Commentaries on several of the Orations of Gregory Nazianzen.

Elias

5. ELIAS of CRETE. There are several works extant ascribed to Elias Cretensis, whom Rader, Cave, Fabricius, and others, suppose to have been Elias, bishop (or rather metropolitan) of Crete, who took part in the second general council of Nicaea, A. D. 787. (Labbe, Concilia, vol. vii.) Leunclavius considers that the author was a different person from the prelate, and places the former in the sixth century or thereabout (Prooemiam in Sti Gragorii Nazianzeni Opera) Oudin, who has examined the subject most carefully, agrees with Leunclavius in distinguishing the writer from the prelate, and deduces from the internal evidence of his works that the writer lived about A. D. 1120 or 1130.

Works

He wrote:--

1. Commentaries on several of the Orations of Gregory Nazianzen.

There are several MSS. extant of these commentaries in the original Greek, but we believe they have never been printed. A Latin version of them, partly new, partly selected from former translations, was published by Billius with his Latin version of Gregory's works, and has been repeatedly reprinted.

2. A Commentary on the <foreign xml:lang="grc">Κλίμαξ</foreign>, Climax, <foreign xml:lang="la">Scala Paradisi</foreign>, or Ladder of Paraddise of Joannes or John surnanmed Scholasticus or Climacus.

This commentary, which has never been published, but is extant in MS., is described by Rader in his edition of the Climax, as very bulky. Some extracts are embodied in the Scholia of a later commentator given by Rader.

3. An Answer respecting virgins espoused before the age of puberty.

This is extant in MS. in the King's Library at Paris, in the catalogue of which the author is described as the metropolitan of Crete.

4. Answers to Dionysius the Monk on his seven different questions

Editions

given by Binefidius (Juris Orient. Libri, iii. p. 185) and Leunclavius (Jus Gr. Rom. i. p. 335).

Other Works

It is not known that any other works of his are extant. Nicolaus Commenus in his Praenotiones Mystagogicae cites other works, but they tire probably lust. One was On the Morals of the Heathens, and the others were Answers to the Monks of Corinth, To the Monks of Asea, and To the Solitary Monks. Harless incorrectly ascribes to Elias of Crete the work of Elias or Helias of Charax [see No. 4] on versification.

Further Information

Cave, Hist. Lit. vol. i. p. 641; Rader, Isgoge ad Scalam St. Joannis Climaci, prefixed to his edition of that work; Oudin, Commentarii de Scriptor. et Scriptis Ecclesiasticis, vol. ii. col. 1066, &c.; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. viii. p. 430, ix. p. 525, xi. p615; Catalogus Librorum Manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Regiae, Paris, 1740.