The Problem of the Authorship of the Homilies on Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Attributed to St Andrew of Crete

The present article investigates the problem of the authorship of five homilies on Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple) that are attributed to St Andrew of Crete. The aim of the study is to refine the corpus of authentic works by the Cretan Bishop through comparison and analysis of textual data and manuscript evidence. The research confirms H. Chirat conclusions regarding the attribution of three of these homilies to St George of Nicomedia and one to Bl. Theophylact of Bulgaria. Particular attention is given to the homily De praesentatione (CPG 8202, BHG 1093b), previously considered authentic. For the first time, it is demonstrated that this text is a compilation of fragments from Homilia I in nativitatem beatae Mariae (CPG 8170, BHG 1082, BHG 1082a, BHG 1093a), which casts doubt on its status as a separate original work by St Andrew. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that none of the surviving homilies on the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, attributed to the Cretan saint, can be considered his genuine work. The findings help to more precisely delineate the authentic corpus of St. Andrew of Crete's homilies and contribute to the study of the Byzantine homiletic tradition.

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