letter at Sardis, which is the place of his interment and it is believed he might have been martyred.
Melito was especially skilled in the literature of the Old Testament and was one of the most prolific authors of his time. Eusebius furnished a list of Melito’s works. While many of these works are lost, the testimony of the fathers remains to inform us how highly they were viewed. Eusebius presents some fragments of Melito’s works and some others are found in the works of different writers. Melito was a Chiliast, and believed in a Millennial reign of Christ on Earth and followed Irenaeus in his views. St Jerome and Gennadius both affirm that he was a decided millennarian and as such believed that Christ would reign for 1000 years before the coming of the final judgement.
Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Writings
(Year C). You must understand, dearly beloved, how the mystery of the Pasch is new and old, eternal and transient, corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortal. It is old according to the Law, but new according to the Word. It is transient in its prototype, but eternal in grace. It is corruptible in the immolation of the sheep, but incorruptible in the life of the Lord. It is mortal because of his burial in the earth, but immortal because of his resurrection from the dead. The Law is old, but the Word new; the prototype is transient, but grace eternal; the sheep is corruptible, the Lord incorruptible, who was sacrificed as a lamb, but rose as God. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, but he was not a sheep; he was as a lamb without voice, but he was not a lamb. The figure has passed away, the reality has come: it is God who has come in place of the lamb, man in place of the sheep, and in the man is Christ, who contains all things.
So the immolation of the sheep, and the solemn rite of the Pasch, and the letter of the Law have come to accomplishment in Christ Jesus. Everything in the old Law, and more particularly everything in the new, was directed towards him. For the Law has become the Word and the old new (each coming from Sion and Jerusalem); the commandment has become grace, and the type reality, the lamb has become Son, the sheep a man, and man has become God. Though Lord, he became man; he suffered for those who were suffering, he was bound for the captive, judged for the condemned, buried for the one who was buried; he rose from the dead and cried out: ‘Who shall contend with me? Let him stand up to face me. I have freed the condemned, brought the dead to life, raised up the buried. Who will speak against me?’ ‘I am the Christ’, he says, ‘It is I who destroyed death, who triumphed over the enemy, who trampled Hades underfoot, who bound the strong one and snatched man away to the heights of heaven; I am the Christ.’
‘Come then, all you nations of men defiled by sin, receive the forgiveness of sin. For it is I who am your forgiveness, the Pasch of your salvation, the lamb slain for you; it is I who am your ransom, your life, your resurrection, your light, your salvation, your king. I am bringing you to the heights of heaven, I will show you the Father who is from all eternity, I will raise you up with my right hand.’ (On the Pasch)
Musical Selection
The Lamb’s high banquet we await In snow-white robes of royal state, And now, the Red Sea’s channel past, To Christ our Prince we sing at last.
Upon the altar of the Cross His Body has redeemed our loss, And tasting of his precious Blood, Our life is hid with Christ in God.
That Paschal eve God’s arm was bared, The devastating angel spared; By strength of hand our hosts went free From Pharaoh’s ruthless tyranny.
Now Christ our Passover is slain, The Lamb of God that knows no stain, And he, the true unleavened Bread, Is truly our oblation made.
Maker of all, to thee we pray, Fulfil in us thy joy today; When death assails, grant, Lord, that we May share thy Paschal victory.
To thee who, dead, again dost live, All glory, Lord, thy people give, All glory to the Father be And Spirit blest, eternally. Amen.
Collect
O God,
among the ranks of holy bishops
you have numbered blessed Melito.,
who was inflamed with love for you
and was filled with the faith that overcomes the world.
Through his intercession
grant that we too may be steadfast in faith and love,
and one day take our place with him in glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
