Early Christian Lives

Early Christian Lives PDF

Author: Athanasius

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 1998-01-29

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0141907290

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Written between the mid-fourth and late sixth centuries to commemorate and glorify the achievements of early Christian saints, these six biographies depict men who devoted themselves to solitude, poverty and prayer. Athanasius records Antony's extreme seclusion in the Egyptian desert, despite temptation by the devil and visits from his followers. Jerome also shows those who fled persecution or withdrew from society to pursue lives of chastity and asceticism in his accounts of Paul of Thebes, Hilarion and Malchus. In his Life of Martin, Sulpicius Severus describes the achievements of a man who combined the roles of monk, bishop and missionary, while Gregory the Great tells of Benedict, whose Rule became the template for monastic life. Full of vivid incidents and astonishing miracles, these Lives have provided inspiration as models for centuries of Christian worship.

Early Christian Lives

Early Christian Lives PDF

Author: Carolinne White

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 1998-01-29

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 0140435263

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These pioneering lives are central sources for the major Christian monastic figures from St. Antony, who died in 356, to St. Benedict (c. 480-c. 547). Shedding light on the men who were the founding fathers of monasticism in both the eastern and western areas of the Roman Empire, these accounts -- Athanasius's Life of Antony; St. Jerome's Life of Paul of Thebes, Life of Hilarion, and Life of Malchus; Sulpicius Severus's Life of Martin of Tours; and Pope Gregory the Great's Life of Benedict -- also illuminate the beliefs and values of their celebrated authors. Full of vivid incidents and astonishing miracles, all these works proved hugely popular and influential, and also inspired much of the visual imagery of the Middle Ages.

Lives of Roman Christian Women

Lives of Roman Christian Women PDF

Author: Carolinne White

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2010-01-28

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 0141943378

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'Perpetua shouted out with joy as the sword pierced her, for she wanted to taste some of the pain and she even guided the hesitant hand of the trainee gladiator towards her own throat' Lives of Roman Christian Women is a unique collection of letters and documents from the third to the fifth centuries, celebrating Christian women from across the Roman Empire. During a crucial period in which Christianity transformed from a persecuted faith to the official religion of the Empire, these writings reveal the women who chose to dedicate their lives to Christ, by embracing martyrdom or by adopting a life of poverty and prayer, renouncing not only wealth but also their duties as wives and mothers.

Early Christian Thinkers

Early Christian Thinkers PDF

Author: Paul Foster

Publisher: SPCK

Published: 2012-04-10

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 0281065160

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This book introduces twelve key Christians from the second and third centuries, a formative period for the Church. These figures are: Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tatian, Theophilus of Antioch, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Perpetua, Origen, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Gregory Thaumaturgos and Eusebius. Each chapter is self-contained and requires no preliminary knowledge of the figure under discussion, making this an ideal book for laity and for undergraduates studying Christian origins or Patristics.

Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context

Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context PDF

Author: Mark Harding

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2010-07-15

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 0567260941

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Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context fills a vacuum in current scholarship. While there exist a number of anthologies of sources for students of the New Testament and early Judaism, this book integrates concise explanatory comment on various aspects of the historical and social situation of the early Christians with substantial extracts from early Christian, early Jewish, and Graeco-Roman sources.

Introducing Early Christianity

Introducing Early Christianity PDF

Author: Laurie Guy

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2011-09-28

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0830839429

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Laurie Guy provides an illuminating, broad-brush survey of the early church in its first four centuries. Readers get to witness the emergence of Great Tradition Christianity as themes unfold over time regarding women, persecution and martyrdom, asceticism and monasticism, eucharist and baptism, doctrine and the ecumenical councils.

We Look for a Kingdom

We Look for a Kingdom PDF

Author: Carl Sommer

Publisher: Ignatius Press

Published: 2010-01-05

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 168149616X

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Carl Sommer presents a popular study of the faith and life of the early Christians in the first two centuries after Christ. Using documentary evidence and archaeological records, Sommers reconstructs the lives of the early Christians in order to "introduce the treasures of early Christianity to a large number of modern readers". By studying how the early Christians believed and lived, we can learn many valuable lessons on what to avoid and what to strive for today. The Roman world had many facets that are strikingly similar to elements of modern life. Sommer's aim is to help the reader learn how to transform modern culture with the power of the Gospel as was first done in the centuries of the early Church.

Women in the World of the Earliest Christians

Women in the World of the Earliest Christians PDF

Author: Lynn Cohick

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2009-11-01

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9781441207999

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Lynn Cohick provides an accurate and fulsome picture of the earliest Christian women by examining a wide variety of first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman documents that illuminate their lives. She organizes the book around three major spheres of life: family, religious community, and society in general. Cohick shows that although women during this period were active at all levels within their religious communities, their influence was not always identified by leadership titles nor did their gender always determine their level of participation. The book corrects our understanding of early Christian women by offering an authentic and descriptive historical picture of their lives. Includes black-and-white illustrations from the ancient world.

Early Christian Ritual Life

Early Christian Ritual Life PDF

Author: Richard E. DeMaris

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-11-22

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 1317227190

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Scholars across many fields have come to realize that ritual is an integral element of human life and a vital aspect of all human societies. Yet, this realization has been slow to develop among scholars of early Christianity. Early Christian Ritual Life attempts to counteract the undervaluing of ritual by placing it at the forefront of early Christian life. Rather than treating ritual in isolation or in a fragmentary way, this book examines early Christian ritual life as a whole. The authors explore an array of Christian ritual activity, employing theory critically and explicitly to make sense of various ritual behaviors and their interconnections. Written by leading experts in their fields, this collection is divided into three parts: • Interacting with the Divine • Group Interactions • Contesting and Creating Ritual Protocols. This book is ideal for religious studies students seeking an introduction to the dynamic research areas of ritual studies and early Christian practice.