Abstract Cultures define themselves largely by how they remember the past; the commemoration of history provides a link to bygone eras that helps determine social dynamics in the present. But not everyone remembers the past in the same manner. Not only do people champion competing historical narratives, but they also memorialize the past in different ways, such as erecting monuments, glorifying a specific person, constructing and honoring an archive, revering a symbol, holding an event that repeats periodically, maintaining an institution, and more. These various hubs of memory creation and preservation are often called “sites of memory.” This article explores how various Christian groups in the second century invested their social memory in divergent sites. These sites not only propagated differing forms of Christian expression, but also diverse notions of what it means to remember. While some championed preservation of the past, others believed that memory entailed radical innovation.

Abstract The prefixed verb superaedificare, which is a calque of ἐποικοδοµέω, governs prepositional phrases and plain cases in the Latin New Testament Epistles. The Vulgate and Old Latin manuscripts feature constructions of superaedificare in agreement with the Greek source text. However, alternative translations are attested when the biblical text is cited by early Christian writers. In citations where the biblical passage is included in the author’s text, aedificare is frequently used instead of superaedificare. By contrast, when the biblical text is quoted for the first time and its source is acknowledged, superaedificare is employed and its construction matches that of the Greek text. These citation habits show that the construction of superaedificare is a syntactical calque of the Greek source text, which is attested when the citations are marked as such but is not used when the biblical text is embedded in the patristic text.

Abstract In this article, I use John Malalas’ account of Cyrus’ two deaths – which he claimed was based on Pythagoras of Samos and Julius Africanus – as a case study for historiographical creativity in early Christian chronography. First, I detect that one of Cyrus’ deaths is calqued on Xerxes’ death in the Greek historian, Ctesias of Cnidus, and thus an original interpretation of the event. Second, I place this death story in the greater context of Malalas’ account, showing the great extent to which Malalas, or his source, has rewritten the story of Cyrus. Third, I test the death story’s attribution to Julius Africanus, which I argue is false, based on the high level of chronographic accuracy required for Africanus’ Chronographiae. Fourth and finally, I examine how Malalas was using Africanus’ authority to authenticate the dubious death story of Cyrus.

Abstract In his discussion of virtue and sin, John Chrysostom makes frequent reference to the law of nature. He defines it as a moral norm given by God at the time of creation and argues that on account of it humans know what must be done and what must not be done. This article examines the role of natural law in Chrysostom’s conception of human action, focusing on the relationship between the law and human freedom. It argues that Chrysostom draws on the philosophical idea of natural law in order to explain human moral responsibility and the capacity for good deeds. By clarifying the interplay between natural law and free choice he rejects the doctrine of determinism. It is shown that the concept of natural law is also fundamental for Chrysostom’s instruction as it provides a basis for the moral reformation of the believers’ actions and behaviour.

Abstract In his commentary on Psalm 118(LXX):73a, “Your hands made me and fashioned me” (Tract.118Ps. 10.1–8), Hilary of Poitiers provides a unique perspective on the creation of humanity and on its exceptional dignity. I will examine key aspects of Hilary’s exegesis of this verse, namely, the identification of the hands of God, the interpretation of the two verbs “made” and “fashioned”, and the connections with Genesis 1:26 and 2:7. I will also compare Hilary’s interpretation of Ps 118:73a to the views expressed by other authors such as Theophilus, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Ambrose, and Didymus, with the purpose of contextualising Hilary’s novel understanding of human dignity within the larger framework of Early Christian interpretations of Genesis.

Abstract In this paper, a detail from the Coptic Vita Pachomii is examined. The focus is on the motif of the herd without a shepherd. The text passage Zechariah 13,7 is used for comparison.