From Jesus to his first followers : continuity and discontinuity : anthropological and historical perspectives /
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From Jesus to His First Followers examines to what extent early Christian groups were in continuity or discontinuity with respect to Jesus. Adriana Destro and Mauro Pesce concentrate on the transformation of religious practices. Their anthropological-historical analysis focuses on the relations between discipleship and households, on the models of contact with the supernatural world, and on cohabitation among distinct religious groups. The book highlights how Matthew uses non-Jewish instruments of legitimation, John reformulates religious experiences through symbolized domestic slavery, Paul adopts a religious practice diffused in Roman-Hellenistic environments. The book reconstructs the map of early Christian groups in the Land of Israel and explains their divergences on the basis of an original theory of the local origin of Gospels' information.
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Compilation of essays originally published by the authors in English, German, or Italian, most previously published at conferences, in journals, or as chapters of other publications. :
1 online resource (vi, 335 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [273]-324) and indexes. :
9789004337664 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
James the Just and Christian origins /
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The lack of serious and sustained investigation of the historical figure of James \'the Just\', brother of Jesus, is one of the curious oversights in modern critical study of Christian origins. James the Just and Christian Origins addresses this problem. The questions that surround this exceedingly important, yet largely ignored figure are several and complicated. Was he really the brother of Jesus? How influential was he in the early church? What was the nature of his relationship to the other apostles, especially to Paul? How did James understand Christianity's relationship to Judaism and to the people of Israel? Out of this grows a very important question: In its generative moment, was Christianity in fact as well as in its self-awareness, a species of Judaism? Contributors from several countries are currently engaged in collaborative study in James and early Jewish Christianity. James the Just and Christian Origins is the first of several planned volumes to be published.
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1 online resource (x, 299 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004267480 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Hippolytus and the Roman church in the third century : communities in tension before the emergence of a monarch-bishop /
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Allen Brent examines the significance of the Hippolytan events in the life of the Roman Church in the early third century. Developing the thesis of at least two authors in the Hippolytan corpus, he proposes a new, redactional explanation of the relation between these different authors and the theological and social tensions to which their work bears witness. Brent reconstructs a picture of the community that contextualizes both the Hippolytan literature and in particular the Statue, for which he proposes a new interpretation as a community artefact though universally misjudged as a monument to an individual. Tertullian's relationship with Callistus is finally re-assessed. This work is thus an important contribution to new understandings of a period critical both for the development of Church Order and embryonic Trinitarian Orthodoxy.
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1 online resource (xii, 611 pages, [24] pages of plates) : illustrations, facsimiles. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 541-569) and indexes. :
9789004312982 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Hellenic religion and Christianization. c. 370-529 /
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This work discusses the decline of Greek religion and the christianization of town and countryside in the eastern Roman Empire between the death of Julian the Apostate and the laws of Justinian the Great against paganism, c. 370-529. It examines such questions as the effect of the laws against sacrifice and sorcery, temple conversions, the degradation of pagan gods into daimones , the christianization of rite, and the social, political and economic background of conversion to Christianity. Several local contexts are examined in great detail: Gaza, Athens, Alexandria, Aphrodisias, central Asia Minor, northern Syria, the Nile basin, and the province of Arabia. It lays particular emphasis on the criticism of epigraphy, legal evidence, and hagiographic texts, and traces the demographic growth of Christianity and the chronology of this process in select local contexts. It also seeks to understand the behavioral patterns of conversion.
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1 online resource (xvi, 344 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004276772 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The past is prologue : the revolution of Nicene historiography /
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While there has been substantial scholarly work done on the development of Christian doctrine in the fourth and fifth centuries, very little corresponding attention has been paid to the writing of church history during this critical period. This work examines how authors began to construct the historical narrative of the "Arian" controversy and focuses on the interplay between theology and worshipping communities. Major figures such as Eusebius and Athanasius are examined, and important but overlooked figures such as an anonymous non-Nicene chronicler and Philostorgius are also included. In the introduction the book surveys recent developments in the study of "Arianism" and discusses the usefulness of the very category of an "Arian controversy." Subsequent chapters set forth the thesis that church histories are important sources for understanding the development of doctrine. A chapter is devoted to Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, especially the oft-overlooked Book X. Further chapters explore the role of Rufinus as the first extant author to write a continuation of Eusebius. The work also consciously includes marginalized non-Nicene sources, and there are chapters which examine an anonymous non-Nicene chronicler and the Ecclesiastical History of the Eunomian Philostorgius of Borissus. The book is particularly useful for persons interested in examining the development of doctrine in the fourth century from fresh perspectives. The work approaches church histories as narrative myths of community origins produced by worshipping communities standing in continuity to local schools of thought.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, 2002. :
1 online resource (xiii, 226 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-177) and index. :
9789047407836 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Sacred scripture and secular struggles /
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Twelve leading scholars have collaborated on this unique volume, bringing their biblical and patristic expertise together to show how the first followers of Jesus used their own canonical scriptures to address concerns central to life in the Roman Empire. Sacred Scripture and Secular Struggles offers an overview of how early Christians approached and appropriated biblical texts in addressing wider societal issues of imperial power, slavery, the use of wealth, suicide and other fundamental issues brought about by the convergence of empire and ecclesia.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004304567 :
1542-1295 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The earliest history of the Christian gathering : origin, development and content of the Christian gathering in the first to third centuries /
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Recent research has made a strong case for the view that Early Christian communities, sociologically considered, functioned as voluntary religious associations. This is similar to the practice of many other cultic associations in the Greco-Roman world of the first century CE. Building upon this new approach, along with a critical interpretation of all available sources, this book discusses the social and religio-historical background of the weekly gatherings of Christians and presents a fresh reconstruction of how the weekly gathering originated and developed in both form and content. The topics studied here include the origins of the observance of Sunday as the weekly Christian feast-day, the shape and meaning of the weekly gatherings of the Christian communities, and the rise of customs such as preaching, praying, singing, and the reading of texts in these meetings.
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Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Leiden University, 2009. :
1 online resource (xvii, 342 pages) : illustrations, plans. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-321) and indexes. :
9789004190702 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Fake prophecy and polluted sacraments : ecclesiastical and imperial reactions to Montanism /
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During the four centuries of its existence (ca. 165-550), Montanism, an early-Christian prophetic movement, stirred up considerable controversy. Known to its adherents as the 'New Prophecy,' its opponents viewed it as a ' fake prophecy' with 'polluted sacraments.' Accused of introducing novelty and heresy into Christianity. Montanism, in the post-Constantinian era, was also persecuted by Christian emperors. This book identifies all known opponents of Montanism, analyzes and classifies the various charges leveled against Montanism, and describes the methods used to counteract and ultimately destroy the movement. Also described are the ways in which the Montanists reacted to the opposition against them, revealing that the picture painted of the New Prophecy by its opponents was grossly distorted. Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments provides an insightful case-study of the treatment of a minority Christian movement by Church and State both before and after 'catholic' Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
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1 online resource (xxxvii, 485 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 425-444) and indexes. :
9789047421313 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Apostasie im antiken Christentum : Studien zum Glaubensabfall in altkirchlicher Theologie, Disziplin und Pastoral (4.-7. Jahrhundert n. Chr.) /
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In diesem Band untersucht Christian Hornung den Glaubensabfall im spätantiken Christentum. Im Anschluss an eine umfangreiche Hinführung, in der die Apostasie in der nichtchristlichen Umwelt behandelt wird, nähert er sich dem Thema unter drei Perspektiven: Theologie, Disziplin und Pastoral. Analysiert werden theologische Erklärungsmodelle des Phänomens bei kirchlichen Autoren, seine disziplinäre Einordnung im spätantiken (Kirchen-)Recht sowie der konkrete Umgang mit Apostaten in städtischen Gemeinden. Im Gegensatz zur bisherigen altertumswissenschaftlichen Forschung kann Hornung aufzeigen, dass die Apostasie bis weit in nachkonstantinische Zeit eine grundlegende Anfrage an das sich etablierende Christentum bleibt. Die Anlage der Arbeit erlaubt zudem neue Einblicke in das Verhältnis von altkirchlichem Recht und Pastoral. In this volume, Christian Hornung examines the abandonment of faith in the Christianity of Late Antiquity. After an extensive introduction dealing with apostasy in the non-Christian world he approaches the subject from three perspectives: theology, church discipline and pastoral care. Hornung analyses the theological explanatory models of different ecclesiastical writers concerning apostasy, early (Canon) Law and concrete examples of apostates in urban parishes. In contrast with prior classical and patristic scholarship, he points out that apostasy remains a fundamental problem for Christianity in the time after Constantine the Great. Furthermore, the special composition of Hornung's work delivers new insights into the relationship between early Canon Law and pastoral care.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004324152 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Corinth, the first city of Greece : an urban history of late antique cult and religion /
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This book addresses cult and religion in the city of Corinth from the 4th to 7th centuries of our era. The work incorporates and synthesizes all available evidence, literary, archaeological and other. The interaction and conflict between Christian and non-Christian activity is placed into its urban context and seen as simultaneously existing and overlapping cultural activity. Late antique religion is defined as cult-based rather than doctrinally-based, and thus this volume focuses not on what people believed, but rather what they did. An emphasis on cult activity reveals a variety of types of interaction between groups, ranging from confrontational events at dilapidated polytheist cult sites, to full polysemous and shared cult activity at the so-called \'Fountain of the Lamps\'. Non-Christian traditions are shown to have been recognized and viable through the sixth century. The tentative conclusion is drawn that a clear definition of \'pagan\' and \'Christian\' begins at an urban level with the Christian re-monumentalization of Corinth with basilicas. The disappearance of \'pagan\' cult is best attributed to the development of a new city socially and physically based in Christianity, rather than any purely \'religious\' development.
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1 online resource (x, 173 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-170) and index. :
9789004301498 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Hellenic religion and Christianization, c. 370-529 /
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This work discusses the decline of Greek religion and the christianization of town and countryside in the eastern Roman Empire between the death of Julian the Apostate and the laws of Justinian the Great against paganism, c. 370-529. It examines such questions as the effect of the laws against sacrifice and sorcery, temple conversions, the degradation of pagan gods into daimones , the christianization of rite, and the social, political and economic background of conversion to Christianity. Several local contexts are examined in great detail: Gaza, Athens, Alexandria, Aphrodisias, central Asia Minor, northern Syria, the Nile basin, and the province of Arabia. It lays particular emphasis on the criticism of epigraphy, legal evidence, and hagiographic texts, and traces the demographic growth of Christianity and the chronology of this process in select local contexts. It also seeks to understand the behavioral patterns of conversion.
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1 online resource (xv, 430 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 387-402) and index. :
9789004276789 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Authority and identity in emerging Christianities in Asia Minor and Greece /
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This book explores how early Christian communities constructed, developed, and asserted their identity and authority in various socio-cultural contexts in Asia Minor and Greece in the first five centuries CE. With the help of the database Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae ( ICG ), special attention is given to ancient inscriptions which represent a rich and valuable source of information on the early Christians' social and religious identity, family networks, authority structures, and place and function in society. This collection of essays by various specialists of Early Christianity, Epigraphy, and Late Antiquity, offers a broad geographical survey of the expansion and socio-cultural development of Christianity/ies in Asia Minor and Greece, and sheds new light on the religious transformation of the Later Roman Empire.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004367197 :
1871-6636 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The early church in its context : essays in honor of Everett Ferguson /
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This volume honors Professor Everett Ferguson of Abilene Christian University on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday. Reflecting the interests of the honoree, the twenty-one contributions focus on various aspects of the early church and its environment. Together the articles form a broad tapestry of interrelated topics informed from the disciplines of philosophy, patristic theology, archaeology, rhetoric, art, Greco-Roman religion, and biblical studies.
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1 online resource (xviii, 362 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004267367 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The expansion of Christianity : a gazetteer of its first three centuries /
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This volume covers the geographical spread of Christianity in its first three centuries. It is arranged by continents - Asia, Europe and Africa - to show the gradual development of Christian communities down to the Council of Nicaea in 325. The area surveyed stretches from Wales to the borders of India, and from the Northern coasts of the Black Sea to the plains of Morocco. The result is a picture not only of the outward development of early Christianity but of the variety that existed within it as well.
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1 online resource (x, 407 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-385) and index. :
9789047402329 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Studies in ancient Judaism and early Christianity /
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Over the past 45 years Professor Pieter W. van der Horst contributed extensively to the study of ancient Judaism and early Christianity. The 24 papers in this volume, written since his early retirement in 2006, cover a wide range of topics, all of them concerning the religious world of Judaism and Christianity in the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Byzantine era. They reflect his research interests in Jewish epigraphy, Jewish interpretation of the Bible, Jewish prayer culture, the diaspora in Asia Minor, exegetical problems in the writings of Philo and Josephus, Samaritan history, texts from ancient Christianity which have received little attention (the poems of Cyrus of Panopolis, the Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati, the Letter of Mara bar Sarapion), and miscellanea such as the pagan myth of Jewish cannibalism, the meaning of the Greek expression 'without God,' the religious significance of sneezing in pagan antiquity, and the variety of stories about pious long-sleepers in the ancient world (pagan, Jewish, Christian).
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004271111 :
0169-734X ;
The missions of James, Peter, and Paul : tensions in early Christianity /
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The Missions of James, Peter, and Paul investigates the nature, diversity, and relationship of three early and important expressions of Judaic Christianity. It is the conviction of the contributors that the Judaic origins of the Christian movement have not been sufficiently understood in both ecclesiastical and academic circles. Comparison with contemporary Judaism is foundational and leads to the question that guides discussion: How did James relate to such prominent figures as Peter and Paul? Given James' own eminence, those relationships must have been hallmarks of his own stance and status, and they open the prospect that we might delineate James' theological perspective more precisely than otherwise possible by means of this contrast with Peter and Paul. That is the reason for the division of the present volume into two parts. The Missions of James, Peter, and Paul is presented in two parts: James and Peter, and James Paul. Several studies investigate the literary and archaeological evidence that clarifies the world in which James, Peter, and Paul lived, while other studies probe exegetical and theological aspects of the discussion.
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1 online resource (xiv, 534 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047414742 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The real Cassian revisited : monastic life, Greek Paideia, and Origenism in the sixth century /
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This is a critical analysis of texts included in Codex 573 (ninth century, Monastery of Metamorphosis, Meteora, Greece), which are published along with the present volume, in the same series. The Codex, entitled 'The Book of Monk Cassian the Roman', reveals a sixth-century heretofore unknown intellectual, namely, Cassian the Sabaite, native of Scythopolis, being its real author. By means of Medieval forgery, he has been eclipsed by a figment currently known as 'John Cassian of Marseilles', native of Scythia. Exploration reveals critical aspects of the interplay between Hellenism and Christianity, the Origenism and pseudo-Origenism of the sixth century, and Christian influence upon Neoplatonism in Late Antiquity. Cassian the Sabaite is probably the last great representative of a prolonged fruitful autumn of Late Antique Christian scholarship, who saw Hellenism as a treasured patrimony to draw on, rather than as a demon to be exorcised -which resulted in his 'second death'(Rev. 2,11). Two edition volumes are now being published along with the present monograph. One, A Newly Discovered Greek Father, Cassian the Sabaite Eclipsed by John Cassian of Marseilles (folia 1r-118v). Two, An Ancient Commentary on the Book of Revelation: A Critical Edition of the Scholia in Apocalypsin . These Scholia were falsely attributed to Origen a century ago, but their real author is Cassian the Sabaite mainly drawing on a lost commentary on the Apocalypse by Didymus the Blind, as well as on Origen, Theodoret, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, and others (folia 210v-290r).
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1 online resource (xvii, 548 pages) : color illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 443-488) and indexes. :
9789004225305 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Reconsidering Eusebius : collected papers on literary, historical, and theological issues /
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Over the last decades, Eusebius has been the focus of a great deal of attention. New light has been shed both on his writings and on his personality, which has led to a welcome re-assessment of his significance. As a result, he is no longer perceived as a mere compiler but as a powerful author who largely contributed to the construction of the orthodox Church's triumphalism. This volume seeks to contribute to the ongoing re-evaluation of Eusebius as an active participant to the construction of late antique history, theology, and literature. The result is an interdisciplinary collection of articles by an international team of scholars who offer innovative papers on one of the most important late antique author.
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Papers presented at a workshop held Mar. 3, 2008, at the Centre interdisciplinaire d'étude des religions et de la laïcité, Université libre de Bruxelles. :
1 online resource (xii, 254 pages, [12] pages of plates) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004206540 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.