'Virgins of God' - The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity (Paperback, 1st Paperback Ed)

Situated in a period that witnessed the genesis of institutions that have lasted to this day, this path-breaking study looks at how ancient Christian women, particularly in Asia Minor and Egypt, initiated ascetic ways of living, and how these practices were then institutionalized. Susanna Elm demonstrates that-in direct contrast to later conceptions-asceticism began primarly as an urban movement, in which women were significant protagonists. In the process, they completely transformed and expanded their roles as wife, mother, or widow: as Christian ascetics, they became `virgin wives', `virgin mothers', and `virgin widows' - with all the legal and economic implications of such a dramatic shift. As importantly, though, Christian men and women ascetics lived together. As `virgins of God' they created new families `in Christ'. No longer determined by their human bonds or human sexuality, they were `neither male nor female'. Finally, the book demonstrates how ascetic bishops - today known as saints - eventually `reformed' these early models of communal, ascetic life by dividing the `virgins of God' into monks and nuns and thus laid the foundation for the monasticism we know today.

General

Imprint:	Clarendon Press
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Oxford Classical Monographs
Release date:	1996
First published:	1996
Authors:	Susanna Elm (Assistant Professor of History)
Dimensions:	217 x 139 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	462
Edition:	1st Paperback Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-815044-2
Categories:	Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Cultural studies > History of ideas, intellectual history Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Aesthetics Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Early Church Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gender studies > Women's studies > General Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Aesthetics Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Early Church Books > Christianity > Early Church Promotions
LSN:	0-19-815044-X
Barcode:	9780198150442

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