The Christianity of Roman North Africa provides the setting for many of the articles collected here. Several focus on the writings of Cyprian and Augustine, others on the nomenclature of the martyrs of the 2nd-3rd centuries and their cult. The development of this cult and the cult of relics, both in general, and specifically in relation to Africa and to Rome, is a key theme in the author's work. He approaches the question from a liturgical standpoint, as well as those of archaeology and hagiography, and the liturgical history of the early Church forms a further strand running through the volume.

The Irrational Augustine takes the notion of St Augustine as rigid and dogmatic Father of the Church and turns it on its head. Catherine Conybeare reads Augustine's earliest works to discover the anti-dogmatic Augustine, who values changeability and human interconnectedness and deplores social exclusion. The novelty of her book lies in taking seriously the nature of these early works as performances, through which multiple questions can be raised and multiple options explored, both in words and through their dramatic framework. The theological consequences are considerable. A very human Augustine emerges, talking and playing with friends and family, including his mother - and a very sympathetic set of ideas is the result.

This book presents a series of Dr. Blumenthal's studies on the history of Neoplatonism, from its founder Plotinus to the end of Classical Antiquity, relating especially to the Neoplatonists' doctrines about the soul. The work falls into two parts. The first deals with Plotinus and considers the soul both as part of the structure of the universe and in its capacity as the basis of the individual's vital and cognitive functions. The second part is concerned with the later history of Neoplatonism, including its end. Its main focus is the investigation of how Neoplatonic psychology was modified and developed by later philosophers, in particular the commentators on Aristotle, and used as the starting point for their Platonizing interpretations of his philosophy.

At the end of the 20th century, "postcolonialism" described the effort to understand the experience of those who had lived under colonial rule. This kind of thinking has inevitably brought about a reexamination of the rise of Christianity, which took place under Roman colonial rule. How did Rome look from the viewpoint of an ordinary Galilean in the first century of the Christian era? What should this mean for our own understanding of and relationship to Jesus of Nazareth? In the past, Jesus was often "depoliticized," treated as a religious teacher imparting timeless truths for all people. Now, however, many scholars see Jesus as a political leader whose goal was independence from Roman rule so that the people could renew their traditional way of life under the rule of God. In Render to Caesar, Christopher Bryan reexamines the attitude of the early Church toward imperial Rome. Choosing a middle road, he asserts that Jesus and the early Christians did indeed have a critique of the Roman superpower -- a critique that was broadly in line with the entire biblical and prophetic tradition. One cannot worship the biblical God, the God of Israel, he argues, and not be concerned about justice in the here and now. On the other hand, the biblical tradition does not challenge human power structures by attempting to dismantle them or replace them with other power structures. Instead, Jesus' message consistently confronts such structures with the truth about their origin and purpose. Their origin is that God permits them. Their purpose is to promote God's peace and justice. Power is understood as a gift from God, a gift that it is to be used to serve God's will and a gift that can be taken away byGod when misused. Render to Caesar transforms our understanding of early Christians and their relationship to Rome and demonstrates how Jesus' teaching continues to challenge those who live under structures of government quite different from those that would have been envisaged by the authors of the New Testament.

Constantine's life - his career, faith and relationship to the church - raises questions for Christians and for historians that cannot be ignored. Scholars continue to be intrigued with Constantine the man, the influence he wielded over the church and the paradigm that he introduced for church-state relations. Seventeen hundred years after Constantine's victory at Milvian Bridge, Rethinking Constantine reinvigorates the conversation and examines the historical sources that inform our picture of Constantine, the theological developments that occurred in the wake of his rise to power and the aspects of Constantine's legacy that have shaped church history. Rethinking Constantine reassesses our picture of Constantine through careful historical enquiry within the scope of the early Christian period.

The first set of articles in this collection is concerned with the nature of the bishop's authority in the Early Church and the sources from which it was drawn. This is seen in political terms, as in the writings of Justin Martyr, as well as spiritual ones. Charles Munier singles out Tertullian as the first to formulate a doctrine of apostolic succession, but also traces his subsequent path towards the affirmation of the authority of the Holy Spirit over that embodied in the 'Orthodox Church'. The following studies turn to a complementary area of ecclesiology, that of pastoral care. The author points to the great diversity of forms of worship and rite, from the earliest days of the Church; these, he argues, reflect a constant process of adaptation, to fit particular religious needs, and to understand such divergences it is necessary to investigate the theological motives that lay behind them. Particular topics here are those of baptism and marriage, especially the still controversial question of how and with what discretion to treat divorce and remarriage. La premiere serie d'articles de cette collection examine la nature et la source de l'autorite des evAques de l'Eglise primitive. Ceci est aborde en termes politiques, au travers d'etude sur Justin le Martyr, ainsi qu'en termes spirituels. Charles Munier, tout en reconnaissant Tertullien pour avoir ete le premier A formuler la doctrine de la succession apostolique, retrace aussi la voie parcourue ulterieurement par ce dernier vers l'affirmation de la supremacie de l'autorite du Saint Esprit sur celle representee par l'Eglise orthodoxe . Les etudes suivantes se tourent vers un domaine complementaire de l'ecclesiologie, celui de la sollicitude pastorale. L'auteur souligne la grande diversitie de liturgies et de rites qui ont toujours eu cours au sien de l'Eglise; selon lui, on voit lA le reflet d'un processus d'adaptation constant, destine a repondre A des besoins

Carol Harrison counters the assumption that Augustine of Hippo's (354-430) theology underwent a revolutionary transformation around the time he was consecrated Bishop in 396. Instead, she argues that there is a fundamental continuity in his thought and practice from the moment of his conversion in 386. The book thereby challenges the general scholarly trend to begin reading Augustine with his Confessions (396), which were begun ten years after his conversion, and refocuses attention on his earlier works, which undergird his whole theological system.

The system of numbering the years A.D. (Anni Domini, Years of the Lord) originated with Dionysius Exiguus. Dionysius drafted a 95-year table of dates for Easter beginning with the year 532 A.D. Why Dionysius chose the year that he did to number as '1' has been a source of controversy and speculation for almost 1500 years. According to the Gospel of Luke (3.1; 3.23), Jesus was baptized in the 15th year of the emperor Tiberius and was about 30 years old at the time. The 15th year of Tiberius was A.D. 29. If Jesus was 30 years old in A.D. 29, then he was born in the year that we call 2 B.C. Most ancient authorities dated the Nativity accordingly.
Alden Mosshammer provides the first comprehensive study of early Christian methods for calculating the date of Easter to have appeared in English in more than one hundred years. He offers an entirely new history of those methods, both Latin and Greek, from the earliest such calculations in the late second century until the emergence of the Byzantine era in the seventh century. From this history, Mosshammer draws the fresh hypothesis that Dionysius did not calculate or otherwise invent a new date for the birth of Jesus, instead adopting a date that was already well established in the Greek church. Mosshammer offers compelling new conclusions on the origins of the Christian era, drawing upon evidence found in the fragments of Julius Africanus, of Panodorus of Alexandria, and in the traditions of the Armenian church.

This book examines the views of Greek Church Fathers on hoarding, saving, and management of economic surplus, and their development primarily in urban centres of the Eastern Mediterranean, from the late first to the fifth century. The study shows how the approaches of Greek Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, Isidore of Pelusium, and Theodoret of Cyrrhus, to hoarding and saving intertwined with stances toward the moral and social obligations of the wealthy. It also demonstrates how these Fathers responded to conditions and practices in urban economic environments characterized by sharp inequalities. Their attitudes reflect the gradual widening of Christian congregations, but also the consequences of the socio-economic evolution of the late antique Eastern Roman Empire. Among the issues discussed in the book are the justification of wealth, alternatives to hoarding, and the reception of patristic views by contemporaries.

Discipleship - that being a Christian is about learning and discovering, acting and responding, choosing and collaborating - is both a primordial Christian theme and a re-discovery of the mid-twentieth century. But how does one discover its meaning? For some it means programmes - like turning out a product, ignoring the individuality of each's path. Others emphasize the group, forgetting that every community's richness is valuing its members' diversity. Is discipleship the way of the loner and community-ignoring? But social beings learn discipleship in communities. Community is not simply the club of like-minded individuals but should model a new way of being. To uncover what discipleship means, we must read the New Testament with the awareness that how we see the world of the early Jesus followers is radically different from the inherited theological underpinning of many churches. Discipleship and Society in the Early Churches takes our historical awareness seriously, and examines what biblical, historical, and archaeological research can tell us about discipleship today.

Is it true, as has often been claimed in recent years, that there was no real controversy in the period immediately following the Council of Nicaea? Sara Parvis, in this lively and meticulous study, argues not. She shows that the two opposing parties which had formed in support of Alexander of Alexandria and Arius in the years before Nicaea continued their activities afterwards, targeting one another with ruthless zeal at a series of synods which may look neutral but are revealed to be demonstrably partisan. Only the deaths of all the original party leaders except Marcellus of Ancyra, and the rise of Athanasius, broke the impasse which followed and allowed new political and theological configurations to form.

In our Western, post-Christendom society, much of Christianity's cultural power, privilege, and influence has eroded. But all is not lost, says bestselling author Gerald Sittser. Although the church is concerned and sobered by this cultural shift, it is also curious and teachable.

Sittser shows how the early church offers wisdom for responding creatively to the West's increasing secularization. The early Christian movement was surprisingly influential and successful in the Roman world, and so different from its two main rivals--traditional religion and Judaism--that Rome identified it as a 'third way.' Early Christians immersed themselves in the empire without significant accommodation to or isolation from the culture. They confessed Jesus as Lord and formed disciples accordingly, which helped the church grow in numbers and influence.

Sittser explores how Christians today can learn from this third way and respond faithfully, creatively, and winsomely to a world that sees Christianity as largely obsolete. Each chapter introduces historical figures, ancient texts, practices, and institutions to explain and explore the third way of the Jesus movement, which, surprising everyone, changed the world.

How did the early Church understand the relation between grace, salvation, and the person of Christ? Donald Fairbairn's persuasive study shows that, despite intense theological controversy, there was in fact a very strong consensus in the fifth century about what salvation was and who Christ needed to be in order to save people. This consensus can serve as a standard by which to judge the varied pictures of Christ which coexist in the contemporary Church.

Cyril of Alexandria (d.444) was one of the architects of Christian orthodoxy. Daniel A. Keating presents the first comprehensive account of Cyril's narrative of salvation. He offers a corrective to certain readings of Cyril and argues that Cyril presents a balanced picture of our union with Christ. The final chapter compares Cyril with Theodore of Mopsuestia, Augustine, and Leo the Great, in order to examine in brief the relationship between Eastern and Western accounts of salvation.

What terms would early Christians have used to address one another? In the first book-length study on this topic, Paul Trebilco investigates the origin, use and function of seven key self-designations: 'brothers and sisters', 'believers', 'saints', 'the assembly', 'disciples', 'the Way', and 'Christian'. In doing so, he discovers what they reveal about the identity, self-understanding and character of the early Christian movement. This study sheds light on the theology of particular New Testament authors and on the relationship of early Christian authors and communities to the Old Testament and to the wider context of the Greco-Roman world. Trebilco's writing is informed by other work in the area of sociolinguistics on the development of self-designations and labels and provides a fascinating insight into this often neglected topic.

Divine simplicity is the idea that, as the ultimate principle of the universe, God must be a non-composite unity not made up of parts or diverse attributes. The idea was appropriated by early Christian theologians from non-Christian philosophy and played a pivotal role in the development of Christian thought.
Andrew Radde-Gallwitz charts the progress of the idea of divine simplicity from the second through the fourth centuries, with particular attention to Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa, two of the most subtle writers on this topic, both instrumental in the construction of the Trinitarian doctrine proclaimed as orthodox at the Council of Constantinople in 381. He demonstrates that divine simplicity was not a philosophical appendage awkwardly attached to the early Christian doctrine of God, but a notion that enabled Christians to articulate the consistency of God as portrayed in their scriptures.
Basil and Gregory offered a unique construal of simplicity in responding to their principal doctrinal opponent, Eunomius of Cyzicus. Challenging accepted interpretations of the Cappadocian brothers and the standard account of divine simplicity in recent philosophical literature, Radde-Gallwitz argues that Basil and Gregory's achievement in transforming ideas inherited from the non-Christian philosophy of their time has an ongoing relevance for Christian theological epistemology today.

The Council of Chalcedon in 451 divided eastern Christianity, with those who were later called Syrian Orthodox among the Christians in the near eastern provinces who refused to accept the decisions of the council. These non-Chalcedonians (still better known under the misleading term Monophysites) separated from the church of the empire after Justin I attempted to enforce Chalcedon in the East in 518. Volker L. Menze historicizes the formation of the Syrian Orthodox Church in the first half of the sixth century. This volume covers the period from the accession of Justin to the second Council of Constantinople in 553. Menze begins with an exploration of imperial and papal policy from a non-Chalcedonian, eastern perspective, then discusses monks, monasteries and the complex issues surrounding non-Chalcedonian church life and sacraments. The volume concludes with a close look at the working of "collective memory" among the non-Chalcedonians and the construction of a Syrian Orthodox identity. This study is a histoire evenementielle of actual religious practice, especially concerning the Eucharist and the diptychs, and of ecclesiastical and imperial policy which modifies the traditional view of how emperors (and in the case of Theodora: empresses) ruled the late Roman/early Byzantine empire. By combining this detailed analysis of secular and ecclesiastical politics with a study of long-term strategies of memorialization, the book also focuses on deep structures of collective memory on which the tradition of the present Syrian Orthodox Church is founded.

Union and Distinction in the Thought of St Maximus the Confessor presents the writings of a key figure in Byzantine theology in the light of the themes of unity and diversity. The principle of simultaneous union and distinction forms the core of Maximus' thought, pervading every area of his theology. It can be summarized as: Things united remain distinct and without confusion in an inseparable union. As Melchisedec T r nen shows, this master theme also resonates in contemporary theological and philosophical discussions.

First published in 2002, this book offers an authoritative and accessible introduction to the New Testament and early Christian literature for all students of the Bible and the origins of Christianity. Delbert Burkett focuses on the New Testament, but also looks at a wealth of non-biblical writing to examine the history, religion and literature of Christianity in the years from 30 CE to 150 CE. The book is organized systematically with questions for in-class discussion and written assignments, step-by-step reading guides on individual works, special box features, charts, maps and numerous illustrations designed to facilitate student use. An appendix containing translations of primary texts allows instant access to the writings outside the canon. For this new edition, Burkett has reorganized and rewritten many chapters, and has also incorporated revisions throughout the text, bringing it up to date with current scholarship. This volume is designed for use as the primary textbook for one and two-semester courses on the New Testament and Early Christianity.

Recent theological scholarship has shown increasing interest in patristic exegesis. The way early Christians read scripture has attracted not only historians, but also systematic and exegetical scholars. However, the Christian reading of scripture before Origen has been neglected or, more often, dominated by Gnostic perspectives. This study uses the writings of Irenaeus to argue that there was a rich Christian engagement with scripture long before Origen and the supposed conflict between Antioch and Alexandria. This is a focused examination of specific exegetical themes that undergird Irenaeus' argument against his opponents. However, whereas many works interpret Irenaeus only as he relates to certain Gnostic teachings, this book recognizes the broader context of the second century and explores the profound questions facing early Christians in an era of martyrdom. It shows that Irenaeus is interested, not simply in expounding the original intent of individual texts, but in demonstrating how individual texts fit into the one catholic narrative of salvation. This in turn, he hopes, will cause his audience to see their place as individuals in the same narrative. Using insightful close reading of Irenaeus, allied with a firm grounding in the context in which he wrote, this book will be vital reading for scholars of the early Church as well as those with interests in patristics and the development of Christian exegesis.

Christianity in the Second Century shows how academic study on this critical period of Christian development has undergone substantial change over the last thirty years. The second century is often considered to be a time during which the Christian church moved relentlessly towards forms of institutionalisation and consolidated itself against so-called heretics. However, new perspectives have been brought within recent scholarship as the period has attracted interest from a variety of disciplines, including not only early Christian studies but also ancient Judaism and the wider world of the early imperial scholarship. This book seeks to reflect this changed scholarly landscape, and with contributions from key figures in these recent re-evaluations, it aims to enrich and stimulate further discussion.

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This book is a comprehensive survey of the history and, more particularly, of the thought of Antioch from the second to the eighth centuries of the Christian era. Dr Wallace-Hadrill traces the religious background of Antiochene Christianity and examines in detail aspects of its intellectual life: the exegesis of scripture, the interpretation of history, philosophy, and the doctrine of the nature of God as applied to an understanding of Christ and man's salvation. The community at Antioch stressed history and literalism, in self-conscious opposition to the tendency to allegorise that prevailed at Alexandria. While insisting on the divinity of Christ, they were equally adamant that no other doctrine should be allowed to compromise their central belief that Jesus was really human.

It is commonly asserted that heresy is a Christian invention that emerged in late antiquity as Christianity distinguished itself from Judaism. Heresy, Forgery, Novelty probes ancient Jewish disputes regarding religious innovation and argues that Christianity's heresiological impulse is in fact indebted to Jewish precedents. In this book, Jonathan Klawans demonstrates that ancient Jewish literature displays a profound unease regarding religious innovation. The historian Josephus condemned religious innovation outright, and later rabbis valorize the antiquity of their traditions. The Dead Sea sectarians spoke occasionally-and perhaps secretly-of a "new covenant," but more frequently masked newer ideas in rhetorics of renewal or recovery. Other ancient Jews engaged in pseudepigraphy-the false attribution of recent works to prophets of old. The flourishing of such religious forgeries further underscores the dangers associated with religious innovation. As Christianity emerged, the discourse surrounding religious novelty shifted dramatically. On the one hand, Christians came to believe that Jesus had inaugurated a "new covenant," replacing what came prior. On the other hand, Christian writers followed their Jewish predecessors in condemning heretics as dangerous innovators, and concealing new works in pseudepigraphic garb. In its open, unabashed embrace of new things, Christianity parts from Judaism. Christianity's heresiological condemnation of novelty, however, displays continuity with prior Jewish traditions. Heresy, Forgery, Novelty reconsiders and offers a new interpretation of the dynamics of the split between Judaism and Christianity.

For almost 300 years, the dominant trend in New Testament interpretation has been to read the Acts of the Apostles as a document that argues for the political possibility of harmonious co-existence between 'Rome' and the early Christian movement. Kavin Rowe argues that the time is long overdue for a sophisticated, critically constructive reappraisal. For Luke (the author of Acts), he says, politics is the embodied and concrete shape of God's apocalypse, or revelation, to the world. To understand Luke's political vision, therefore, we must examine how the narration of God's identity shapes ecclesiology: theological truth claims and the core practices of Christian communities are bound together in the very nature of things. Recognizing this interconnection requires a radical reassessment and rereading of Acts. No longer can Acts be seen as a simple apologia that articulates Christianity's harmlessness vis-a-vis Rome. Rather, in its attempt to form communities that witness to God's apocalypse, Luke's second volume is a highly charged and theologically sophisticated political document. Indeed, argues Rowe, Luke aims at nothing less than the construction of a new culture - a total pattern of life - that inherently runs counter to the constitutive aspects of Graeco-Roman society.