Hesychius the Presbyter of Jerusalem

Hesychius the Presbyter of Jerusalem is venerated as a learned father of the Church, a priest of the Holy City who devoted himself both to the ascetic life and to the study and exposition of the Holy Scriptures. He is commemorated on March 28.

According to the tradition, after mastering the Scriptures Hesychius gave himself to monastic discipline and became a prolific writer, composing numerous spiritual treatises and scriptural commentaries. His exegesis followed the allegorical and mystical method associated with the Alexandrian school, seeking a deeper spiritual sense beneath the letter of the sacred text.

Among the works ascribed to him are continuous commentaries on Leviticus, on the Psalms, and on the Gospel of Luke, together with scholia on the Twelve Minor Prophets, on Isaiah, and on Ezekiel. The commentary on Leviticus survives in full only in a Latin version. His writings are valued by scholars for preserving rare readings of the biblical text and for their place in the early history of the division of Scripture into sections.