“An abandoned nest”

Chromatius mentions Jews in eighteen of his forty-three sermons, that is, in about forty percent. Chromatius explicitly stated that the Jews of the synagogue in Aquileia were just as responsible for the death of Christ and the prophets as the Jews. Use of the synagogue as a substitute for the Jewish religious community was of course a common rhetorical device in antiquity. Chromatius devoted significant attention to the synagogue as the former home of the chosen of God. In one of his more creative allegories, he described the synagogue as an abandoned nest. Chromatius's rhetorical representation of the unbelief of the Jews would have separated them from the rest of the world. Chromatius attempted to contrast the fasting of the Christians with the abstinence of the Jews. The sermon served as an explanation of the ritual which had just taken place to those who had gone through the waters.