The Cult Of Stephen In Jerusalem

Author : Hugo M'endez
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019284699X
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.90/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem written by Hugo M'endez and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-11-03 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the site of only a small and obscure Christian population between 135 and 313 CE, Jerusalem witnessed few instances of anti-Christian persecution. This fact became a source of embarrassment to the city in late antiquity-a period when martyr traditions, relics, and shrines were closely intertwined with local prestige. At that time, the city had every incentive to stretch the fame of its few, apostolic martyrs as far as possible-especially the fame of the biblical St. Stephen, the figure traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyr (Acts 6-8). What the church lacked in the quantity of its martyrs, it believed it could compensate for in an exclusive, local claim to the figure widely hailed as the "Protomartyr", "firstborn of the martyrs", and "chief of confessors" in contemporary sources. This book traces the rise of the cult of Stephen in Jerusalem, exploring such historical episodes as the fabrication of his relics, the construction of a grand basilica in his honour, and the multiplication of the saint's feast days. It argues that local church authorities promoted devotion to Stephen in the fifth century in a conscious attempt to position him as a patron saint for Jerusalem-that is, a symbolic embodiment of the city's Christian identity and power.

Author : Hugo Méndez
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780192662484
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem written by Hugo Méndez and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the site of only a small and obscure Christian population, Jerusalem witnessed few instances of anti-Christian persecution between 135 and 313 CE. This fact became a source of embarrassment to the city in late antiquity-a period when martyr traditions, relics, and shrines were closely intertwined with local prestige. At that time, the city had every incentive to stretch the fame of its few apostolic martyrs as far as possible-especially the fame of the biblical St. Stephen, the figure traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyr (Acts 6-8). What Jerusalem lacked in the quantity of its martyrs, it believed it could compensate for in an exclusive, local claim to the figure widely hailed as the "Protomartyr," "firstborn of the martyrs," and "chief of confessors." This book traces the rise of the cult of Stephen in Jerusalem, exploring such historical episodes as the fabrication of the saint's relics, the construction of a grand basilica in his honor, and the multiplication of his feast days. It argues that local church authorities promoted devotion to Stephen in the fifth century in a conscious attempt to position him as a patron saint for Jerusalem-a symbol of the city's Christian identity and power.

Author : Hugo Méndez
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019266249X
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem written by Hugo Méndez and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-06 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the site of only a small and obscure Christian population between 135 and 313 CE, Jerusalem witnessed few instances of anti-Christian persecution. This fact became a source of embarrassment to the city in late antiquity—a period when martyr traditions, relics, and shrines were closely intertwined with local prestige. At that time, the city had every incentive to stretch the fame of its few, apostolic martyrs as far as possible-especially the fame of the biblical St. Stephen, the figure traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyr (Acts 6-8). What the church lacked in the quantity of its martyrs, it believed it could compensate for in an exclusive, local claim to the figure widely hailed as the "Protomartyr", "firstborn of the martyrs", and "chief of confessors" in contemporary sources. This book traces the rise of the cult of Stephen in Jerusalem, exploring such historical episodes as the fabrication of his relics, the construction of a grand basilica in his honour, and the multiplication of the saint's feast days. It argues that local church authorities promoted devotion to Stephen in the fifth century in a conscious attempt to position him as a patron saint for Jerusalem—that is, a symbolic embodiment of the city's Christian identity and power.

Author : Shelly Matthews
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199889422
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Perfect Martyr written by Shelly Matthews and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-10-04 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent studies have examined martyrdom as a means of constructing Christian identity, but until now none has focused on Stephen, the first Christian martyr. For the author of Luke-Acts, the stoning of Stephen-- even more than the death of Jesus-- underscores the perfidy of non-believing Jews, the extravagant mercy of Christians, and the inevitable rift that will develop between these two social groups. Stephen's dying prayer that his persecutors be forgiven-the prayer for which he is hailed in Christian tradition as the "perfect martyr" plays a crucial role in drawing an unprecedented distinction between Jewish and early Christian identities. Shelly Matthews deftly situates Stephen's story within the emerging discourse of early Christian martyrdom. Though Stephen is widely acknowledged to be an actual historical figure, Matthews points to his name, his manner of death, and to other signs that his martyrdom was ideally suited to the rhetorical purposes of Acts and its author, Luke: to uphold Roman views of security and respectability, to show non-believing Jews to disadvantage, and to convey that Christianity was an exceptionally merciful religion. By drawing parallels between Acts and stories of the martyrdom of James, the brother of Jesus, Matthews challenges the coherent canonical narrative of Acts and questions common assumptions about the historicity of Stephen's martyrdom. She also offers a radical new reading of Stephen's last prayer, showing the complex and sometimes violent effects of its modern interpretations. Perfect Martyr illuminates the Stephen story as never before, offering a deeply nuanced picture of violence, solidarity, and resistance among Jews and early Christians, a key to understanding the early development of a non-Jewish Christian identity, and an innovative reframing of one of the most significant stories in the Bible.

Author : P.D. James
Publisher : Canongate Books
ISBN 13 : 0857861077
Total Pages : 93 pages
Book Rating : 4.78/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Acts of the Apostles written by P.D. James and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

Author : Lloyd Gaston
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004266003
Total Pages : 547 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book No Stone on Another written by Lloyd Gaston and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-04-09 with total page 547 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preliminary Material -- Chapter One: Introduction -- Chapter Two: Analysis of Mark 13 -- Chapter Three: Jesus and The Temple -- Chapter Four: The Fall of Jerusalem as A Political Event in Luke-Acts -- Chapter Five: The Fall of Jerusalem and Eschatology -- Bibliography -- Index Auctorum -- Index Locorum.

Author : Stine Birk
Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 1782972625
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.24/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Using Images in Late Antiquity written by Stine Birk and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2014-04-30 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen papers focus on the active and dynamic uses of images during the first millennium AD. They bring together an international group of scholars who situate the period’s visual practices within their political, religious, and social contexts. The contributors present a diverse range of evidence, including mosaics, sculpture, and architecture from all parts of the Mediterranean, from Spain in the west to Jordan in the east. Contributions span from the depiction of individuals on funerary monuments through monumental epigraphy, Constantine’s expropriation and symbolic re-use of earlier monuments, late antique collections of Classical statuary, and city personifications in mosaics to the topic of civic prosperity during the Theodosian period and dynastic representation during the Umayyad dynasty. Together they provide new insights into the central role of visual culture in the constitution of late antique societies.

Author : Paul M. Blowers
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191028215
Total Pages : 736 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation written by Paul M. Blowers and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible was the essence of virtually every aspect of the life of the early churches. The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation explores a wide array of themes related to the reception, canonization, interpretation, uses, and legacies of the Bible in early Christianity. Each section contains overviews and cutting-edge scholarship that expands understanding of the field. Part One examines the material text transmitted, translated, and invested with authority, and the very conceptualization of sacred Scripture as God's word for the church. Part Two looks at the culture and disciplines or science of interpretation in representative exegetical traditions. Part Three addresses the diverse literary and non-literary modes of interpretation, while Part Four canvasses the communal background and foreground of early Christian interpretation, where the Bible was paramount in shaping normative Christian identity. Part Five assesses the determinative role of the Bible in major developments and theological controversies in the life of the churches. Part Six returns to interpretation proper and samples how certain abiding motifs from within scriptural revelation were treated by major Christian expositors. The overall history of biblical interpretation has itself now become the subject of a growing scholarship and the final part skilfully examines how early Christian exegesis was retrieved and critically evaluated in later periods of church history. Taken together, the chapters provide nuanced paths of introduction for students and scholars from a wide spectrum of academic fields, including classics, biblical studies, the general history of interpretation, the social and cultural history of late ancient and early medieval Christianity, historical theology, and systematic and contextual theology. Readers will be oriented to the major resources for, and issues in, the critical study of early Christian biblical interpretation.

Author : Galit Noga-Banai
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190874651
Total Pages : 233 pages
Book Rating : 4.50/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sacred Stimulus written by Galit Noga-Banai and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did early Christian Rome deal with the fact that Christ was never there? Sacred Stimulus is about the effect Jerusalem had on the formulation of Christian art in Rome during the fourth and fifth centuries. It deals with the visual Christianization of Rome from an almost neglected perspective: not in comparison to pagan art in Rome, not as reflecting the struggle with Constantinople, but rather as visual expressions of the idea of Jerusalem and its holy sites and traditions.

Author : Jon Weatherly
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0567094847
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Jewish Responsibility for the Death of Jesus in Luke-Acts written by Jon Weatherly and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over a century New Testament scholars have explored the issue of possible antisemitism in Luke-Acts, especially because the author apparently blames the Jews for the death of Jesus. This monograph offers a fresh analysis of this question revealing a different emphasis: that among the Jews only those associated with Jerusalem, especially the Sanhedrin, are responsible for Jesus' death. Luke's Israel is in fact divided in response to Jesus, not monolithically opposed to him. Furthermore, the ascription of responsibility to the people of Jerusalem in Acts, widely regarded as a Lukan creation, in fact is more likely to have been based on sources independent of the synoptics. A consideration of ancient literature concerned with the deaths of innocent victims further suggests a likely "Sitz im Leben" for the transmission of material ascribing responsibility for Jesus' death.