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There was no holy king in Poland during the Middle Ages. Although the Piast polity belonged to the North-eastern European periphery (East-Central Europe and Scandinavia), where essentially all post-1000 CE polities boasted dynastic martyred holy rulers of native origin, the Piasts never elevated a member of their kin to such a position. The present article takes this puzzling exception as a point of departure to advance the argument that the episcopal holy patron of Poland of Bohemian origin – St Adalbert (c. 956–997) – may in many regards be interpreted as a version of Marshall Sahlins's stranger-king. By combining anthropological theory and comparative evidence, the article explores the locally produced hagiographical sources from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries in order to demonstrate how St Adalbert's heroic status and retroactively invented ethnic and sacral otherness were exploited for the purposes of institutional and king-like legitimacy vis-à-vis the Polish people. In its conclusions the article argues that concepts and comparative methods from political anthropology can help us to reconsider the category of holy rulers and offer new ways of reading hagiographical sources as political treatises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into the unio mystica has revealed what seems to be an area of "real discussion" between scholars of different traditions of mysticism, particularly those of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although this research serves as a promising start to the dialogue among scholars, it has also raised many questions about a "shared moment" that is nevertheless expressed in "irreducibly diverse" and distinct ways in each tradition. What purpose, for instance, can generic cross-cultural categories serve when they mean little or nothing to scholars in each tradition? By contrast, tradition-specific vocabularies are profuse and often difficult to represent in interlinguistic contexts without significant explanation. The challenge of translating mystical texts, imagery, and ideas across cultures and linguistic traditions raises obvious concerns about the misrepresentation and distortion of traditions in an environment of post-colonial critique. Nevertheless, the continued promise of dialogue calls for specialists of these traditions—particularly non-western and non-Christian traditions—to approach, assess, re-formulate, and even challenge the categories of mysticism from within the conceptual and theoretical horizons of the traditions that they research. The present study models such an approach to scholarship in mysticism. It offers a (re)formulation of the unio mystica from within the theoretical frame of the 12th/13th-century Muslim/Sufi mystic, Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) and early members of his school of thought. By unpacking the primary terms involved in such an account—"God", the "human being/self", and "union"—from within the conceptual and theoretical horizons of that tradition, it problematizes the prevailing understanding of the unio mystica constructed from the writings of specialists in Christian mysticism. More importantly, it illustrates the payoff in terms of dialogue (incorporating the critique of existing theories) when each tradition operates confidently from its own milieu, developing its own theoretical resources for mysticism rather than prematurely embracing existing ideas or categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the recognition of societal inclusion as a human right, persons with disabilities face many barriers preventing their participation in mainstream Christian denominations. A scoping review was conducted to map the relevant literature to explore the Christian Church's expressions of compassion and/or justice toward persons with disabilities, and how this impacts their inclusion and participation. The findings confirm the paucity of literature addressing this phenomenon, as well as the under-representation of persons with disabilities in research concerning their own interests. Four nested themes reflect the harmful effects of misplaced pity and insufficient justice toward persons with disabilities, revealing evidence of oppression, expressed through stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination – all perceived to hinder their meaningful participation in the body of Christ. Knowledge gaps concerning the lived experiences of persons with disabilities in this setting were identified and recommended for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qur' anic narrative of the People of the Cave (Ashab al-Kahf) is a subject that has garnered significant interest in both the Islamic world and in Western Quranic studies. This study moves beyond conventional perspectives on the Ashab al-Kahf parable, offering a deeper analysis by drawing upon the Arabic text of the Quran and early Christian sources. Particular emphasis is placed on how the Quran reconstructs, reinterprets, and imbues this parable with new significance within the framework of Islamic culture, while simultaneously addressing and rectifying certain omissions or inconsistencies found in the Christian narrative. The findings aim to contribute to a better understanding of the narrative similarities and differences between the two traditions, reevaluating the Quran's engagement with Christianity. In this context, the aim of this paper is to examine the story of Ashab al-Kahf in the Quran in detail, uncovering its relationship with similar stories in Christian sources and highlighting the differences between them. Our research demonstrates that the Quranic account of the Ashab al-Kahf contains distinctive elements absent in Christian sources and is presented in a wholly original style. In this context, our study supports the thesis that the Qur'anic narrative of Ashab al-Kahf was not derived from Christian sources but instead represents an independent treatment marked by its unique style. By highlighting the differences between the two narratives, this study seeks to demonstrate that the Quran offers an original text in this regard. Indeed, while the Quran shares certain similarities with existing Christian narratives, it reveals these accounts within an Islamic framework, presenting a unique theological perspective. Additionally, this study aims to show that the story of Ashab al-Kahf carries an important message that emphasizes the Islamic understanding of monotheism and God's omnipotence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augustine served as an example for the foundations of Christian writing therapy, since he created the tradition of written confessions, as well as making reflections on it. In this study, we present Augustine's concept of the inner man viewed from the context of Christian writing therapy, with the aim of providing assistance for therapeutic writing and one of its essential areas of application for self-supervision, which is essential in all helping professions in addition to supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kitāb al-Maǧdal (The Book of Tower) is one of the earliest known theological encyclopaedias produced in Arabic by a man called ʿAmr ibn Mattā who was a member of the Church of the East towards the end of the tenth century. Its peculiar stylistic features make it one of the most intriguing examples of Christian Arabic corpus. The book is composed in saǧʿ (rhymed prose) and embellished with various types of rhetorical figures. Each chapter represents part of a strong, defensive tower correlated with the metaphorical title of the work. Moreover, the work is divided into specific numbers of chapters and subsections, which all have biblical significance. Considering the socio-political and intellectual milieu in which the Kitāb al-Maǧdal was produced, this article focuses on these specific stylistic features of the work, analyses them in detail, and seeks an answer to the question of the author's possible inspirational sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerability is a notion discussed in feminist philosophy as a basis for a morality that widens our sense of those whose deaths are grievable. Vulnerability and grievability also factor in reproductive ethics. This essay employs recognition theory to analyze critically how these notions are mobilized in conservative Christian anti-abortion writings and in feminist philosophy. This analysis exposes weaknesses and misrecognition in both sets of discourses. In response, I offer theological arguments for recognizing fetal value without implying a right to life and for acknowledging how human finitude and the precarity of pregnancy render gestational hospitality a discretionary, not obligatory, moral act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a detailed theory of the fetishes of the modern world. Fetishes may still have their original religious application as talismans and totems, but their actual range is much wider, as I illustrate. I show that a modern fetish satisfies our needs in an unexpected and unlikely manner: it does what it, prima facie, is not supposed to do. How does this happen? To explain, we must trace the construction of fetishes; I do this using some key rhetorical concepts. Paradiastole is a technique of evaluative redescription. It describes the world in value terms as something it is not—we can then ironize the result. If it serves the speakers' essential interests and satisfies their desires, we have explained a fetish as a good-maker. The fetishization of an object, because of its ironic background, tends to invite critical, meiotic, and even derogatory responses—usually, the issue is and remains essentially contested. For example, early Christians wrote hagiographies that treated some people as saints, thus creating ad hoc beliefs that satisfied their religious interests. I also suggest a different, metonymic understanding of fetishes and their educational benefits. Perhaps my theory is overly permissive, allowing too many fetishes. My final conjecture is that true fetishes function as identity markers; for example, the crucifix is a fetish that defines Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the problem of the origin and use of the East Slavonic Pentateuch codices based on the Old Bulgarian translation of the Octateuch. The latter type of codex is typical for all Christian medieval writing, including South Slavonic, while the Pentateuch is considered to belong primarily to the Jewish tradition. There is an opinion that the appearance of the Pentateuch in the East Slavonic literature (from the beginning of the 15th century) was due to Jewish influence, but this is not true. In fact, most of the East Slavonic codices in the form of the Pentateuch (twenty-three in all) belong to a special, and the latest, recension of the Church Slavonic Octateuch, namely the Edited Pentateuch, which indeed emerged as a result of direct Slavic-Jewish contacts, but not earlier than the second half of the 15th century. The other codices of the East Slavonic Pentateuch are only four in number, while the manuscripts of the East Slavonic Octateuch are fifteen, including four copies of the complete Gennady’s Bible. There are three reasons for the origin of the Pentateuch among the Eastern Slavs. Codicologically it can be explained by the convenience of dividing into two parts a vast corpus including the Octateuch, the Books of Kings and Esther, which was also rarely found as a unit in Byzantium and in the Latin West. The Pentateuch was also common in the Christian Coptic tradition, and without any Jewish influence. From the point of view of the liturgical use of the Old Testament books in the Byzantine rite, it was the Pentateuch, without the remaining three books of the Octateuch, that could also be used as the Prophetologion. Finally, the Pentateuch is also honored by Christians as the “root of the New Testament”, and the ideas about this were well known to both East and South Slavonic medieval scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Origen employs the words μετοχῇ θεότητος in Contra Celsum 3.37 which could be translated as "participating in divine nature." There are two academic perspectives on this phrase. One sees this phrase to be a deification reference to 2 Peter 1.4 and Origen is said to be the first author to use the verse's wording to refer to followers of Christ as "partakers of the divine nature." The other view considers this phrase a simple comment on the divine realm reflecting the understanding of Origen regarding the divinity of angels. The paper at hand provides clarification for the phrase μετοχῇ θεότητος positioning it in Origen's overall understanding of deification and challenging the two scholarly stances on this phrase. First this paper shows that Contra Celsum 3.37 does not intend to reference 2 Peter 1.4 but likely signals completely different biblical references. Second the paper examines the language and context of Origen's statement to show that this phrase is not only a comment on the divinity of angels but also reflects Origen's thoughts on human deification. In doing so this paper analyzes Origen's terminology and his philosophical approach towards human theosis in order to propose an answer to the questions of who is deified who is not deified and what it means to share in divinity. Overall it becomes clear that in addition to commenting on angels the phrase μετοχῇ θεότητος summarizes Origen's understanding of human deification even if not as a reference to 2 Peter 1.4. It reflects a human-angel continuum and posits a direct human participation in God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between Theology and Literature: The Locus Theologicus and Its Role in the Worksof Clement of Alexandria on the Example of the Paedagogus This article is an attempt to describe one of the works of Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 212 AD) in the context of the role played in it by references to other literary works. Clement’s Paedagogus has a complex and hybrid structure, built on numerous quotations and allusions from Christian and pagan works. An analysis of the role of the Bible and classical literature as locus theologicus not only demonstrates the formal and genological complexity of Clement’s manual of moral theology, but also reveals its aesthetic, rhetorical and theological aims. Między teologią a literaturą. Locus theologicus i jego rola w twórczości Klemensa Aleksandryjskiego na przykładzie Wychowawcy Głównym celem artykułu jest próba opisania jednego z utworów Klemensa Aleksandryjskiego (ok. 150 – ok. 212) w kontekście roli, jaką odgrywają w nim odwołania do innych dzieł literackich. Wychowawca Klemensa ma skomplikowaną i hybrydyczną strukturę budowaną na bazie licznych cytatów i aluzji pochodzących z dzieł chrześcijańskich i pogańskich. Analiza roli Pisma Świętego i literatury klasycznej jako „miejsca teologicznego” nie tylko pokazuje formalną i genologiczną złożoność podręcznika teologii moralnej Klemensa, lecz także ujawnia jego estetyczne, retoryczne i teologiczne cele.

This article discusses the theme of love as suffering in John Dryden's play "All for Love," which is based on Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra." The author argues that Dryden presents the protagonists' love as unique and rooted in Christianity, deviating from traditional heroic ideals. Dryden diminishes the heroic stature of Antony and Cleopatra to emphasize their suffering and elevate their love. The article suggests that Dryden's portrayal aligns with Christian ideas of suffering and highlights the significance of passionate love in a Christian cultural context. The sources mentioned, "The Life of John Dryden" by Robert Cadell and Howard D. Weinbrot's article "Alexas in 'All for Love'," provide valuable insights into Dryden's life, works, and the character of Alexas in the play. [Extracted from the article]

De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis (DLSC) by Hrabanus Maurus is a seminal work in the medieval Christian literature that explores the Cross as the central structure of the universe through a unique amalgamation of poetry, prose, and visual art. The work employs a multi-layered narrative that enriches the reader's understanding, encouraging a meditative interaction with the text that emphasizes the contemplative over the recitative. This paper analyzes Hrabanus's intricate use of verbal and visual elements to guide his readers into a profound meditation on the universal significance of the Cross. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay assesses the relevance of Søren Kierkegaard's non-pseudonymous, edifying writings for considering themes of desire, detachment, and humility within the religious context of Christian spiritual formation. Building on the argument of recent scholars who identify in Kierkegaard's writings an account of a fundamental desire for God "implanted" in the human being, I explore the influence of this vision on Kierkegaard's depiction of desire and detachment in his "Discourses on the Lilies and the Birds". I then turn to how this relates to the perspective of humility that emerges from Kierkegaard's reflections on the biblical story of "the widow's mite". In each case, these edifying writings aim to stir the reader into a process of interrogating faulty self-perceptions based on arbitrary measures of value. I read this mode of communication as able to initiate a "counter-experience", provoking the reader to reorient her horizon of prior self-valuations so she might come to recognize the hidden significance of things and, ultimately, achieve a more accurate sense of oneself in relation to the authentic source of the self's desire. Insofar as this reorientation of the self informs the practice of detachment or the development of humility, people might experience this same process in diverse ways. In this respect, the relevance of Kierkegaard's edifying writings for reflecting on Christian spirituality is not that they provide a thoroughgoing account of detachment or humility that should replace the insights of various spiritual traditions. Rather, I argue that his discourses—when read alongside these traditions—offer a supplemental resource for reflecting on how our positionalities, dispositions, and proximate contexts will inform the divergent ways we might experience the practice of detachment or the manifestation of humility in each new life circumstance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comparative Literature / Primerjalna Književnost is the property of Slovenian Comparative Literature Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Both στοργή and ἀγάπη are widely translated as love. BDAG understands στοργή as the love of spouse: husband to his wife or wife to her husband. Αγάπη, on the other hand, generally refers to a sacrificial love revealed in Christ in the Christian literature. This research, however, refuses BDAG's limited aspect of στοργή and a general understanding of ἀγάπη as God's sacrificial love in Christ. This article, therefore, attempts to provide more comprehensive understandings of these two loves by revisiting στοργή and ἀγάπη in the book of Sirach, 3 and 4 Maccabees. To achieve this goal, this research employs lexical analysis for its methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lists of personified virtues in ancient Jewish and Christian texts offer remote intellectual anticipations of names and structural configurations of later kabbalistic sefirot. These parallels indicate that various Jewish-oriented Christian sources preserved and mediated some traditions that later came to circulate in Jewish kabbalistic circles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife as depicted in late antique Jewish and Christian literature written in Semitic languages, revealing the development and transmission of motifs between these two traditions. The study analyzes three Jewish texts and six Christian texts, dating from the 2nd to the 7th century CE. Special attention is given to extracanonical motifs, which occasionally transitioned between Jewish and Christian works while also evolving into motifs characteristic of only one of these traditions. The paper includes an appendix with translations of the analyzed texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to uncover a hidden history of Cantonese Christian literature. Written Cantonese has been present since the late Ming dynasty in parallel to the emergence of a distinct Cantonese identity. Western missionaries, for the sake of evangelism, facilitated the development of written Cantonese in South China since the mid-nineteenth century. At that time, missionaries put a lot of effort into translating religious leaflets and booklets, the Bible, the book of prayers, and even Cantonese–English dictionaries. These works contributed to standardizing written Cantonese and indirectly helped to develop Cantonese identity. I will critically examine how Cantonese Christian literature declined for the sake of nationalism, as the first publication of Heheben 和合本 (Mandarin Union Version) in Protestant Christianity in 1919 represented the unification of the Church by using written Mandarin. After elaborating on the unintentional alliance of missionaries with Cantonese in the nineteenth century, in conclusion, I will make a brief comparison of Hong Kong Church in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, which is inactive in the continuous written Cantonese movement in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Linguistische Treffen in Wrocław is the property of Oficyna Wydawnicza ATUT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although the pericope about the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11) did not garner significant interest in Late Antiquity, several commentaries and homilies on it have been preserved, particularly within the literature of the Christian East. This article examines various Greek texts from the second to the fifth centuries, including the writings of Irenaeus, Origen, John Chrysostom, Epiphanius of Salamis, and Cyril of Alexandria. Special attention is given to texts in Syriac, which often present a distinct perspective on biblical theology. Saint Ephrem (4th cent.) provided an extensive exegetical commentary rich in theological themes, while Jacob of Sarug (5th/6th cent.) offered a poetic homily. A homily by Benjamin I, the Patriarch of Alexandria in the seventh century, has been preserved in both Coptic dialect and Arabic translation; this work primarily serves as a treatise against heretics. Within Ethiopic literature, the Wedding at Cana is elaborated upon in the apocryphal Miracles of Jesus (14th cent.). In the Treasure of the Faith (16th cent.), the miracle is interpreted within a Christological framework, akin to the approach of Giyorgis of Saglā (14th/15th cent.) in the Book of the Mysteries, likely based on earlier sources. Additionally, an Ethiopic homily mistakenly attributed to John Chrysostom (CAe 2150; see CPG Sup. 5190.14), translated into Polish here for the first time, discusses the unity of divinity and humanity in Christ since the Incarnation, particularly in polemics against Nestorius, and contains significant eschatological and Marian themes, indicating its composition post-Ephesian crisis. The influence of Ephrem's exegesis is also evident, possibly mediated through the works of Jacob of Sarug, whose homilies reached medieval Ethiopia via Arabic translations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the debates over historiographical uses of the terms race, racism, and ethnicity in the study of the premodern past. It begins with an analysis of conventional approaches to defining race, which understand the concept to be fundamentally modern and reject uses of the term in the study of the premodern world. Such conventional approaches to historicizing race are predicated on problematically essentialist definitions of the term that preclude comparisons of varying types of racisms that manifest across different historical periods. The article spotlights some of the arguments in favor of formulations of race and racism that allow for comparative analyses of premodern instances of racism, relying on the ideas of scholars working in race theory, philosophy of race, and premodern critical race studies. It also puts forward a working model of racism useful for analyzing examples of race-thinking found in Christian texts of the late antique period, focusing specifically on negative significations of blackness. Broadly, the article aims to outline more dynamic and fruitful approaches to conceptualizing race, racism, and ethnicity in the study of the ancient world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is focused on an internationally known plot type: the story of a maiden whose hands were cut off and miraculously restored. The author studies the variants of the motif and their symbolism in Bulgarian milieu, and suggests the hypothesis that it has originated as an element of archaic initiation rites. From there, it permeates the folk tale, where its symbolism refers to the heroine's passage from a maiden into a wife and mother. At a later stage, this motif is utilized in religious literature and acquires Christian interpretation. In the course of time, a series of borrowings and mutual influences take place in both directions. Thus, the Christian and the folkloric narratives share a common thesaurus of plots, motifs, images and symbols. These refer to an ancient archetypal basis, but preserve their ability to assimilate versatile meanings in different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to the special edition presents a literature review of scholarship on Justin, demonstrating via his traditional monikers ("Justin Martyr," "Justin of Neapolis," "Justin the Philosopher," and "Justin the Apologist") the need for a fresh treatment, here dubbed "Justin of Rome"—which properly embeds Justin in his imperial setting, encompassing both the literary and historical landscape of the 2d century AD. It teases out connections between the papers that follow and offers a synthesis of the contribution of the special edition, read as a whole, to our understanding not just of this one thinker but of early Christian literature and history more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a review of the book "ad Günther Anders Exerzitien für die Endzeit" written by Christian Dries. The author highlights the importance and relevance of Günther Anders in contemporary philosophy and his political commitment. Dries analyzes Anders' most significant texts and contrasts his ideas with those of other renowned authors. Additionally, he highlights the close methodological affinity between Anders and some prominent artists of his time. In summary, the book offers a deep and comprehensive insight into Anders' work, showcasing his philosophy of the present and his ability to address the problems of his time. [Extracted from the article]

While studies of how Paul and the Pauline letters were received in early Christianity continue to appear at an ever-quickening rate, there are still corners of early Christian literature that remain underexplored with regard to Pauline reception. The letters of Ignatius of Antioch would not usually be included in the underexplored category, but this article argues that one statement within Ignatius's letters is deserving of more careful attention vis-à-vis its relationship to Pauline themes and terminology. After showing that interpretations of Ignatius's Philadelphians (Phld.) 8.2 have typically run along two opposing tracks, the article argues that both ways of interpreting Ignatius's letter fail to do justice to his rhetoric in the letter. The article proposes an alternative way of reading Ignatius's justification language in Phld. 8.2. Whereas Paul wrote about justification before God, Ignatius desires to be proven right in the eyes of his Philadelphian readers, with whom he has had a dispute. The article concludes by offering ways to account for the different meanings evidenced in the letters of Ignatius and Paul while also endeavouring to explain the purpose for which Ignatius employs terminology that is similar to that of Paul. In the final clause of Phld. 8.2, Pauline terminology provides Ignatius not with his doctrinal substance but rather with authoritative rhetoric that evokes the Apostle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the treatment of early Christian literature from before Origen in Ilaria Ramelli's monographs The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis and (co-authored with David Konstan) Terms for Eternity is subject to critique. When Ramelli claims that the early literature shared the idea of temporary punishment after death, thus forming the 'roots' of the doctrine of apokatastasis, a clear distinction between early and later concepts and interpretations is missing. The argument that αἰώνιος in eschatological contexts should not mean 'eternal', but rather 'in the world to come', is untenable, inter alia because this supposed sense of αἰώνιος would duplicate the same information in the phrase ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τῷ ἐρχομένῳ ζωὴν αἰώνιον (Mark 10:30). The article also demonstrates the incorrectness of Ramelli's arguments that the texts contain contrasting relations between the words αἰώνιος and ἀΐδιος and κόλασις and τιμωρία, respectively, with only ἀΐδιος indicating a strictly eternal future, and κόλασις a purifying temporary chastisement. These arguments contain a number of methodological errors: the meaning of words is not sought in the contexts in which they are used, and the possibility of stylistic variation is not taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main problem of the article is an attempt to describe the role of Greek archaic epic in the works of Clement of Alexandria. The problem part of the article includes interpretations of selected and representative borrowings from Homer's poems in the work Paedagogus. The Homeric epic and Homer's role as a teacher of ancient Hellad provide an important context for consideration. The philological analyses reveal the complex Christian-classical structure of Clement's work and emphasise the important role of Homer in the construction of the aesthetics of the famous handbook of moral theology. The article also shows that Clement's literary output still offers new interpretative possibilities in aspects of the structure of his works and their aesthetics, genology and communicative function. The polyphony of quotations, allusions and borrowings adds credibility to the Clement's claims and theses, presenting them in a complex discourse that serves aesthetic, erudite, moral and evangelistic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the focus on sexuality and the body in early Christianity, prompted by the seminal work of Peter Brown and Michel Foucault, has obscured a truly major and profound shift brought about by Christian thinking in late antiquity. This concerns the very construction and evaluation of the notion of nature and the natural world. It is well known that Greek and Roman thinking conceptualized man's place in the order of things through a tripartite systematization of man, beast, and god, and that consequently through rituals such as sacrifice, epics such as the Odyssey , or normative texts of husbandry such as agricultural manuals, self-understanding of humanity is triangulated through a care for nature and a recognition of the divine. Similar structures are evident in early Jewish writing too. But in early Christianity, there is a turn away from care for nature and seeing man's place as integrally embedded in an agricultural world. In contrast to the book of Jonah or the Talmud—where care for animals is expressly a source of divinely given regulation—St Paul can ask: "Surely God does not care for oxen?" There is a corollary absence of Christian agricultural manuals, and repeatedly Christian writing privileges the anchorite, the ascetic, the sage who, like the lily of the fields, do not work the land. Animals are present in parables and metaphors—but are absent from Christian care or regulation. This article considers how the normative discourses of nature are redrafted within Christianity and its subsequent impact on the ideas of ecology—and on the possibilities of eco-criticism for classics. Καὶ φύσις ἄψ ἐγέλασε, "And nature laughed again." Nonnus [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a comment on a research paper by Mariia Atanasia Smetaniak titled "The main aspects of asceticism and repentance in the work of Pratum by John Moschus." The research focuses on the analysis of the work Pratum by John Moschus, which explores the themes of penance and asceticism. The work is considered an enduring literary masterpiece that recounts the exploits of ascetic monks from the 6th to 7th centuries. The author of the book, John Moschus, was a strict anchorite monk and a mentor to Saint Sophronius. The article discusses the significance of asceticism and repentance in early Christian monasticism and highlights the importance of the work Pratum in understanding this period. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses a series of theses regarding the idea of resurrection in early Christian writings: First, New Testament ideas of resurrection are deeply linked with the idea that that the God of Israel is the infinitely creative, just and faithful Creator of the world, who is interested in human beings and the life of this world. Second, the idea of Jesus's resurrection and the resurrection of all human beings may be theologically linked, but this was not necessarily the case. Third, stories about the 'revivification' of Lazarus and others are formally different from the stories of Jesus's resurrection, but they can be theologically linked to the Easter accounts. In some cases, they prepare what is told in the Easter accounts. Fourth, in order to understand the resurrection (or, better, raising) of Jesus from the dead, it is of no use to simply reconstruct the oldest possible sources and thus come closer 'historically' (i.e. in terms of time) to the events of the first Easter Sunday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay traces one particular way that the passion tradition of mixed/sour wine offered to Jesus developed in extracanonical gospels, broader New Testament Apocrypha, Tatian's Diatessaron, and other early Christian writings. Notably, the divergent details of these offerings in the passion narratives of the four canonical gospels were often simplified out of a growing awareness of an allusion to Ps 69:22 (68:22 LXX) with its reference to gall and sour wine. The early Christian tradition comes to be stabilized as a single offering of sour wine and gall, even though that pairing does not appear in the canonical gospels. Further evidence that early Christians used Ps 69 to simplify the various traditions is seen from the way they also drew upon the imprecations from the broader context of the psalm for polemical leverage against the Jews. This hermeneutical and apologetic trajectory developed despite the fact that (a) the gospels show varying degrees of awareness of the psalm in their respective passion accounts, and (b) the gospels do not indict anyone making the offer, except for Luke (implicitly), when the Roman soldiers do so mockingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hans-Dieter Spengler sodali et iuris consulto Jerome's oeuvre is huge; it comprises translations and commentaries of many books of the Christian Bible, a universal history, a history of Christian literature, biographies of monks, many treatises, and more than 130 letters addressed to people from the educated upper classes of the late Roman West. This article investigates what role Roman law played in Jerome's writings, what he knew about it, and how he evaluated it. It also looks at his views on late Roman jurisdiction and collects the evidence he provides for petitions to the emperor and for imperial rescripts. The main section analyzes Jerome's ideas about imperial legislation, his knowledge of individual laws, and the way he presented them. On this basis, it is argued that Jerome's writings bear impressive witness to the importance of Roman law for both the social practice and the mindset of the provincial and local elites in the late Roman empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Old English poem The Phoenix is often read as a straight-forward allegory for the eternal life that awaits Christians. There has been some recent interest in the poem from scholars working on landscape and animal studies; the poem is frequently put in conversation with the Old English Physiologus because it is also an "animal poem." This article argues that returning The Phoenix to its manuscript context within the Exeter Book, between the poems Azarias and Juliana, highlights the phoenix's function as an allegory for explaining complicated issues surrounding sainthood, particularly concerning the body. The phoenix demonstrates virginity and continued chastity, enclosure, and the ability to live in both earthly and divine time, all of which are frequent pillars of holiness in early medieval English hagiography. This study suggests that the grouping of Azarias, The Phoenix, and Juliana within the Exeter Book was an intentional editorial decision made on the basis of shared purpose and theme, and offers a new reading for The Phoenix that forefronts the hagiographical features and didactic interests at play within. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"What Is a Gospel?" by Francis Watson is a collection of fourteen essays that challenge the traditional understanding of gospel literature. Watson argues that we should not read the canonical four gospels as categorically different from other non-canonical gospels. He emphasizes the continuity between the canonical and non-canonical gospels and explores the composition and reception of gospel literature. While Watson's methodological approach is important, there are still unanswered historical questions and some of his proposals seem unnecessarily complicated. Overall, "What Is a Gospel?" is a valuable resource for anyone studying the New Testament and the early Jesus movement. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract This essay aims to illustrate the main features of ancient Christian litera-ture, focusing in particular on multilingualism, multiculturalism, popularity and functionality. In the second part, the essay presents two examples of texts that may be of particular interest to legal scholars: the Acts of legal trials against Christians and the texts on marriage.

"Illness, Pain, and Health Care in Early Christianity" by Helen Rhee explores how early Christians incorporated and reinterpreted Greco-Roman medicine and health care. Rhee argues that this appropriation of medical practices influenced the formation of early Christian identity, particularly during the fourth century when the status of the church within the Roman Empire changed. The book examines a wide range of primary sources, including Greco-Roman and Christian texts, and incorporates insights from medical anthropology to provide a nuanced understanding of health, illness, and care in early Christianity. Rhee's interdisciplinary approach and attention to detail make this book a valuable resource for scholars studying early Christianity and the intersection of medicine and religion. [Extracted from the article]

Eusebius of Caesarea is the creator of a new genre in Christian literature, Ecclesiastical History, which will be much imitated in Antiquity, in Byzantium and in the western Middle Ages. This type of historiography, which follows and adapts the Greek literary models, will be the most adequate to bear witness to the Christian theological conception and to the new historical circumstances after Constantine. The universality of the Roman Empire is identified with the Church, the true Kingdom of God, and therefore Ecclesiastical History will be a universal history, in time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Famous for his diverse literary borrowings, Clement of Alexandria quoted freely from a range of early Christian writings – including many penned by or popular with his direct opponents. This paper proposes a re-examination of Clement's non-canonical Christian borrowings through an appreciation of his hermeneutic of the divine Logos. This framework encouraged a form of reading, modeled by Clement himself, where reading became editing. All texts could be reworked to display at least a fragment of divine truth, even disputed or controversial "Christian" texts. This new perspective allows a rethinking of Clement's use, reuse and relationship with several texts – including influential works such as the Shepherd of Hermas , Epistle of Barnabas , and Apocalypse of Peter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers observations on ἐνύπνιον, ὄναρ/ὄνειραρ/ὄνειρος, ὅραμα and ὅρασις as well as on φάντασμα and φαντασία. The first two word families in particular can be used promiscue. For the New Testament and later ancient Christian literature, the relative preference for ἐνύπνιον in Gen 37; 40f. has not influenced their language use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disability theology is an emerging field within theological inquiry that explores the intersection of human perceptions of God and humanity through the lens of disability experiences. In Ghana, Christian literature on the subject predominantly focuses on caregiving and ethical considerations related to disability with just a little attention to the theological dimensions on disability. This research was, therefore, conducted to formulate a theology of disability based on the intersection of theology to serve the Ghanaian Christian need. A literature-based research methodology to collect, analyze and synthesize information from previously published studies on the subject matter. The theological framework espoused in this research engages with questions of imago Dei, sin and prosperity theology in relation to disability. The paper ends with recommendations to promote advocacy, social justice and the full inclusion and rights of individuals with disabilities within both religious and societal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of natural theology is a key one in the work of Augustine who, as a Roman formed from the coordinates of the classical canon, builds within his work the necessary devices to give legitimate, although partial, entry to Greco-Roman elements that will be guide his own argument in the territory of Christian literature. The eighth book of his treatise The City of God allows us to observe the extraction of that notion from its area of origin, especially the texts of Varro and Cicero, which in turn have their antecedents in the academic and Stoic philosophical tradition, their adaptation to the horizon of biblical-Christian meaning and its interested use within it. The operation carried out by Augustine gives us a glimpse of his knowledge and ability to manipulate the Roman-Republican literary tradition, in addition to certain conceptions from the doxographic vulgate in force in his context, such as those of "schools" and philosophical "successions." We are interested in focusing, above all, on the games of amalgamations and semantic shifts that Augustine rehearses on the profile of Socrates, with very specific purposes, and which lead us to observe, also, the circulation of ideas in the North African Roman area, for which we have some interesting antecedents, such as the Latin apologetics books of Tertullian and Minutius Felix, between the 2nd and 3rd centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern discipline of New Testament Studies has subjected the various components of the New Testament to close scrutiny, yet it persistently fails to ask critical questions about the New Testament considered as a whole. In its familiar twenty-seven book form, the New Testament may be seen as a fourth-century anthology of early Christian writings based on earlier collections or sub-collections (the fourfold gospel, the Pauline letter collection), yet innovative in establishing a sharply defined boundary between included and excluded texts. An analysis of contributions to this journal over a recent five-year period demonstrates the pervasive influence of this fourth-century construct in determining the scope and priorities of (so-called) 'mainstream' scholarship. Greater attention to the contingencies of canon-formation will enable us to locate the texts that came to form the New Testament within a wider early Christian literary landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many scholars insist that liturgical theology emerges from the vital plurality of a diversity of people who worship God together, much writing about Christian worship is animated by the "normate," an elusive universal human that does not actually exist but for whom Christian liturgical ideals are conjured. In this article, I describe temptation by this figure that I experience in my own teaching and writing, a seduction that occurs even within a profound conversion to the vital importance of human difference in worship. I then suggest reflexive ethnographic fieldwork as a way of summoning "the holy many," disclosing and turning from the normate, and practicing anti-ableism in both worship and liturgical writing. I offer ethnographic teaching and writing as a resource for shaping a pluralistic and liberatory imagination in liturgical studies and argue that recursive practices of seeking out the presence of the many in fieldwork, in writing, and in teaching ethnographic methods are necessary for disclosing the normate and for continuous conversion to the many. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]