Tertullian

A monumental project which brings the English-speaking work key selections from the remarkable literature of early Christianity -- vertiable trasures of Christian faith and theology in superb translations.

A monumental project which brings the English-speaking work key selections from the remarkable literature of early Christianity -- vertiable trasures of Christian faith and theology in superb translations.

This book is the first to tackle the origins and purpose of literary religious apologetic in the first centuries of the Christian era by discussing, on their own terms, texts composed by pagan and Jewish authors as well as Christians. Previous studies of apologetic have focused primarily on the Christian apologists of the second century. These, and other Christian authors, are represented also in this volume but, in addition, experts in the religious history of the pagan world, in Judaism, and in late antique philosophy examine very different literary traditions to see to what extent techniques and motifs were shared across the religious divide. Each contributor has investigated the probable audience, the literary milieu, and the specific social, political, and cultural circumstances which elicited each apologetic text. In many cases these questions lead on to the further issue of the relation between the readers addressed by the author and the actual readers, and the extent to which a defined literary genre of apologetic developed. These studies, ranging in time from the New Testament to the early fourth century, and including novel contributions by specialists in ancient history, Jewish history, ancient philosophy, the New Testament, and patristics, will put the study of ancient religious apologetic on to a new footing.

In Church, Book, and Bishop, Peter Kaufman tells a number of stories from the early clerical history of the church to illustrate how authority came to be shared from the institutions of church, book, and bishop.

A companion volume to The Study of Liturgy, this collection examines the nature and form of individual devotion, discussing the various patterns of Christian discipleship that have evolved through the centuries. Written by contributors representing the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Free Church, and Orthodox traditions, it is the definitive study of spirituality.

The Early Christian World presents an exhaustive, erudite, and lavishly-illustrated treatment of how a small movement formed around Jesus in Galilee became the pre-eminent religion of the ancient world.Situating early Christianity within its Mediterranean social, political and religious contexts,the book charts the history of the first Christian centuries. The creation and perpetuation of Christian communities through means including mission and monasticism is then explored, as is the everyday experience of early Christians, through discussion of gender and sexuality, religious practice, communication and social structures. The intellectual (particularly theological) and artistic heritage of the period is fully considered, and a vivid picture provided of the internal and external challenges faced by early Christianity.With profiles of the most notable figures of the age, up-to-date coverage of the most important topics in the study of early Christianity and an invaluable collection of visual material., The Early Christian World is a comprehensive,a ccessible and indispensable resource for everyone studying this period.

The early Eucharist has usually been seen as sacramental eating of token bread and wine in careful or even slavish imitation of Jesus and his earliest disciples. In fact, the evidence suggests great diversity in conduct, including the use of foods, in the first few hundred years. This study describes and discusses these practices fully for the first time, and provides important new insights into the liturgical and social history of early Christianity.

In this highly original study, Veronika Grimm discusses early Christian texts dealing with food, eating and fasting. Modern day eating disorders often equate food with sin and see fasting as an attempt to regain purity, an attitude which can also be observed in early Christian beliefs in the mortification of the flesh.Describing first the historical and social context of Judaism and the Graeco-Roman world, the author then proceeds to analyse Christian attitudes towards food. Descriptions of food found in the Pauline Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles, Tertullian or Augustine are compared to contemporary Jewish or Graeco-Roman pagan texts. Thus a particular Christian mode of fasting is elaborated which influences us to the present day; ascetic fasting for the suppression of the sexual urges of the body. From Feasting to Fasting is of interest to all students of Early Christianity, and to those searching for historical roots of modern attitudes. Winner of the 1995 Routledge Ancient History Prize