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.
Crisis management in late antiquity (410-590 CE) : a survey of the evidence from episcopal letters /
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Pauline Allen and Bronwen Neil investigate crisis management as conducted by the increasingly important episcopal class in the 5th and 6th centuries. Their basic source is the neglected corpus of bishops' letters in Greek and Latin, the letter being the most significant mode of communication and information-transfer in the period from 410 to 590 CE. The volume brings together into a wider setting a wealth of previous international research on episcopal strategies for dealing with crises of various kinds. Six broad categories of crisis are identified and analysed: population displacement, natural disasters, religious disputes and religious violence, social abuses and the breakdown of the structures of dependence. Individual case-studies of episcopal management are provided for each of these categories. This is the first comprehensive treatment of crisis management in the late-antique world, and the first survey of episcopal letter-writing across the later Roman empire.
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1 online resource (xiii, 284 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-239) and index. :
9789004254824 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
From temple to church : destruction and renewal of local cultic topography in late antiquity /
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Destruction of temples and their transformation into churches are central symbols of late antique change in religious environment, socio-political system, and public perception. Contemporaries were aware of these events' far-reaching symbolic significance and of their immediate impact as demonstrations of political power and religious conviction. Joined in any "temple-destruction" are the meaning of the monument, actions taken, and subsequent literary discourse. Paradigms of perception, specific interests, and forms of expression of quite various protagonists clashed. Archaeologists, historians, and historians of religion illuminate "temple-destruction" from different perspectives, analysing local configurations within larger contexts, both regional and imperial, in order to find an appropriate larger perspective on this phenomenon within the late antique movement "from temple to church".
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1 online resource (xi, 378 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047443735 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Hilary of Poitiers' preface to his Opus historicum : translation and commentary /
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What precisely does Hilary's so-called Opus Historicum aim at? His Preface provides the clue. An introduction to the present edition sketches the mutilated work's discovery, tabulates its contents, and discusses problems of dating and authenticity. The English translation, which faces the Latin text, adopts some alternative readings. The Preface is elucidated in itself, and by reference to the earlier In Matthaeum . Central issues are hope and love, confessors and martyrs, imperial favours and threats, the bishop and his inner freedom. The circumspect treatment of both the reader and the subject reveals 'conscientization' of the bishops as the aim of the Opus Historicum . One of the book's excurses deals with the edict of Arles and Milan, and concludes that the nameless creed quoted by Hilary might preserve the lost edict's doctrinal preliminaries.
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1 online resource (x, 169 pages, [1] leaf of plates) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-162) and indexes. :
9789004312968 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Targums and the transmission of scripture into Judaism and Christianity /
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This collection of seventeen previously published essays and two hitherto unpublished articles examines strategies adopted by ancient Aramaic translators of the Hebrew Bible in their attempts to transmit the meaning of Scripture to their own generations. The intricate interpretations of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan feature prominently: analysis of them suggests a date for the substance of this Targum rather earlier than is commonly assumed. The biblical exegesis of Jerome (ca. 342-420 CE) often reflects Targumic interpretation of Scripture: as well as helping to date items of Jewish interpretation, Jerome's writings also witness to continuing close contacts between Christians and Jews at a crucial stage in the history of both communities. The essays also demonstrate the relationship of the Targums both to other Rabbinic texts and to early translations of the Bible like Septuagint; the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion; and the Peshitta.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047443865 :
1570-1336 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Die Apostelgeschichte und die hellenistische Geschichtsschreibung : Festschrift für Eckhard Plümacher zu seinem 65. Geburtstag /
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This volume - a Festschrift in honour of the renowned Acts-scholar Eckhard Plümacher - contains thirteen articles on Luke's Acts of the Apostles. Presented are essays concerning Luke's language and style (Alexander, Koch, Steyn, Victor), the literary and historiographical technique applied in Acts (Moessner, Koch, Lindemann), on Luke's theology / Christology (Schröter, Vouga) and on the use (and abuse) of Acts for reconstructing aspects of the history of Early Christianity (Breytenbach, Horn, Schmithals) and for constructing theology relevant to modern culture (Vouga). Furthermore it contains a critical edition and commentary of the Martyrdom of Stephen with a discussion of its relationship to Acts (Bovon/Bouvier) and a presentation and discussion of some unknown Coptic Fragments of Acts (Bethge).
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1 online resource (xii, 385 pages) :
"Bibliographie Eckhard Plümacher"-Page.
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047413882 :
0169-734X ; :
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.
Explaining Christian origins and early Judaism : contributions from cognitive and social science /
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Cognitive science of religion is a radically new paradigm in the study of religion. Apart from psychology and anthropology of religion, also historians of religion have shown increasing interest in this approach. This volume is groundbreaking in combining cognitive analysis with historical and social-scientific approaches to biblical materials, Christian origins, and early Judaism. The book is in four parts: an introduction to cognitive and social-scientific approaches, applications of cognitive science, applications of conceptual blending theory, and applications of socio-cognitive analyses. The book will be of interest for historians of religion, biblical scholars, and those working in the cognitive science of religion.
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Proceedings of a symposium held Aug.-Sept. 2005 at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047431961 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Studies on the text of the New Testament and early Christianity : essays in honour of Michael W. Holmes on the occasion of his 65th birthday /
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The collection of essays focuses on the twin areas of research undertaken by Prof. Michael W. Holmes. These are the sub-disciplines of textual criticism and the study of the Apostolic Fathers. The first part of the volume on textual criticism focuses on issues of method, the praxis of editing and collating texts, and discussions pertaining to individual variants. The second part of the volume assembles essays on the Apostolic Fathers. There is a particular focus on the person and writings of Polycarp, since this is the area of research where Prof. Holmes has worked most intensively.
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1 online resource (xxiii, 706 pages) : portrait. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004300026 :
0077-8842 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Order and (dis)order in the first Christian century : a general survey of attitudes /
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Articulate first century Mediterranean society, Jewish and Christian included, expressly favoured harmonious order in society, in individuals, in communication, and in thought. Its common basis was the patriarchal family, the rule of law, rational self-control, and rational thought. Yet there was also resistance to oppressive and unjust order in all spheres; and while law could be held educative, yet there were substantial first century critiques of law, not just Paul's, and awareness that judicial procedures could be chaotic and biassed. Strands of such dissidence appear in Jesus and in Paul, with significant relevance for any understanding of the early Christian movement(s) and contemporary Judaism(s) in Graeco-Roman context, but also with important implications for any practical reflections and application.
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1 online resource (xiii, 395 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 319-353) and indexes. :
9789004255814 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Cyril of Jerusalem : bishop and city /
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This volume deals with the episcopate of Cyril of Jerusalem (350 to 387). Its overall theme is the relationship between the city and its bishop and, in particular, Cyril's efforts to promote Jerusalem as the Christian city par excellence , by employing Jerusalem's religious symbols - the holy sites and the Cross. Apart from chapters on Jerusalem in the fourth century C.E. and on the life and works of Cyril, this study discusses important aspects and events of Cyril's episcopacy, such as his pastoral work as an urban bishop of the Jerusalem Christian community, Jerusalem's liturgy, the rebuilding of the Temple, giving a re-interpretation of the Syriac letter ascribed to Cyril about this event, and Jerusalem's and Palestine's religious landscape.
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1 online resource (xv, 214 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-207) and index. :
9789047405924 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Pre-Nicene christology in paschal contexts : the case of the divine Noetic anthropos /
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In Pre-Nicene Christology in Paschal Contexts Dragoş A. Giulea re-examines the earliest texts related to the festival of Easter in light of Second Temple traditions. Commonly portrayed as sacrificial lamb, the key actor of the paschal narrative is here designated as heavenly Kabod , Divine Image, King of the Powers, celestial Anthropos, Demiurge, Son of Man, each of these divine names implying a corresponding soteriological function. Dragoş A. Giulea indicates as well that the Greek philosophical vocabulary and certain idioms of the mystery religions inspired new categories which reshaped the traditional way of describing the nature of celestial entities and the epistemological capacities able to access these realities. Thus, the King of the Powers, or the Son of Man, is several times described as a noetic Anthropos, while initiation and noetic perception become the appropriate methods of accessing the divine.
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1 online resource (xviii, 400 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004251700 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christian origins and Hellenistic Judaism : social and literary contexts for the New Testament /
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In Christian Origins and Hellenistic Judaism , Stanley E. Porter and Andrew W. Pitts assemble an international team of scholars whose work has focused on reconstructing the social matrix for earliest Christianity through reference to Hellenistic Judaism and its literary forms. Each essay moves forward the current understanding of how primitive Christianity situated itself in relation to evolving Greco-Roman Jewish culture. Some essays focus on configuring the social context for the origins of the Jesus movement and beyond, while others assess the literary relation between early Christian and Hellenistic Jewish texts.
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1 online resource ([xi], , 619 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004236394 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A wandering Galilean : essays in honour of Seán Freyne /
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Starting his career as a scholar of the New Testament, Seán Freyne's work became synonymous with the study of Galilee in the Greek and Roman periods. His search for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of Judaism in the Greek and Roman periods and the development of the early Christian movement has led him to interface with scholars in many related disciplines. In order to do justice to the breadth of Seán Freyne's interests, this volume includes contributions from scholars in the fields of Archaeology, Ancient History, Classics, Hebrew Bible, Early Judaism, Rabbinic Judaism, Early Christianity, New Testament, and Medieval Judaism. The resulting volume demonstrates not only the honoree's interdiciplinary interests, but also the interconnectedness of these disciplines.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047427018 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Plutarch and the New Testament in Their Religio-Philosophical Contexts : Bridging Discourses in the World of the Early Roman Empire /
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How to read Plutarch in the context of New Testament studies? Almost 50 years after the seminal project on the topic led by Hans Dieter Betz, this volume elevates once again the issue's priority. Bridging discourses is a fitting description both of the religio-philosophical spirit of Plutarch, the Platonist philosopher and priest of Apollo at Delphi, and the task of bringing his writings into fruitful dialogue with the writings of the New Testament, Hellenistic Judaism, and Early Christianity. Taken together, these authors constitute the religious Platonism of the early imperial era. Contributions from the fields of New Testament, classics, philosophy, religious studies, and patristics explore various ways of how to establish these bridges.
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"Three meetings of the CHNT-group at annual meetings of the SBL from 2014-2016 were devoted to the topic of this volume.... A selection of the papers delivered at these meetings are being published in this volume, together with additional contributions." :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004505070
9789004505063
The Gospel of Thomas and Christian origins : essays on the Fifth Gospel /
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The essays collected in The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins offer a series new chapters in the history of Christianity's first century. Stephen J. Patterson, whose work on the Gospel of Thomas has circulated widely for more than two decades, argues that taking this new source seriously will require rethinking a number of basic issues, including the assumed apocalyptic origins of early Christian faith, the supposed centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection, and the role of Platonism in formulation of both orthodox and heterodox Christian theology.
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A collection of previously published essays; dates of original publication range from 1991 to 2013. :
1 online resource (xiv, 311 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004256217 :
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.