The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem

The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem PDF Author: Hugo Méndez
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019266249X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
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.

The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem

The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem PDF Author: Hugo Méndez
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019266249X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 190

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem

The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem PDF Author: Hugo Méndez
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780192662484
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
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.

The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem

The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem PDF Author: Hugo M'endez
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019284699X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
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.

Perfect Martyr: The Stoning of Stephen and the Construction of Christian Identity

Perfect Martyr: The Stoning of Stephen and the Construction of Christian Identity PDF Author: Shelly Matthews
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199889422
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
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.

The Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles PDF Author: P.D. James
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 0857861077
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 93

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Book Description
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

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation PDF Author: Paul M. Blowers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191028215
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 736

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Book Description
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.

No Stone on Another

No Stone on Another PDF Author: Lloyd Gaston
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004266003
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
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.

Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion

Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion PDF Author: Stephen J. Shoemaker
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300219539
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
For the first time a noted historian of Christianity explores the full story of the emergence and development of the Marian cult in the early Christian centuries. The means by which Mary, mother of Jesus, came to prominence have long remained strangely overlooked despite, or perhaps because of, her centrality in Christian devotion. Gathering together fresh information from often neglected sources, including early liturgical texts and Dormition and Assumption apocrypha, Stephen Shoemaker reveals that Marian devotion played a far more vital role in the development of early Christian belief and practice than has been previously recognized, finding evidence that dates back to the latter half of the second century. Through extensive research, the author is able to provide a fascinating background to the hitherto inexplicable “explosion” of Marian devotion that historians and theologians have pondered for decades, offering a wide-ranging study that challenges many conventional beliefs surrounding the subject of Mary, Mother of God.

An Introduction to the Study of Paul

An Introduction to the Study of Paul PDF Author: David G. Horrell
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9780567040831
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Considering apostle Paul's importance and influence, and the important sources for the study of Paul, this second edition examines: the earliest period of Christianity - from Jesus to Paul; Paul's life before and after his 'conversion'; his individual letters; the major elements of his theology; his attitude to Israel and the Jewish law; and more.

The Saint-Etienne Compound Hypogea, Jerusalem

The Saint-Etienne Compound Hypogea, Jerusalem PDF Author: Riccardo Lufrani
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN: 3647573116
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
In 1885, a large hypogeum was discovered at the Saint-Étienne Compound, the domain acquired only two and a half years before by the Dominicans on the western slope of El Heidhemiyeh hill, about 250 m north of the Jerusalem Ottoman wall. After the unearthing of a second large hypogeum, only fifty metres north of Hypogeum 1, in their monumental work on the history of Jerusalem, the two eminent Dominican scholars Louis-Hugues Vincent and Felix-Marie Abel proposed to date the two burial complexes to the Hellenistic or Roman period. This dating remained unchallenged until the survey of 1974–75, carried out by the distinguished Israeli archaeologists Gabriel Barkay and Amos Kloner, who proposed to date the two burial caves towards the end of the Judahite kingdom, on the basis of an unsystematic comparison of few architectural features with those of other tombs. In the frame of the improved knowledge of the broad and adjacent archaeological contexts since the last study of the Saint-Étienne Compound Hypogea, between 2011 and 2014 Riccardo Lufrani carried out a detailed survey of the two burial caves, providing new and more detailed photographic, topographic, archaeological and geological documentation. The systematic comparison of the significant architectural features of the Saint-Étienne Compound Hypogea with a consistent sample of 22 tombs in the region suggest dating the hewing of the two hypogea to the Early Hellenistic period, shedding a new light on the history of Jerusalem.