Abstract
ABSTRACT This article pursues the changing significance associated with the ancient Greek city state (polis) in language used among Greek Christian authors of the fourth to sixth centuries CE. In classical Greek writing, the language of the polis and related terms (politeia, politeuma) play an important role in articulations of the societal contexts for the actions of the individual. Christian authors highlight the communal aspects of belonging to a polis to explain the significance of joining the Church through baptism. In the context of early monastic writing, by contrast, it is the personal ascetic achievement of the individual that comes to the fore. The polis as a point of reference is transposed to access rights to the Heavenly City that are promised as a reward at the end of time.
Highlights
This article pursues the changing significance associated with the ancient Greek city state in language used among Greek Christian authors of the fourth to sixth centuries CE
These words in the Letter to the Philippians 3:20 that is attributed to the Apostle Paul invoke the language of city, citizenship and civic conduct to highlight the contrast between the current life with its toils and the life to come with its rewards
During the second and third centuries, when Christians were a minority subjected to sporadic persecution, Christian authors, especially apologists, invoked this passage in order to highlight that, while being law-abiding citizens and loyal subjects of the Roman emperor, Christians should live in anticipation of the Heavenly City, often imagined as the Heavenly Jerusalem
Summary
To cite this article: Claudia Rapp (2019): Monastic Jargon and Citizenship Language in Late Antiquity, Al-Masāq, DOI: 10.1080/09503110.2019.1675027 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2019.1675027 Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=calm20
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