719The surviving opening of Severian’s homily on Cain and Abel: following the order of Genesis, he contrasts the two brothers’ offerings and presents Abel, the first righteous man and first to suffer for godliness, as an image of Christ whose blood “speaks better than Abel’s.”
disputed · Printed by Migne among the spuria of Chrysostom (PG 62); the Clavis Patrum Graecorum (Supplementum 1998) lists it as Severian of Gabala's (CPG 4208).
Standing
Not honoured as a saint or in a church calendar by the Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant traditions. Not commemorated as a saint by any of the three traditions; a bishop in communion with the church of his time, so not outside it despite his quarrel with Chrysostom.
Date
ca. 400 (approximate) · Severian preached at Constantinople about 400; the individual homily is not dated more closely.
Written at
Constantinople, Thrace (probable)
Language
Greek
Genre
homily
Reference system
section numerals as printed by Migne; where the piece has none, Migne column
SBL abbreviation
Sacr. Cain.Not yet checked
Clavis
CPG 4208 (unverified)
Text from
J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 62 (Paris, 1862), cols. 719-722 (among the spuria of Chrysostom) (Printed edition in the public domain; OCR transcription (archive.org) of public-domain page images)
Critical editions
J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 62 (Paris, 1862) (cited, not reproduced)