Late Antique Christian Research Articles

Contextualizing the Decalogue: The Invention of the Ten-Commandments in Late Ancient Christianity

This article argues that while several Decalogue precepts are mentioned in the New Testament, the Decalogue as a distinct normative category is completely absent. This goes in line with the evidence from Second Temple Jewish sources, where very limited attention is given to the Decalogue, with Philo serving as an exception. I further propose that the formation of the Decalogue as a distinct normative category comes accompanied by a specific anti-Jewish discourse, beginning in the late second century and continuing into the fourth century. Authors such as Irenaeus of Lyon, Ptolemy, Aphrahat, and the anonymous author of the Syriac Book of Steps construct ‘the Decalogue’ as a category for commandments that Christians must still follow, as opposed to the rest of Law. The latter is characterized as ‘not good laws’, given to the Jews only on account of their sins.

Late Ancient Christian Anxiety over Islamic Geographies of Containment: Two Examples

In the seventh and eighth centuries CE, Christians across the Mediterranean were experiencing the consequences of the rise of Islam and its expansion. With this challenge to Christian hegemony in the eastern Mediterranean, Christian writers began to ask about the effect of Islamic expansion on their own lives, practices, and worlds to come. In this article, I aim to contextualize two examples of how late ancient Christians questioned their ability to remain Christian in the face of both Islamic captivity and assimilation: 3 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John (3 Apocr. Apoc. John) and Anastasius of Sinai’s (d. ca. 700) Questions and Answers (Questions). I divide this article into three sections. First, I place Christian anxiety over Islamic rule in conversation with Stephanie Camp’s concept of the “geography of containment” to explore how some late ancient Christians understood themselves to be geographically and spatially limited by imprisonment or enslavement. I also provide an overview of recent scholarship on Christian responses to early Islamic expansion and anxiety over enslavement, imprisonment, captivity, and assimilation to Islam. Finally, I turn to 3 Apocr. Apoc. John and Anastasius’s Questions to analyze how late ancient Christians turned to monks and patriarchs to find answers regarding the uncertainty of Christian identity under Islamic rule.

Linear, Cyclical, and Spiral? History in Fourth-Century Greek Catechists

This article delves into the previously underexplored conceptualizations of history articulated in the initiatory homilies of late fourth-century Greek catechists Cyril of Jerusalem and John Chrysostom. Grounded in their interpretation of the (Judeo-)Christian tradition, both authors conceive history as a divine narrative, constituting a coherent “history of salvation”. Metaphorically, their historical understanding can be illustrated as a spatial entity characterized through geometric imagery. A systematic analysis of their catecheses reveals that, fundamentally, both authors maintain a linear perspective on history, emphasizing divine beginning in creation and continuing through the present toward an eschatological consummation. Nonetheless, Cyril introduces more nuanced models, including cyclical depictions, notably a four-staged vision of paradise intertwined with a spiral-like conception of history. Owing seemingly to their primary objective of guiding audiences toward robust engagement with the Christian tradition and ecclesial participation, both authors refrain from addressing themes that might provoke unwarranted speculation. By presenting these insights, this article offers a novel contribution to the scholarship on late fourth-century theology of history, concurrently paving the way for historiographical exploration in modern scholarship of late antique Christian sources.

Iranianate and Syriac Christianity in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic Period ed. by Chiara Barbati and Vittorio Berti (review)

Iranianate and Syriac Christianity in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic Period ed. by Chiara Barbati and Vittorio Berti (review)

From Text to Relics: The Emergence of the Scribe-Martyr in Late Antique Christianity (Fourth Century–Seventh Century)

Abstract: This paper delves into the conflation of two prominent figures of authority in the early Christian world: the scribe-scholar and the martyr. While previous scholarship has largely examined these figures separately, this study focuses on their association and argues that they were meaningfully combined to establish a new form of textual authority. The motif of the scribe-martyr is explored in a series of Christian texts, from Pseudo-Pionius to John Moschus and late ancient hagiographic texts, tracing its origins to the fourth century. This development emerged from the growing association between the authority of written texts as physical objects and the rise of the cult of saints and their relics. In parallel with Foucault’s concept of the author-function, a distinct Christian “scribe-function” emerged within this context, i.e., discourses of authority, fictitious or historical, involving the individuals who reproduced or corrected texts. The paper posits that the motif of the scribe-martyr was then strategically employed in legal, scholarly, and institutional contexts to express faithfulness, resistance, authorization, and legitimation. As a result, this conflation contributed significantly to the attribution of holiness and authority to texts, sacred places, and religious institutions. Thus, the scribe-martyr, connected to the revered relic-texts, assumed a particularly potent role as a figure of theological authority within late ancient Christianity.

The Slow Fall of Babel: Languages and Identities in Late Antique Christianity. By Yuliya Minets

<i>The Slow Fall of Babel: Languages and Identities in Late Antique Christianity</i>. By Yuliya Minets

Christian Perfection in Basilian Monastic Hospitals from the Fourth to Sixth Centuries

The purpose of Byzantine hospitals—whether primarily curative facilities or caring hospices—has long intrigued scholars. This paper proposes a third perspective on Byzantine hospitals, suggesting that the Basilian monastic hospitals of the fourth to sixth centuries were not merely philanthropic facilities for the sick and destitute but also centers for ascetics’ spiritual growth. Basil of Caesarea incorporated charitable actions by ascetics as essential to achieving Christian perfection within the coenobitic community, developing a theology of compassion that advocated for the purification of harmful passions like anger and pride through the virtue of compassion. In the fifth and sixth centuries, Theodosius the Cenobiarch, who founded a coenobium and hospitals in the Judean Desert, upheld Basil’s idea of the purification of the soul through compassion for the sick. Additionally, the nosokomeion (hospital) of the sixth-century Monastery of Seridos in Gaza emphasized the healing of spiritual diseases through compassion for the sick, as reflected in various epistles. Thus, Basil of Caesarea’s theology of compassion in pursuit of Christian perfection was a foundational element in the emergence and development of hospital spirituality in Christian Late Antiquity.

The Intellectual World of Late Antique Christianity: Reshaping Classical Traditions. Edited by Lewis Ayres, Michael W. Champion, and Matthew R. Crawford

<i>The Intellectual World of Late Antique Christianity: Reshaping Classical Traditions</i>. Edited by Lewis Ayres, Michael W. Champion, and Matthew R. Crawford

Framing the Reading Experience of an Apocryphal Text: The Case of the 1 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John’s Titles

AbstractIt has long been recognized that paratexts – those liminal features that accompany the main text in a book – perform a primary role in interpretation since they mediate the text to the readers. They function like a commentary, trying to influence and guide readers to a better comprehension of the text. At the same time, they are artifacts of reception because in the pre-modern period, paratexts are the product of scribes and reading communities. Thus, by studying paratexts, one can have access to how the text was received and how readers shape the reading practices of subsequent users. The study of paratexts in the field of biblical studies has been a booming area of research, while the study of these features in the so-called apocryphal literature is only in its dawn. This article intends to help to remedy the situation by studying the titles of the1 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John. Since this text exerted a huge amount of influence in shaping the eschatological imagination of many Christians in Late Antiquity and given the scarce amount of information that we have on its reception, studying the paratexts of the manuscripts – titles, specifically – is the safest bet to recover its reception/interpretation and the reading practices of its readers. Based on the study of1 Apocr. Apoc. John’stitles, this article concludes that (1)1 Apocr. Apoc. Johnwas read as an apocalypse; that is, readers thought that the text mediated hitherto unknown divine knowledge; (2) readers of1 Apocr. Apoc. Johnbelieved that it was an authentic work of John the apostle and thus authoritative and true; (3) readers were guided to navigate1 Apocr. Apoc. Johnas dealing primarily with classical eschatologicaltopoi: the antichrist, the second coming, and the end of the world.

The Devil as ‘Father of Lies’: Ideas of Diabolical Deceit in the Donatist Controversy

This article examines the connections in late antique Christian thought between the ideas that heretics were inspired by the devil, and that the devil was a liar. It begins by showing that the association of the devil with lies was founded on scriptural exegesis, and that Scripture was regularly deployed in heresiologies to cement the links between the devil as ‘father of lies’, and heretics and schismatics as liars in Satan's image. It then offers a detailed case study of when, where and how accusations of direct and indirect diabolical dissimulation were made by the opposing parties of the ‘Donatist controversy’ in polemical texts produced primarily for their own side. The final part considers how these accusations were modulated in invented textual dialogues and in oral debates between the two sides, showing how direct accusations of diabolical activity made against opponents were often eschewed for more subtle insinuations of diabolical association.

Blake Leyerle, "The Narrative Shape of Emotion in the Preaching of John Chrysostom", Christianity in Late Antiquity 10, University of California Press, Oakland (California) 2020, ss. 213

Recenzja książki: Blake Leyerle, The Narrative Shape of Emotion in the Preaching of John Chrysostom, Christianity in Late Antiquity 10, University of California Press, Oakland (California) 2020.

Yuliya Minets, The Slow Fall of Babel: Languages and Identities in Late Antique Christianity (Cambridge: CUP, 2022), pp. xvi + 418. $120.00 (hb)/$36.99 (pb)

Yuliya Minets, The Slow Fall of Babel: Languages and Identities in Late Antique Christianity (Cambridge: CUP, 2022), pp. xvi + 418. $120.00 (hb)/$36.99 (pb)

Emily R. Cain, Mirrors of the Divine: Late Antique Christianity and the Vision of God (Oxford: OUP, 2023), pp. viii + 209. $83.00

Emily R. Cain, Mirrors of the Divine: Late Antique Christianity and the Vision of God (Oxford: OUP, 2023), pp. viii + 209. $83.00

Fear and Self-Truth: Parrēsia in Augustine’s Doctrine of Emotions

Fear, as a kind of human emotion, has a close relation with the ancient Greek parrēsia since it can be rendered as “fearless speech.” To investigate this concept, Foucault brings the obligation to truth and the practices of confession of early Christians in late antiquity into the spotlight, from which Augustine is, however, almost absent. The reason Foucault excludes Augustine from his study, which, on the other hand, highlights Augustine’s particularity regarding the experience of parrēsia, is his attention to cordis affectus. This paper brings the perspective of emotion theory to bear on the study of Augustine’s practice of confession. The study is divided into three parts: First, I analyse the relationship between the self-truth and God, the Truth itself, with Foucault’s study of parrēsia of early Christianity, and draw attention to Augustine’s concern with the inner emotions in confession. Second, considering Augustine’s theory of emotions, I examine how fear relates to love and how fear functions in conversion through the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, I explore how fear interacts with the disclosure and manifestation of the truth about the self in Augustine’s own conversion described in Book VIII of the Confessions. The study concludes that Augustine’s confession, a kind of parrēsia full of fear, is basically in line with the Christian experience of parrēsia in the ascetic tradition described by Foucault but that his focus on fear makes his practice of confession distinctive.

From Idols to Icons: The Rise of the Devotional Image in Early Christianity. By Robin M. Jensen. Christianity in Late Antiquity 12. Oakland: University of California Press, 2022. xx + 244 pp. $65 cloth.

From Idols to Icons: The Rise of the Devotional Image in Early Christianity. By Robin M. Jensen. Christianity in Late Antiquity 12. Oakland: University of California Press, 2022. xx + 244 pp. $65 cloth.

Mirrors of the Divine: Late Ancient Christianity and the Vision of God by Emily R. Cain (review)

Mirrors of the Divine: Late Ancient Christianity and the Vision of God by Emily R. Cain (review)

The Coptic Act of Peter in Late Antiquity: Virginity, Disability, Intertextuality

Abstract: In this essay, I argue that the Coptic Act of Peter (Papyrus Berolinensis 8502.4) is a late ancient Christian reformulation of an early Jewish temple tradition preserved in the book of 3 Maccabees , according to which God preserves the sanctity of his temple by means of divine paralysis. I argue further that the implications of this intertextual relationship ought to influence how we interpret the Act of Peter —its narrative, themes, and theology—as well as how and where we might situate this apocryphal account in history. Instead of placing the Greek original in the second or third centuries, I locate it closer to the fourth or fifth, alongside a contemporaneous surge of orthodox exhortations and treatises on virginity—most likely in the context of the varieties of "household asceticism" that were prevalent in late ancient Syria and Asia Minor.

Diversity in Late Antique Christianity: The Cultural Turn, Provincial Archaeology, and Church Building

Abstract This paper considers archaeological evidence for various aspects of early Christian church building and comes to the conclusion that diversity was an essential quality of late antique Christianity. The diversity in question is ill-attested in written sources, but becomes apparent when the material record and everyday life are taken into consideration (cultural/material/pictorial/iconic turn). Church buildings looked and functioned differently in various regions and provinces of the late Roman empire. The diversity does not appear to have been accidental, but was cultivated throughout late antiquity. It was sometimes related to, but did not depend on, differences in liturgical practice, nor was it a matter of knowledge, ability, and workshop tradition alone. Provincial diversity was maintained even when and where the metropolitan alternative was manifestly known and available and although secular art and architecture continued to uniformly emulate the capital cities. A combination of written and material evidence suggests that the diverse formal repertoire of early Christian art and architecture was chosen and decided individually, but tended to form local/provincial/regional clusters. The decision makers seem to have been guided by religious conventions as well as by personal or political allegiances, many of which appear to have been determined locally, each province or region onto itself.

Review: The Slow Fall of Babel: Languages and Identities in Late Antique Christianity, by Yuliya Minets

Review: <i>The Slow Fall of Babel: Languages and Identities in Late Antique Christianity</i>, by Yuliya Minets

Philanthropia and the Physician: Origen's Medical Defence of Christianity in the Contra Celsum

Medical metaphors abound in late antique Christian discourse, whether in the context of catechetical instruction or spiritual direction. They also played an important role in polemical confrontations between theological adversaries, as was the case in Origen of Alexandria's Contra Celsum. This article examines Origen's reception and appropriation of ancient medical learning in his mature apologetic work. By showing how the Alexandrian places clear limits on his own metaphors, I demonstrate that his usage of such concepts is crucial to his defence of the Christian position. The first section of the study focuses on Origen's treatment of the incarnation through a medical lens and his identification of relevant points of similarity and dissimilarity between Christ and the physician. In foregrounding philanthropia as a foundational virtue in the practice of medicine and in the incarnation, he challenges Celsus's identification of mercy with weakness and reframes compassion as a sign of virtue and competence. The second section examines Origen's discussion of the dynamic process of salvation, which he relates to the process of physical healing with the help of carefully chosen metaphors. Here, the characteristic techniques of Christian healing which Celsus maligns are shown to operate on principles similar to those governing medical treatments. In each instance, Origen's familiarity with and precision in employing medical concepts underscores the depth of his engagement with the discipline, whether in its speculative or practical dimensions. The nature of this engagement sheds light on the apologetic acuity of the Contra Celsum, which uses ancient medicine to defend the credibility of the Christian faith against the accusations of a learned interlocutor. It also suggests that scholars can benefit from attending more closely to the ways in which patristic authors delineated and qualified their own metaphors in constructing and communicating doctrine.