Dépouillements

Partakers of Divinity in Origen’s Contra Celsum / Beniamin Pascut in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 315-340 Titre : Partakers of Divinity in Origen’s Contra Celsum Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Beniamin Pascut, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 315-340 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : Journal of Early Christian Studies focuses on the study of Christianity in the context of late ancient societies and religions from C.E. 100-700. The Journal publishes the best of traditional patristics scholarship while showcasing articles that call attention to newer methodologies and themes often absent from other patristic journals. Every issue features an extensive book review section. Journal of Early Christian Studies is the official publication of the North American Patristics Society (NAPS). [article] Partakers of Divinity in Origen’s Contra Celsum [texte imprimé] / Beniamin Pascut, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 315-340. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 315-340 Résumé : Journal of Early Christian Studies focuses on the study of Christianity in the context of late ancient societies and religions from C.E. 100-700. The Journal publishes the best of traditional patristics scholarship while showcasing articles that call attention to newer methodologies and themes often absent from other patristic journals. Every issue features an extensive book review section. Journal of Early Christian Studies is the official publication of the North American Patristics Society (NAPS).

Developments in Early Eucharistic Praying in Light of Changes in Early Christian Meeting Spaces / Nathan P. Chase in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 367-402 Titre : Developments in Early Eucharistic Praying in Light of Changes in Early Christian Meeting Spaces Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Nathan P. Chase, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 367-402 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : Performance criticism (Tambiah) and the Egyptian textual and material evidence strongly suggest that there is a correlation between the size of Christian worship spaces and the length of early Eucharistic prayers that likely holds outside of Egypt as well. Liturgy as an embodied experience not only includes liturgical texts, but also art, architecture, sounds, smells, gestures, and movements. Attending to the non-textual dimensions of the liturgical celebration provides a fuller picture of how Christians, especially in the early Church, celebrated their liturgies. This article looks at the way Eucharistic texts and spaces related to one another in the early church in order to evaluate and substantiate the theory that the shift from house churches to basilicas in the fourth century meant that the short and often improvised Eucharistic prayers of the pre-Nicene period were no longer suitable to the larger purpose-built liturgical spaces that emerged in the post-Nicene period. Despite the abundance of Eucharistic texts and spaces in the early church, no one has attempted to corollate changes in space and liturgical texts. Egypt is the ideal region to serve as a case study since there are a number of early Christian meeting spaces and Eucharistic texts preserved in that region. This article will test the theory that larger spaces required longer liturgical prayers and show that the expansion of Christian congregations, their meeting spaces, and their prayers was part of a broader process of ritual involution that we would expect to find in other aspects of their rituals as well. [End Page 367] [article] Developments in Early Eucharistic Praying in Light of Changes in Early Christian Meeting Spaces [texte imprimé] / Nathan P. Chase, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 367-402. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 367-402 Résumé : Performance criticism (Tambiah) and the Egyptian textual and material evidence strongly suggest that there is a correlation between the size of Christian worship spaces and the length of early Eucharistic prayers that likely holds outside of Egypt as well. Liturgy as an embodied experience not only includes liturgical texts, but also art, architecture, sounds, smells, gestures, and movements. Attending to the non-textual dimensions of the liturgical celebration provides a fuller picture of how Christians, especially in the early Church, celebrated their liturgies. This article looks at the way Eucharistic texts and spaces related to one another in the early church in order to evaluate and substantiate the theory that the shift from house churches to basilicas in the fourth century meant that the short and often improvised Eucharistic prayers of the pre-Nicene period were no longer suitable to the larger purpose-built liturgical spaces that emerged in the post-Nicene period. Despite the abundance of Eucharistic texts and spaces in the early church, no one has attempted to corollate changes in space and liturgical texts. Egypt is the ideal region to serve as a case study since there are a number of early Christian meeting spaces and Eucharistic texts preserved in that region. This article will test the theory that larger spaces required longer liturgical prayers and show that the expansion of Christian congregations, their meeting spaces, and their prayers was part of a broader process of ritual involution that we would expect to find in other aspects of their rituals as well. [End Page 367]

The Emergence of the Scribe-Martyr in Late Antique Christianity (Fourth Century–Seventh Century) / Sabrina Inowlocki in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 403-430 Titre : The Emergence of the Scribe-Martyr in Late Antique Christianity (Fourth Century–Seventh Century) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Sabrina Inowlocki, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 403-430 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : 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. [article] The Emergence of the Scribe-Martyr in Late Antique Christianity (Fourth Century–Seventh Century) [texte imprimé] / Sabrina Inowlocki, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 403-430. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 403-430 Résumé : 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.

A New Perspective on the Relationship between Ambrose’s De sacramentis and the Roman Canon Missae / Matthew S. C. Olver in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 431-465 Titre : A New Perspective on the Relationship between Ambrose’s De sacramentis and the Roman Canon Missae Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Matthew S. C. Olver, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 431-465 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : The earliest certain witness to an anaphora that bears many obvious similarities to the Roman Canon Missae is found in Book 4 of Ambrose’s De Sacramentis. Scholars have characterized the relationship between the two texts, however, in remarkably contradictory ways. In this article, I demonstrate that Ambrose and the Roman Canon contain both earlier and later versions of a shared, core text. Through a careful examination of these two texts, I demonstrate that in each section of the respective anaphoral texts, distinct developments are clearly evident. This can be seen most clearly in the institution narrative, where there is a move to make the bread and cup narratives more symmetrical, but in ways that show both continuity and discontinuity to each other. We can no longer simply treat the text provided by Ambrose in De sacramentis as the earlier version of what became the Roman Canon. Instead, it is evidence of what was likely a wider phenomenon: the parallel development of Latin anaphoral texts that are based on both Greek Alexandrian sources and different biblical manuscripts. The evolution and redaction of the individual sections of each anaphora underwent independent redactions. [article] A New Perspective on the Relationship between Ambrose’s De sacramentis and the Roman Canon Missae [texte imprimé] / Matthew S. C. Olver, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 431-465. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 431-465 Résumé : The earliest certain witness to an anaphora that bears many obvious similarities to the Roman Canon Missae is found in Book 4 of Ambrose’s De Sacramentis. Scholars have characterized the relationship between the two texts, however, in remarkably contradictory ways. In this article, I demonstrate that Ambrose and the Roman Canon contain both earlier and later versions of a shared, core text. Through a careful examination of these two texts, I demonstrate that in each section of the respective anaphoral texts, distinct developments are clearly evident. This can be seen most clearly in the institution narrative, where there is a move to make the bread and cup narratives more symmetrical, but in ways that show both continuity and discontinuity to each other. We can no longer simply treat the text provided by Ambrose in De sacramentis as the earlier version of what became the Roman Canon. Instead, it is evidence of what was likely a wider phenomenon: the parallel development of Latin anaphoral texts that are based on both Greek Alexandrian sources and different biblical manuscripts. The evolution and redaction of the individual sections of each anaphora underwent independent redactions.

Eusebius the Evangelist: Rewriting the Fourfold Gospel in Late Antiquity by Jeremiah Coogan (review) / Carl Johan Berglund in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 467-469 Titre : Eusebius the Evangelist: Rewriting the Fourfold Gospel in Late Antiquity by Jeremiah Coogan (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Carl Johan Berglund, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 467-469 Langues : Anglais (eng) [article] Eusebius the Evangelist: Rewriting the Fourfold Gospel in Late Antiquity by Jeremiah Coogan (review) [texte imprimé] / Carl Johan Berglund, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 467-469. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 467-469

The Library of Paradise: A History of Contemplative Reading in the Monasteries of the Church of the East by David A. Michelson (review) / Jacob A. Lollar in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 469-471 Titre : The Library of Paradise: A History of Contemplative Reading in the Monasteries of the Church of the East by David A. Michelson (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Jacob A. Lollar, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 469-471 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : As the landscapes of the history of Christianity continue to expand with increasing attention devoted to non-western literatures and cultures, more unexplored pastures appear. David Michelson’s book serves as a kind of land bridge between well-wandered country to one that remains foreign and untrodden to a west-centered field of scholarship. Monasticism, reading, and contemplation in Christian traditions have been studied by scholars for generations, but their manifestations in traditions of the near and far east have been comparatively neglected. Michelson’s book is one step in the direction of rectifying that situation. [article] The Library of Paradise: A History of Contemplative Reading in the Monasteries of the Church of the East by David A. Michelson (review) [texte imprimé] / Jacob A. Lollar, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 469-471. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 469-471 Résumé : As the landscapes of the history of Christianity continue to expand with increasing attention devoted to non-western literatures and cultures, more unexplored pastures appear. David Michelson’s book serves as a kind of land bridge between well-wandered country to one that remains foreign and untrodden to a west-centered field of scholarship. Monasticism, reading, and contemplation in Christian traditions have been studied by scholars for generations, but their manifestations in traditions of the near and far east have been comparatively neglected. Michelson’s book is one step in the direction of rectifying that situation.

Cult of the Dead: A Brief History of Christianity by Kyle Smith (review) / Nicole Kelley in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 471-473 Titre : Cult of the Dead: A Brief History of Christianity by Kyle Smith (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Nicole Kelley, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 471-473 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : This book is (aptly) described by its author as “a magpie’s collection of stories and scholarship” that has been distilled “into an entertaining narrative for a general reader” (273). Have you ever asked what the Jägermeister label is about, or pondered why hazelnuts are also called filberts? Did you ever wonder who came up with the b.c./a.d. idea in the first place? The answers to these and other questions await you in the pages of Kyle Smith’s Cult of the Dead: A Brief History of Christianity. It is half Eusebius’s Church History, half Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and more fun to read than either of those. It is engaging and accessible enough to work in an undergraduate classroom (it has all the good stories and none of the scholarly jargon). Its “Notes for Further Reading” and bibliography are excellent resources. Especially given its host of high-quality images, this book is a bargain. [article] Cult of the Dead: A Brief History of Christianity by Kyle Smith (review) [texte imprimé] / Nicole Kelley, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 471-473. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 471-473 Résumé : This book is (aptly) described by its author as “a magpie’s collection of stories and scholarship” that has been distilled “into an entertaining narrative for a general reader” (273). Have you ever asked what the Jägermeister label is about, or pondered why hazelnuts are also called filberts? Did you ever wonder who came up with the b.c./a.d. idea in the first place? The answers to these and other questions await you in the pages of Kyle Smith’s Cult of the Dead: A Brief History of Christianity. It is half Eusebius’s Church History, half Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and more fun to read than either of those. It is engaging and accessible enough to work in an undergraduate classroom (it has all the good stories and none of the scholarly jargon). Its “Notes for Further Reading” and bibliography are excellent resources. Especially given its host of high-quality images, this book is a bargain.

Sancti Viri, Ut Audio: Theologies, Rhetorics, and Receptions of the Pelagian Controversy Reappraised by Anthony Dupont et al. (review) / Thomas P. Scheck in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 473-475 Titre : Sancti Viri, Ut Audio: Theologies, Rhetorics, and Receptions of the Pelagian Controversy Reappraised by Anthony Dupont et al. (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Thomas P. Scheck, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 473-475 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : In 1989 Matthijs Lamberigts argued that the Pelagian controversy should not be assessed on the basis of an either-or attitude and that the possible rehabilitation of Pelagius or Julian cannot be linked to a repudiation or rejection of Augustine’s positions. Such an attitude would only result in a mirror image of former approaches to the matter and would not truly advance the scientific research into this dispute. It appears to me that the contributors to the volume under review have by and large adhered to this plea for balance, moderation, and respect. The title of this book recalls Augustine’s words about Pelagius in De peccatorum meritis et remissione 3.1.1: “a holy man, I hear.” The essays are all in English and reappraise the antique “Pelagian” controversy with its now recognized myriads of theologies, rhetorics, and receptions. [article] Sancti Viri, Ut Audio: Theologies, Rhetorics, and Receptions of the Pelagian Controversy Reappraised by Anthony Dupont et al. (review) [texte imprimé] / Thomas P. Scheck, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 473-475. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 473-475 Résumé : In 1989 Matthijs Lamberigts argued that the Pelagian controversy should not be assessed on the basis of an either-or attitude and that the possible rehabilitation of Pelagius or Julian cannot be linked to a repudiation or rejection of Augustine’s positions. Such an attitude would only result in a mirror image of former approaches to the matter and would not truly advance the scientific research into this dispute. It appears to me that the contributors to the volume under review have by and large adhered to this plea for balance, moderation, and respect. The title of this book recalls Augustine’s words about Pelagius in De peccatorum meritis et remissione 3.1.1: “a holy man, I hear.” The essays are all in English and reappraise the antique “Pelagian” controversy with its now recognized myriads of theologies, rhetorics, and receptions.

Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation by Alex Fogleman (review) / DUNN Geoffrey D. in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - Pages : 475-477 Titre : Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation by Alex Fogleman (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : DUNN Geoffrey D., Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : Pages : 475-477 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : The catechumenate in early Christianity was the time a person who wished to become Christian spent in preparation, which consisted of catechesis and liturgical experiences. Fogleman’s volume seeks to explain the changing form of catechesis during those centuries by considering the writings of eleven key figures of the Latin West. This follows an introductory chapter on the educational landscape in antiquity. The aim is to understand the differing ways in which catechesis led to knowledge of God. The work offers an epistemological approach to catechesis, investigating the relationship between catechesis and pedagogy, thereby differentiating itself from liturgical, historical, or pastoral studies of the topic, such as the [End Page 475] late Bill Harmless’s Augustine and the Catechumenate. It asks how knowledge of God is described and taught. One should note, however, that a portion of each chapter is devoted to such liturgical and historical matters before attention is turned to the epistemological. Overall, I would say that to present the catechumenate solely in terms of knowledge of God, although important, is limiting in that a wider consideration of learning how to experience God is downplayed [article] Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation by Alex Fogleman (review) [texte imprimé] / DUNN Geoffrey D., Auteur . - 2025 . - Pages : 475-477. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - Pages : 475-477 Résumé : The catechumenate in early Christianity was the time a person who wished to become Christian spent in preparation, which consisted of catechesis and liturgical experiences. Fogleman’s volume seeks to explain the changing form of catechesis during those centuries by considering the writings of eleven key figures of the Latin West. This follows an introductory chapter on the educational landscape in antiquity. The aim is to understand the differing ways in which catechesis led to knowledge of God. The work offers an epistemological approach to catechesis, investigating the relationship between catechesis and pedagogy, thereby differentiating itself from liturgical, historical, or pastoral studies of the topic, such as the [End Page 475] late Bill Harmless’s Augustine and the Catechumenate. It asks how knowledge of God is described and taught. One should note, however, that a portion of each chapter is devoted to such liturgical and historical matters before attention is turned to the epistemological. Overall, I would say that to present the catechumenate solely in terms of knowledge of God, although important, is limiting in that a wider consideration of learning how to experience God is downplayed

The Doctrine of Addai and the Letters of Jesus and Abgar by Jacob A. Lollar (review) / Eva María Rodrigo Gómez in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 477-479 Titre : The Doctrine of Addai and the Letters of Jesus and Abgar by Jacob A. Lollar (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Eva María Rodrigo Gómez, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 477-479 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : Jacob A. Lollar furnishes us with a handy English translation of the mythical (in more than one sense) Doctrine of Addai and the correspondence between Jesus and King Abgar. This book starts with a useful introduction, where Lollar presents the work, giving a summary; the main theories about the provenance, date, and authorship; a diagram with a proposal of the transmission of the Addai legend; the historical context in which it was written and transmitted; its use of scripture; a description of the manuscripts that preserve the text, together with other witnesses of this tradition; and finally mention of modern translations, [End Page 477] of which this would be the fifth one in English, the previous one published as recently as 2021 by J. E. Walters in his Eastern Christianity: A Reader (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2021). [article] The Doctrine of Addai and the Letters of Jesus and Abgar by Jacob A. Lollar (review) [texte imprimé] / Eva María Rodrigo Gómez, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 477-479. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 477-479 Résumé : Jacob A. Lollar furnishes us with a handy English translation of the mythical (in more than one sense) Doctrine of Addai and the correspondence between Jesus and King Abgar. This book starts with a useful introduction, where Lollar presents the work, giving a summary; the main theories about the provenance, date, and authorship; a diagram with a proposal of the transmission of the Addai legend; the historical context in which it was written and transmitted; its use of scripture; a description of the manuscripts that preserve the text, together with other witnesses of this tradition; and finally mention of modern translations, [End Page 477] of which this would be the fifth one in English, the previous one published as recently as 2021 by J. E. Walters in his Eastern Christianity: A Reader (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2021).

Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria: The Last Pharaoh and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Later Roman Empire by Volker L. Menze (review) / Mark DelCogliano in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 479-481 Titre : Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria: The Last Pharaoh and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Later Roman Empire by Volker L. Menze (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Mark DelCogliano, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 479-481 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : Dioscorus of Alexandria was the immediate successor of Cyril, a tough act to follow. He took center stage at the second Council of Ephesus in 449, the so-called Latrocinium (“Robber Synod”), but only two years later he was deposed and exiled at the Council of Chalcedon. While the miaphysite tradition has revered him as a saint from the immediate aftermath of the council to the present day, Chalcedonians have vilified him as a heretic (along with Eutyches), even though, as Menze points out repeatedly, Chalcedon did not condemn him as such. Menze’s book, the first English-language monograph on Dioscorus, attempts to reconstruct the historical Dioscorus and rescue him from caricatures on both sides. Why did Dioscorus fail so miserably when Cyril succeeded so spectacularly? Menze [End Page 479] holds that politics rather than theology is the key to understanding Dioscorus and his times. He does not see Chalcedon as inevitable because of some sort of unfinished christological business; rather, it was only made possible by the accession of Emperor Marcian, for whom reconciliation with Rome was a top priority. Menze argues that Dioscorus was not a savvy politician like Cyril and was sucked into the christological quarrels of his era reluctantly, more a pawn of Theodosius than an instigator. Dioscorus, furthermore, was no mere epigone of Cyril, but a prelate with his own concerns, an able administrator, and an ecclesiastical reformer: a Cyrillian theologically, but anti-Cyrillian politically. Menze also contends that there is no indication that Marcian ever wanted Dioscorus deposed; this is due solely to the bishop’s own political blunders. [article] Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria: The Last Pharaoh and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Later Roman Empire by Volker L. Menze (review) [texte imprimé] / Mark DelCogliano, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 479-481. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 479-481 Résumé : Dioscorus of Alexandria was the immediate successor of Cyril, a tough act to follow. He took center stage at the second Council of Ephesus in 449, the so-called Latrocinium (“Robber Synod”), but only two years later he was deposed and exiled at the Council of Chalcedon. While the miaphysite tradition has revered him as a saint from the immediate aftermath of the council to the present day, Chalcedonians have vilified him as a heretic (along with Eutyches), even though, as Menze points out repeatedly, Chalcedon did not condemn him as such. Menze’s book, the first English-language monograph on Dioscorus, attempts to reconstruct the historical Dioscorus and rescue him from caricatures on both sides. Why did Dioscorus fail so miserably when Cyril succeeded so spectacularly? Menze [End Page 479] holds that politics rather than theology is the key to understanding Dioscorus and his times. He does not see Chalcedon as inevitable because of some sort of unfinished christological business; rather, it was only made possible by the accession of Emperor Marcian, for whom reconciliation with Rome was a top priority. Menze argues that Dioscorus was not a savvy politician like Cyril and was sucked into the christological quarrels of his era reluctantly, more a pawn of Theodosius than an instigator. Dioscorus, furthermore, was no mere epigone of Cyril, but a prelate with his own concerns, an able administrator, and an ecclesiastical reformer: a Cyrillian theologically, but anti-Cyrillian politically. Menze also contends that there is no indication that Marcian ever wanted Dioscorus deposed; this is due solely to the bishop’s own political blunders.

The Shepherd of Hermas: A New Translation and Commentary by Michael J. Sviegel and Caroline P. Buie (review) / Chance E. Bonar in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 482-483 Titre : The Shepherd of Hermas: A New Translation and Commentary by Michael J. Sviegel and Caroline P. Buie (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Chance E. Bonar, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 482-483 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : Michael Sviegel and Caroline Buie’s translation and commentary of the Shepherd of Hermas dares to offer a deep dive into a text that scholars of the New Testament and early Christianity often briefly explore before turning their attention elsewhere—due to boredom or confusion, and other times due to a brief expedition in order to mine the text for details related to Christology, history of the canon, or Roman ecclesiastical history. In doing so, Sviegel and Buie offer a robust analysis of the Shepherd that will ideally assuage boredom with the 114-chapter text, clarify points of perplexity, and offer accessible sections of relevant comments for readers who are focusing their attention on particular passages or themes. [article] The Shepherd of Hermas: A New Translation and Commentary by Michael J. Sviegel and Caroline P. Buie (review) [texte imprimé] / Chance E. Bonar, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 482-483. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 482-483 Résumé : Michael Sviegel and Caroline Buie’s translation and commentary of the Shepherd of Hermas dares to offer a deep dive into a text that scholars of the New Testament and early Christianity often briefly explore before turning their attention elsewhere—due to boredom or confusion, and other times due to a brief expedition in order to mine the text for details related to Christology, history of the canon, or Roman ecclesiastical history. In doing so, Sviegel and Buie offer a robust analysis of the Shepherd that will ideally assuage boredom with the 114-chapter text, clarify points of perplexity, and offer accessible sections of relevant comments for readers who are focusing their attention on particular passages or themes.

The Christian Metaphysics of St. Maximus the Confessor: Creation, World-Order, and Redemption by Torstein Theodor Tollefsen (review) / Carl Vennerstrom in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 484-485 Titre : The Christian Metaphysics of St. Maximus the Confessor: Creation, World-Order, and Redemption by Torstein Theodor Tollefsen (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Carl Vennerstrom, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 484-485 Langues : Anglais (eng) [article] The Christian Metaphysics of St. Maximus the Confessor: Creation, World-Order, and Redemption by Torstein Theodor Tollefsen (review) [texte imprimé] / Carl Vennerstrom, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 484-485. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 484-485

Disability, Medicine, and Healing Discourse in Early Christianity: New Conversations for Health Humanities ed. by Susan R. Holman (review) / C. L. Buckner in Journal of Early Christian Studies, n°3 (2025)

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 486-487 Titre : Disability, Medicine, and Healing Discourse in Early Christianity: New Conversations for Health Humanities ed. by Susan R. Holman (review) Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : C. L. Buckner, Auteur Année de publication : 2025 Article en page(s) : pp. 486-487 Langues : Anglais (eng) Résumé : To what extent can we understand early Christians as engaging in hazing culture? Is it possible for the lives of ancient ascetics to inform discourses concerning mental health? How does water access impact public health and the transformation of communities in antiquity and beyond? This volume of ten essays seeks to answer these questions and many more. Each contribution examines healing, medical, and health discourses from the second through the sixth centuries c.e., except for the tenth installment in which Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen responds to the entries authored by Susan Holman, Helen Rhee, and Chris de Wet. Drawing on a variety of postmodern theories and scholarship, the contributions seek to challenge contemporary approaches to reading late antique literature and to carve out a place for engaging modernity in conversations about the ancient world. [article] Disability, Medicine, and Healing Discourse in Early Christianity: New Conversations for Health Humanities ed. by Susan R. Holman (review) [texte imprimé] / C. L. Buckner, Auteur . - 2025 . - pp. 486-487. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Early Christian Studies > n°3 (2025) . - pp. 486-487 Résumé : To what extent can we understand early Christians as engaging in hazing culture? Is it possible for the lives of ancient ascetics to inform discourses concerning mental health? How does water access impact public health and the transformation of communities in antiquity and beyond? This volume of ten essays seeks to answer these questions and many more. Each contribution examines healing, medical, and health discourses from the second through the sixth centuries c.e., except for the tenth installment in which Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen responds to the entries authored by Susan Holman, Helen Rhee, and Chris de Wet. Drawing on a variety of postmodern theories and scholarship, the contributions seek to challenge contemporary approaches to reading late antique literature and to carve out a place for engaging modernity in conversations about the ancient world.