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Paul often uses metaphors as a method of persuasion. In Rom 8, Paul's use of kinship metaphors such as "sonship" and being "heirs" is particularly ubiquitous. Paul writes to an audience situated in Rome where they would have been well aware of kinship metaphors as this inter alia formed part of the Julio-Claudio Caesars' vocabulary and legitimation of their rule. Paul's familial metaphors would have resonated with an audience in Rome au fait with the notion of adoption and its implications. The use of the images of "sonship" and "heir" also function as spatial metaphors indicating a vertical and horizontal understanding which the audience would have picked up on. The spatial metaphors contribute to an understanding of "in" and "out", underscoring an alternative family identity found in Christ. These metaphors play a role in the formation and construction of what is later to be called early Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text discusses the book "Legendae martyrum urbis Romae: lateinisch-deutsch = Märtyrerlegenden der Stadt Rom" edited by Hans Reinhard Seeliger and Wolfgang Wischmeyer. The book explores the creation of narratives of Christian martyrs in Rome during the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries. The texts provide a diverse collection of stories, ranging from short and simple to long and elaborate, and offer insights into the last days of paganism in Rome. The texts are presented in a readable and reliable translation, with helpful annotations and minimal introductions. The book provides a valuable resource for studying these texts and their historical and literary significance. [Extracted from the article]

The series of texts from the synods of the African Latin Church that speak of appealing to the Fathers contain strong arguments that irrefutably testify to the fact that the synodal fathers were convinced that it was always necessary to rely on the authority of the Fathers who lived earlier and to refer to the indisputable Tradition. We also learn from them that the expression "fathers" (or rare analogous forms such as, for example, "brothers" - ἀδελφοί, fratres) is synonymous with "Tradition", since it is closely associated with the authority of the Councils, in particular the First Council of Nicaea, whose essential dogmatic significance is unparalleled in the history of the Church. The consequence of recognising the First Council of Nicaea as indisputable Tradition is to give the statements of the Fathers a normative character binding even on the Roman Church. A reading of the documents of the African synods reveals an increasing clarification of the determinants of Tradition: apostolic origin, antiquity, universal acceptance. But it is above all the recognition of the action of the Holy Spirit in the synodal college that gives Tradition its binding force and allows it to be identified with faith and truth. The documentation of the African synods represents a decisive step in the evolution of the relationship between Rome and other bishoprics in terms of jurisdictional primacy or the authoritative role of Rome. In its ultimate repercussions, the issue is thus tinged with ecclesiological and ecumenical tones. The texts discussed here allow us to discover the enormous contribution of the African Church to the ancient Christian thought of this golden age, in which Fathers such as Aurelius, Alypius and Augustine himself were active. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines poetic processes of Christianization of landscapes in and around Rome, viewed through the lenses of Prudentius's Peristephanon 11 and Vergil's Aeneid 8. Placing these works in conversation, this essay explores resonances in the two poets' imaginative usages of movement as a method to guide their audiences' understandings and experiences of Rome's landscapes. Further texture is added through attention to how movement creatively intersects with different forms and expressions of violence and of the divine in both poems. From the (literally) tortured travels of the early Christian martyr Hippolytus to Aeneas's journeys across time and place in a mytho-historic Italy, both Prudentius and Vergil weave together movement, violence, and the sacred into instructive tapestries for their respective audiences. Rather than simply rehashing Vergilian themes with a Christian veneer, however, Prudentius places himself in creative dialogue with his poetic predecessor to offer his audience a distinctly Christianizing vision of Rome's history and landscapes. Writing in a period marked by the possibilities and pitfalls of a Roman world in flux, Prudentius anchors his audience in the venerable past of Roman epic while striding forward into the brave new world of a Christian Roman Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In common parlance, an apocalypse refers to a calamity that signals the end. It represents a closure. But the original meaning in the biblical Greek is the opposite. Apocalypse means "revelation" or disclosure. It offers hope, not despair. For the early Christians facing persecution by the Roman Empire, hope was disclosed in a coded narrative that showed the hidden weakness of their tormentors. The "beast" of imperial power and the "great whore" of its global economy crash in mutual destruction. For us, the revelation we most need is reflexive: signs that will enable us to see clearly how our current civilization is self‐destructive. If the new Rome is the Pax Americana, the empire that the United States has imposed on much of the world in the name of democracy and freedom, the "whore of Babylon" is the global economy. Once again, what appears on the surface to be an unstoppable force of progress is the engine of its own destruction. Right‐wing Christians have inverted the vision, seeing, by analogy, the emperor as the one being persecuted. Rather than abandoning the apocalypse to reactionary literalizations or liberal paralysis, we may read it in terms of a counter‐apocalypse. Not a mere anti‐apocalypse, this symbolic strategy helps us to address such cataclysmic threats as climate change in the spirit of an honest hope, beyond panic or evasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the post-apostolic era several writings have been handed down to us which provide a glimpse into the developments of Christianity in the early second century CE. Among these writings are seven letters of Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch who was led in captivity into Rome to die a martyr's death. During his travels Ignatius wrote a number of letters to Christian churches. The aims of this article are (1) to offer possible geographical reconstructions of Ignatius's travels to Rome and (2) to analyse the social world that can be extracted from Ignatius's letters and other contemporary sources (e.g. Polycarp's letter to the Philippians). This may enable us to visualise the relationships between Ignatius and the congregations as well as to gain insights into the social coherence of early Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her influential monograph Roman Faith and Christian Faith: Pistis and Fides in the Early Roman Empire and Early Churches , Theresa Morgan has convincingly shown how closely the early Christian discourse on 'faith' was bound up with similar notions in the broader Greco-Roman world, particularly in relation to the system of patronage, with both humans and deities fulfilling the role of (trustworthy and trusted) patrons. Thus, she has shifted attention from πίστις/ fides as a primarily 'theological' notion to an interpretation along more 'social' lines and situated it in realm of human and divine/human relations. She also analyses this in relation to the Gospel of Mark, showing how Mark also fits this general picture. This note builds on Morgan's work and will further develop one aspect of Mark's use of the language (and concept) of patronage and πίστις. This is its subversive character, which is present to a lesser extent in Morgan's work; by calling for πίστις directed to him on the part of the people that he encounters, Jesus also draws these people away from other allegiances and 'πίστις commitments', that is, intersubjective relationships based on trust and leading to personal allegiance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a study of the process of Christianization of the city of Rome during the 5th century, especially focusing on the sermons and letters of Pope Leo I. With the help of Jan Asman’s cultural memory theory, it reveals that Pope Leo I’s initiatives concerning Christian festivals and commemorations played a key role in the process of the Christianization of Rome. Leo I tried to replace traditional pagan festivals with various Christian commemorations of the early Church martyrs, paying special attention to the commemorations of the Apostle Peter, regarding Peter as the spiritual founder of Rome. Since the Middle Ages, this reinvention of the cultural memory of the city of Rome became the cornerstone of the “sacred city” image in the Latin Christian tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the origin of Integral Mission and argues that the gospel is being redefined to require socio-economic engagement, something beyond its biblical definition. A review of Acts and the epistles of the New Testament demonstrates that although socio-economic injustices were widespread in first - century Rome, the Apostolic church did not establish programs to address social needs as a method for evangelism. Although societal changes may have been brought about by people whose lives were transformed by the gospel, societal change was not the reason that Christians shared the gospel. This paper seeks to elevate the biblical gospel because of its inherent power to change lives, while keeping it separate from human programs and social action, which, although important, are different endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of the 3rd century AD, the Early Christian iconographic repertoire is characterized by biblical episodes, utilized to decorate Late Antique funerary complexes and religious buildings. One of the most significant case is that of Dura Europos, dating back at the first half of the 3rd AD: the city, on the Roman limes, is characterized by a multi-religious and multi-ethnic culture. In the Synagogue a 'gallery' of connected biblical episodes alternates with 'icons' of prophets and other characters from the Bible, while in the Baptistery of the so-called Domus Ecclesiae we have an only apparently disorganized juxtaposition of scenes, inter-related by a Christological and Baptismal fil rouge. In this case, the scenes are characterized by abbreviation, typical of an 'evocative' iconographic language. The same elements and the same scene -- such as the Samaritan woman at the well, the healing of the paralytic and the Good Shepherd -- can be found at the same time in the Area I of the Catacomb of S. Callisto in Rome. A first reflection, thus, points on the presence of the same scenes at the same time in so distant places, realized following the same schemes, considering the hypothesis of the presence of 'models' or 'sketchbook' widespread in the orbis christianus antiquus. A second reflection would consider the function of those images, intended to express the salvific aspirations of the deceased or to have a possible catechetical role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The story of the Magi who travelled from the east to Judea in search of the Messiah is among the most popular themes in the history of Christian art. A stock image of the men, offering precious gifts to the Christ Child and Mary, had emerged by the fourth century, and scholars are largely in agreement that Roman imperial art provided pictorial models for its creation, and impetus for its circulation across the Mediterranean into the fifth century. Attention has been given to the ways that clothing, posture and gesture were used to present the Eastern identity of the Magi and to emphasise their migration (Mt. 2,9/11). This paper provides a fresh examination of the earliest surviving representations of the story, produced in Rome sometime in the late third or early fourth centuries, to reconsider the questions of how and why their story was first pictorialized. Attention to the emphasis on their movement, specifically of ritual offering of gifts in procession, brings the iconography into dialogue with a broader set of pictorial models and associations than allowed by previous interpretations tethered exclusively to images drawn from imperial art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is a religious analysis of the typologies of pagan symbols found in the Christian catacombs in Rome. The catacombs are considered to be collections of symbols referring to the link between a powerful pagan divinity and the Christian system of faith. This is one of the reasons why the description of the catacombal art is quite problematic. Art represents the primary verified material expression of Christianity as a culturally diverse religious minority. This generates a conflict and various parallels of the interpretation of pagan and Christian frescoes of the catacombal art. The insight into the usage of pagan and Christian symbols in the Christian catacombs is a very important matter. The objective arising from the main goal of this study is to introduce and analyze the influence of pagan and mythological scenes on Christian art in the Roman Christian catacombs. The subject analysis refers to the issue of the interpretation of symbols in the Christian catacombs and consequently to the complexity of the typology of catacombal art. It presents five types of typologies of the catacombal art that can be used for at least partial interpretation of the pagan and Christian frescoes and symbols. The complexity of the interpretation lies in the fact that none of these typologies can be universally applied. Individual interpretation theories of the early Christian usage of pagan images, themes or frescoes - neutrality, re-interpretation and syncretism - do not exclude each other neither do they verify each other. This variety is caused by diversity of the accepted research criteria. The methodological approach applied in this study is based on the description of the sources and their subsequent analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I discuss the ways in which the early Christian writer Arnobius of Sicca used rhetoric to shape religious identity in Aduersus nationes. I raise questions about the reliability of his rhetorical work as a historical source for understanding conflict between Christians and pagans. The paper is intended as an addition to the growing literature in the following current areas of study: (i) the role of local religion and identity in the Roman Empire; (ii) the presence of pagan elements in Christian religious practices; (iii) the question of how to approach rhetorical works as historical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservar Património is the property of Associacao Profissional de Conservadores-Restauradores de Portugal 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.)

Copyright of Folia Archeologica Balkanica is the property of Faculty of Philosophy, "Ss. Cyril & Methodius" University in Skopje 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.)

In the past, attention for the social position or standing of the early Jesus followers was overrun by concerns for the theological and religious dimensions of those communities. The role of the Roman Empire and the impact of its military forces on the lives of people have generated even less attention. Paul's use of military images in the context of the Roman Empire underlines the prevalence and influence of the military, and provides an important perspective for understanding first-century social location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A "social" model of die Trinity, warmly debated in the last century, seems to have lost influence (witness the recent Oxford Handbook of the Trinity). It is argued here, however, that far from being a modern innovation, as suggested, a "friendship" model was integral to Pauline and Johannine and then Cappadocian reflections on Father, Son, Spirit. Some of the key ternis in ancient discussions of friendship are collated here in supportive illustration. A critically appraised model of friendship, it is then proposed, is fitting for those who trust we are being creatively sustained, redeemed, hallowed, and transformed to share in the divine life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New archival material relating to the discovery of the Flavia Sophe inscription is pre-sented and arguments made that the inscription was discovered in situ. Careful attention to the epigraphical, palaeographical, and metrical aspects of the poem, as well as its use of nuptial imagery lead to new proposals for reconstructions. Arguments for a date in the second century are re-examined and strengthened. The language of the inscription is placed within the context of other Greek funeral epigrams to show that the writer of the epigram was well aware of the conventions Hellenistic funeral poetry and that the poem artfully subverts many of these conventions. And finally, I claim that for this group of Christians, the "bridal chamber ritual" should be understood as a mortuary rite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historische Zeitschrift is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

The Bible Studies ran through the three days of the Conference, and led the participants through the contexts in which the Early Church took shape. Many of these contexts are very relevant to our own time. The Early Church grew up in a multi-cultural world, dominated by the global power of the Roman Empire. Drawing on biblical and intertestamental literature, the author paints a vivid picture of first century culture and religion, and shows how Paul (in particular) drew on ideas such as the Roman 'colonia' as a model for Christian interaction with the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this essay is to give an account of John Chrysostom's views on the public appear-ance of female Roman aristocrats in the marketplace, and to ask what it tells us about the func-tioning of pastoral power. The focus is on John Chrysostom's 28th homily On Hebrews. The study argues that Chrysostom's rhetoric is aimed at pastoralizing the domestic somatoscape and manipulating the patria potestas. The pastoralization of the household ramified various patriar-chal operations in Christian households, and a potent programme of asceticization of the agoric space accompanies it. The asceticization of the agoric took place by means of a tripart campaign of metaphorization: firstly, metaphorical dedoulologization, accompanied by decosmeticization, and also psychic virginization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Imagens da Educação is the property of Universidade Estadual de Maringa 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.)

The re-evaluation of classical education (paideia) recurred throughout the Roman period, reaching a particularly fevered pitch during the late fourth century, as the empire became Christian. The political consequences of Christian learning become particularly clear in the debate between two learned, Latin-speaking Christians who translated Greek works: Jerome and Rufinus. In the course of their acrimonious conflict over the theological legacy of Origen, these two prominent intellectuals resorted to name-calling: Jerome accused Rufinus of being unlearned, and Rufinus claimed that Jerome’s erudition signalled impiety. These accusations over education, culture, and linguistic expertise convey a deeper anxiety over the nature of knowledge and power at the dawn of the Christian Roman Empire. To what extent can Christians appropriate and transform the knowledge of ‘others’? When is translation an act of piety and when it is an act of hubris? What kinds of cultural capital will be valued in a newly Christian world, where classical paideia is valued and held suspect at the same time? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this article is to rescue, as much as possible, the history of the African Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus in order to adequately place him, with his considerable faults and achievements, in the continental record of Africa. Thus, the authors present the reader with a general overview of the life and career of Severus, emphasizing the African character of his experience and that of his companions who worked to secure him the position of Emperor of Rome. They then interrogate the "identity" issues surrounding Severus's history in order to rediscover his place in the history of the Roman Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on allegations and accusations made against Christians in the Roman Empire. It is noted that some of the accusations of immoral life conduct and cannibalism were partially responsible for beginning the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. Comments are made concerning second-century criticisms of Christianity which attacked Christian theology. The article examines the historical context of anti-Christian allegations recorded by Roman authors, and it attempts to clarify Roman misconceptions about the Lord's Supper.

The article presents a discussion on the life and work of medieval Christian Saint Simeon. Descriptions are given of the political and cultural relations between various groups during the lifetime of Saint Simeon, including Romans, Fatimid caliphs, and Byzantine religious figures. Further comments are given concerning the influence of medieval Archbishop Poppo on the recognition of Simeon as a saint and his eventual canonization. The article also discusses hagiographical accounts of Simeon's life.

To talk of the Roman empire after 600 as Byzantine carries the implication that something fundamental had changed. Clearly the empire was much smaller, but was it also distinct as a social system? Did the Roman aristocracy adapt and survive in the seventh and eighth centuries, or did a new elite emerge? Did those farming the empire's fields notice any difference? A combination of familiar texts and material evidence from archaeology supports a case for this as a period of radical change, but any conclusions are bound to be provisional as long as the archaeology of this period remains a low priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Syrian bishop John of Tella died in 538 C.E., his disciple Elias wrote his hagiography and recounted his ministry of priestly ordinations within the frontier tone of Rome and Persia. Elias and other contemporary anti-Chalcedonians of Syria conceived of the network of priests and ascetics that John created along the frontier as a politeia, a society that could transcend the imperial boundaries that divided Roman and Persian territories. Elias' viewpoints are thereby significant in showing how John's partisans understood his ministry, and they demonstrate how John's politeia could be regarded as a viable alternative to participating in imperial systems that sustained idolatrous behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a comparison of three boxes made of different materials in Italy in the fourth century AD. The purpose is to find artistic manifestations of the cultural change in that period from the classical and pagan religion to Christianity. The boxes are chosen in part for their lack of specific historical information which could allow them to be placed that transition, so as to better implement fundamental techniques of art history. Two of the boxed were used in Christian rituals, the other apparently contained household items. The iconography of the decorations on the outside of each is described in detail. While they appear to present evidence of the transition from Hellenic to Christian culture, that framing is questioned by the author, who contends that much of what is seen in the objects might reflect what the art historian already knows.

The article discusses the political and military context of the Church history in the Near Eastern provinces in Rome. The first decade rule of the Justinians is marked by intellectual, military and religious ambition. It intended the reconquest and reintegration of Latin-speaking Western Mediterranean into the Empire and its desire of Church reunification by the end of 536 through the imposition of correct doctrine. However, its implementation is interrelated to complex ways since the one nature Christ doctrine conception was almost universally rejected.

El artículo discute los orígenes y estructuras gentilicias de la iglesia primativa. La Iglesia fue fundado, en gran parte, en Roma durante sus primeros siglos de existencia y durante varios años de expansión. Durante estos tiempos, Italia estaba compuesto por varias razas diversas. Este trabajo intenta demostrar la influencia que las comunidades gentilicia de la región tenían sobre las nuevas comunidades cristianas y la organización de la cura de almas. También intenta mostrar que, dentro de la estructura social del momento, cada uno de los grupos y familias tenían el derecho de desarrollar su culto familiar y dejar los dioses lares.

Presents an abstract of a paper discussed during the 1993 Archaeological Institute of America's annual meeting. Evidence for paganism and the practice of Christianity in central Anatolia in the third century.