The Cult of Mithras in Early Christian Literature – an Inventory and Interpretation

Klio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saskia Roselaar
Keyword(s):  
Fifth Century ◽  
Religious Group ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Detailed Explanation ◽  
Patristic Literature ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
The Way

AbstractThis article investigates references to Mithraism in early Christian works, dating from the second to fifth centuries AD. It argues that the way the Mithras cult was described and/or addressed transformed as the relative positions in society of Christianity and pagan cults changed. In the earliest period Christianity was only one religious group among many, and its later dominance could not be foreseen. This may have made Christian writers eager to distinguish themselves from other religious groups by a detailed explanation of the differences between their religion and others, and by a careful exposition of what their cult entailed and why other cults were wrong. In later periods, when the position of Christianity was much stronger, a systematic refutation of other religions was no longer necessary. Most references to the cult of Mithras in later periods therefore merely seem to emphasize the superiority felt by Christians over other religions. An Appendix collects all references to the Mithras cult in patristic literature from the second to fifth century AD.

scholarly journals Euzebiusz z Heraklei i jego "Homilia efeska" (CPG 6143) z etiopskiej antologii patrystycznej Qerellos

Vox Patrum ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 807-819
Author(s):  
Rafał Zarzeczny
Keyword(s):  
Cyril Of Alexandria ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Core ◽  
Patristic Literature ◽  
Ancient Manuscripts ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
Council Of Ephesus

Classical oriental literatures, especially in Syriac, Arabic and Coptic lan­guages, constitute extraordinary treasury for patristic studies. Apart from the texts written originally in their ecclesiastical ambient, the oriental ancient manuscripts include many documents completely disappeared or preserved in their Greek and Latin originals in defective form only. The same refers to the Ethiopian Christian literature. In this context so-called Qerəllos anthology occupies a particular place as one of the most important patristic writings. It contains Christological treaties and homilies by Cyril of Alexandria and other documents, essentially of the anti-nestorian and monophysite character, in the context of the Council of Ephesus (431). The core of the anthology was compiled in Alexandria and translated into Ge’ez language directly from Greek during the Aksumite period (V-VII century). Ethiopic homily by Eusebius of Heraclea (CPG 6143) is unique preserved ver­sion of this document, and also unique noted text of the bishop from V century. Besides the introduction to the Early Christian patristic literature and especially to the Qerəllos anthology, this paper offers a Polish translation of the Eusebius’s Homily with relative commentary.

scholarly journals Metafora soli w Biblii i literaturze wczesnochrześcijańskiej

Vox Patrum ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 221-243
Author(s):  
Mieczysław Celestyn Paczkowski
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
The Way

The article presents the complex symbolism of salt that was strongly in­fluenced by the rites and beliefs of the pagan and the biblical world as well as early Christian literature. The salt is an element present in every aspect of human life (food, medicine and religious cults). It played an important role in sacrifices and offerings of Old Testament. For this reason, Jesus’ use of this metaphor was extremely familiar to His followers. On the biblical bases the various allegorical motifs of salt were present in Christian authors. Metaphors associated with the salt became precise and rich. Salt was a symbolic figure of wisdom, moral cleanness and incorruptibility. God’s salt enabled one to triumph over the spiritual enemy. The Fathers taught to point others to the way of life, to show how they might be preserved from death and destruction. They pointed out how the purpose of Christian life depended on their spiritual saltiness.

A Decade of Research in Early Christian Literature, 1921–1930

1933 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 173-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustav Krüger
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Church History ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Adequate Knowledge ◽  
Patristic Literature ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
The Subject

In the present article, which continues the critical studies of the literature on Church History, published in this Review in 1921–1925, I cannot attempt to cover so wide a field as before, both because of my own advancing years and because, with the enormous yearly increase in the material, no single scholar is any longer in a position to treat it with adequate knowledge. I shall, therefore, limit myself to the field of patristic literature, the subject in which I won my spurs almost half a century ago and with which I have never ceased to occupy myself. Now that the literature of the countries formerly at war with Germany is again accessible to me, the survey can, as in old times, be international. In all these countries, especially in France and Belgium, the investigation of early Christian literature has in recent years had a powerful development, and Germany, under present economic conditions, in spite of unrelaxed industry, is in danger of falling into the rear.

scholarly journals Anti-Origenist Redaction in the Fragments of theGospel of Truth(NHC XII,2): Theological Controversy and the Transmission of Early Christian Literature

2016 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-74
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Smith
Keyword(s):  
Image Of God ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
Theological Controversy ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
Apocryphal Texts

Ancient polemicists claim that apocryphal texts contributed to the enduring popularity of the Origenist “heresy” in fourth- and fifth-century Egypt. The anchorite Sopatrus associates “apocryphal literature” with “discussions about the image,” shorthand for Origenist debates over the loss of the image of God in humanity, and urges his hearers to avoid both apocryphal books and the theological controversy they incite. In his festal letter of 401 CE, the archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria rails against Origenist teaching and urges Christians throughout Egypt to reject “Origen's evils” and disregard “Scriptures called ‘apocrypha.’” Shenoute's association of Origenist themes with “apocryphal books” inI Am Amazeddemonstrates that non-canonical writings continued to occupy a central position in Origenist theological debates well into the fifth century.

scholarly journals Tjenere, pryglestokke og kropslige lidenskaber

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Lasse Løvlund Toft
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Apocryphal Acts ◽  
Patristic Literature ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
The Relationship

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: According to Gen 1:26–28, the human being was given rule over the animals, even though this apparently conflicts with the lived reality on earth. To judge from sources from the Early Church, this apparent dichotomy posed a serious challenge to the claim of the goodness of God, which had to be defended accordingly. The present article investigates different Early Christian views on the relationship between animals and humans. Through a series of Danish translations of extracts from eastern patristic writings from around the 4th century, it is argued that despite a certain diversity of argument, two different ‘zoologies’, or views on animals and on the human rule over especially wild animals appear. These views seem to revolve around the two Christian centres of theology and biblical exegesis of the time – Alexandria and Antioch. Insights from the readings of the patristic literature are subsequently used as a hermeneutical key in order to understand encounters between animals and holy persons found in other parts of the Early Christian literature, namely the apocryphal Acts of the Apos-tles, martyr literature and ascetic literature. The article ends with a view to the Western church. DANSK RESUME: Mennesket blev ifølge Gen 1,26–28 sat til at herske over dyrene – men stemmer dette overens med den erfarede virkelighed? At dømme ud fra oldkirkelige kilder udfordrede dette tilsyneladende modsætningsforhold den kristne forståelse af Guds godhed, som følgelig måtte forsvares. I denne artikel undersøges forskellige oldkirkelige forestillinger om forholdet mellem dyr og mennesker. Gennem en række oversættelser af uddrag fra skrifter skrevet af østlige kirkefædre omkring det 4. århundrede argumenteres der for, at der trods en vis diversitet i argumentationen grundlæggende viser sig to forskellige forestillinger om dyr, eller ‘zoologier’, og om menneskets herredømme over særligt vilde dyr. Disse forskelle synes at være mellem det alexandrinske teologisk-eksegetiske miljø og det antiokenske. Indsigter fra disse undersøgelser bruges desuden som hermeneutisk nøgle til forstå relationer mellem dyr og hellige personer i anden oldkirkelig litteratur såsom de apokryfe apostelakter, martyrlitteratur og asketisk litteratur. Slutteligt gives der et udblik til vestlige kirkefædre.

Gospels before the Book

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. C. Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Collection ◽  
Printing Press ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Textual Tradition ◽  
Textual Culture ◽  
Early Christian Studies ◽  
The Way

What does it mean to read the gospels “before the book”? For centuries, the way people have talked about the gospels has been shaped by ideas that have more to do with the printing press and modern notions of the author than they do with ancient writing and reading practices. Gospels Before the Book challenges several subtle yet problematic assumptions about authors, books, and publication at work in early Christian studies. The author explores a host of underappreciated elements of ancient textual culture, such as unfinished texts, accidental publication, postpublication revision, and multiple authorized versions of the same work. Turning to the gospels, he argues the earliest readers and users of the text we now call the Gospel according to Mark treated it not as a book published by an author but as an unfinished, open, and fluid collection of notes (hypomnēmata). The Gospel according to Matthew, then, would not be regarded as a separate book published by a different author but, rather, as a continuation of the same unfinished gospel tradition. Similarly, it is not the case that, of the five different endings in the textual tradition, one is “right” and the others are “wrong.” Rather, each ending represents its own effort to fill in what some perceived to be lacking in the Gospel according to Mark. The text of the Gospel according to Mark is better understood when approached as unfinished notes than as a book published by an author. Larsen also offers a new methodological framework for future scholarship on early Christian gospels.

Uncharted Territory

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Freer
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Detailed Explanation ◽  
Rentier States ◽  
The Way

This introductory chapter outlines where and how this book contributes original research to the existing scholarship on politics of rentier states in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the academic work on political Islam through a brief literature review. This book will demonstrate that political Islam serves as a prominent voice critiquing social policies, as well as promoting more strictly political, and often populist or reformist, views supported by a great many Gulf citizens. As laid out in this chapter, this book demonstrates that the way that Islamist organizations operate in the unique environment of the super-rentiers is distinct. It also presents information about the methodology and sources used, as well as a detailed explanation for the use of country cases chosen. The chapter closes by describing the format of the book.

Purity, Community, and Ritual in Early Christian Literature

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshe Blidstein
Keyword(s):  
Third Century ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Christian Culture ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
Christian Practices ◽  
Dietary Laws ◽  
New Religion

This book examines the meanings of purification practices and purity concepts in early Christian culture, as articulated and formed by Greek Christian authors of the first three centuries, from Paul to Origen. Concepts of purity and defilement were pivotal for understanding human nature, sin, history, and ritual in early Christianity. In parallel, major Christian practices, such as baptism, abstinence from food or sexual activity, were all understood, felt, and shaped as instances of purification. Two broad motivations, at some tension with each other, formed the basis of Christian purity discourse. The first was substantive: the creation and maintenance of anthropologies and ritual theories coherent with the theological principles of the new religion. The second was polemic: construction of Christian identity by laying claim to true purity while marking purity practices and beliefs of others (Jews, pagans, or “heretics”) as false. The book traces the interplay of these factors through a close reading of second- and third-century Christian Greek authors discussing dietary laws, death defilement, sexuality, and baptism, on the background of Greco-Roman and Jewish purity discourses. There are three central arguments. First, purity and defilement were central concepts for understanding Christian cultures of the second and third centuries. Second, Christianities developed their own conceptions and practices of purity and purification, distinct from those of contemporary and earlier Jewish and pagan cultures, though decisively influenced by them. Third, concepts and practices of purity and defilement were shifting and contentious, an arena for boundary-marking between Christians and others and between different Christian groups.

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