The Era of the Martyrs

The Era of the Martyrs

Author: Aaltje Hidding

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-08-24

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 3110689707

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One of the most traumatic experiences of Late Antique Christians was the Great Persecution, begun by Emperor Diocletian and his Tetrarchic colleagues in 303 CE. Here Aaltje Hidding unites research of traditional memory studies with work done by cognitive scientists to examine how they remembered the Persecution. The resulting methodological framework, the ‘cognitive ecology’, systemically studies all what can be covered by this term - social surroundings, cognitive artefacts and the physical environment - and bridges the gap between individual and collective memory. The author analyses the remembrance of the Persecution in three different regions along the Nile river. In Oxyrhynchus, the thousands of papyrus fragments found at the city’s rubbish dump give a vivid image of the martyrs in the daily lives of the Oxyrhynchites. In Antinoopolis, known for the cult of the physician saint Colluthus, she zooms in on the rituals and practices at a martyr’s sanctuary. Finally, in Dandara, the rich hagiographical dossier of the anchorite Paphnutius shows how old memories of the Persecution became mixed with new monastic experiences. The Bohairic and Greek Passion of Paphnutius appear in their first complete English translations.


Book Synopsis The Era of the Martyrs by : Aaltje Hidding

Download or read book The Era of the Martyrs written by Aaltje Hidding and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-08-24 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most traumatic experiences of Late Antique Christians was the Great Persecution, begun by Emperor Diocletian and his Tetrarchic colleagues in 303 CE. Here Aaltje Hidding unites research of traditional memory studies with work done by cognitive scientists to examine how they remembered the Persecution. The resulting methodological framework, the ‘cognitive ecology’, systemically studies all what can be covered by this term - social surroundings, cognitive artefacts and the physical environment - and bridges the gap between individual and collective memory. The author analyses the remembrance of the Persecution in three different regions along the Nile river. In Oxyrhynchus, the thousands of papyrus fragments found at the city’s rubbish dump give a vivid image of the martyrs in the daily lives of the Oxyrhynchites. In Antinoopolis, known for the cult of the physician saint Colluthus, she zooms in on the rituals and practices at a martyr’s sanctuary. Finally, in Dandara, the rich hagiographical dossier of the anchorite Paphnutius shows how old memories of the Persecution became mixed with new monastic experiences. The Bohairic and Greek Passion of Paphnutius appear in their first complete English translations.


The Myth of Persecution

The Myth of Persecution

Author: Candida Moss

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2013-03-05

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 0062104543

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In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors. According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today. Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches. The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.


Book Synopsis The Myth of Persecution by : Candida Moss

Download or read book The Myth of Persecution written by Candida Moss and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors. According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today. Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches. The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.


Christian Martyrs Under Islam

Christian Martyrs Under Islam

Author: Christian C. Sahner

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-03-31

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 069120313X

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A look at the developing conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations during late antiquity and the early Islamic era How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Christians across the early Islamic caliphate slowly converted to the faith of the Arab conquerors and how small groups of individuals rejected this faith through dramatic acts of resistance, including apostasy and blasphemy. Using previously untapped sources in a range of Middle Eastern languages, Christian Sahner introduces an unknown group of martyrs who were executed at the hands of Muslim officials between the seventh and ninth centuries CE. Found in places as diverse as Syria, Spain, Egypt, and Armenia, they include an alleged descendant of Muhammad who converted to Christianity, high-ranking Christian secretaries of the Muslim state who viciously insulted the Prophet, and the children of mixed marriages between Muslims and Christians. Sahner argues that Christians never experienced systematic persecution under the early caliphs, and indeed, they remained the largest portion of the population in the greater Middle East for centuries after the Arab conquest. Still, episodes of ferocious violence contributed to the spread of Islam within Christian societies, and memories of this bloodshed played a key role in shaping Christian identity in the new Islamic empire. Christian Martyrs under Islam examines how violence against Christians ended the age of porous religious boundaries and laid the foundations for more antagonistic Muslim-Christian relations in the centuries to come.


Book Synopsis Christian Martyrs Under Islam by : Christian C. Sahner

Download or read book Christian Martyrs Under Islam written by Christian C. Sahner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at the developing conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations during late antiquity and the early Islamic era How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Christians across the early Islamic caliphate slowly converted to the faith of the Arab conquerors and how small groups of individuals rejected this faith through dramatic acts of resistance, including apostasy and blasphemy. Using previously untapped sources in a range of Middle Eastern languages, Christian Sahner introduces an unknown group of martyrs who were executed at the hands of Muslim officials between the seventh and ninth centuries CE. Found in places as diverse as Syria, Spain, Egypt, and Armenia, they include an alleged descendant of Muhammad who converted to Christianity, high-ranking Christian secretaries of the Muslim state who viciously insulted the Prophet, and the children of mixed marriages between Muslims and Christians. Sahner argues that Christians never experienced systematic persecution under the early caliphs, and indeed, they remained the largest portion of the population in the greater Middle East for centuries after the Arab conquest. Still, episodes of ferocious violence contributed to the spread of Islam within Christian societies, and memories of this bloodshed played a key role in shaping Christian identity in the new Islamic empire. Christian Martyrs under Islam examines how violence against Christians ended the age of porous religious boundaries and laid the foundations for more antagonistic Muslim-Christian relations in the centuries to come.


The Lives and Times of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales 1535 - 1680

The Lives and Times of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales 1535 - 1680

Author: Malcolm Pullan

Publisher: Athena PressPub Company

Published: 2008-04

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9781847482587

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In an age of faithlessness, spin and cynicism, how many of us would be prepared to stand on a ladder, a rope around our neck, facing a gruesome death for no apparent crime, and choose not to recant and live but to die for our beliefs? How many of us, like Thomas Garnet, would say, 'I give my body to Caesar [James I] and my soul to God'? This compelling and finely researched compilation of the lives and state murders of Catholics from all walks of life in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries demands our attention as a reinforcement of Christian commitment and an antidote to indifference. Malcolm Pullan's stated aim is to reach a general readership, and his text is full of historical background material and fascinating detail. He firmly believes that we should not consign England's Catholic martyrs to some obscure corner of our consciousness. Their Faith lives still; they were true to it till death. Surely they did not die in vain.


Book Synopsis The Lives and Times of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales 1535 - 1680 by : Malcolm Pullan

Download or read book The Lives and Times of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales 1535 - 1680 written by Malcolm Pullan and published by Athena PressPub Company. This book was released on 2008-04 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age of faithlessness, spin and cynicism, how many of us would be prepared to stand on a ladder, a rope around our neck, facing a gruesome death for no apparent crime, and choose not to recant and live but to die for our beliefs? How many of us, like Thomas Garnet, would say, 'I give my body to Caesar [James I] and my soul to God'? This compelling and finely researched compilation of the lives and state murders of Catholics from all walks of life in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries demands our attention as a reinforcement of Christian commitment and an antidote to indifference. Malcolm Pullan's stated aim is to reach a general readership, and his text is full of historical background material and fascinating detail. He firmly believes that we should not consign England's Catholic martyrs to some obscure corner of our consciousness. Their Faith lives still; they were true to it till death. Surely they did not die in vain.


The Martyrs of C¢rdoba

The Martyrs of C¢rdoba

Author: Jessica A. Coope

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 9780803214712

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Between 850 and 859 (Christian Era), the Muslim government of Csrdoba ordered the execution of forty-eight Christians. With few exceptions, these Christians invited execution by committing capital offenses: some appeared before the Muslim authorities to denounce Mohammed; others, Christian children of mixed Islamic-Christian marriages, publicly proclaimed their Christianity. Coope investigates the origins of this "martyrs' movement" in Csrdoba, then flourishing as a center of Islamic culture. She cites the fears of radical Christians that conversions to Islam were on the increase and that still more Christians were being assimilated into Arab Muslim culture. These fears were well-founded, and the executions further divided Cordovan Christians: some believed the executed to be martyrs, others argued that these were not martyrs but fanatics and troublemakers. For their part, the Muslim authorities, disposed to be tolerant, would have preferred sectarian peace; the martyrs were given every opportunity to recant. Using Christian sources (particularly the hagiographies of St. Eulogius) and Arabic accounts to understand the complex tensions in Muslim Spain between and among the Muslim majority and Christian minority, Coope presents a valuable and fresh view of this society at the apogee of al-Andalus, Muslim Spain. Jessica A. Coope is an assistant professor of history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.


Book Synopsis The Martyrs of C¢rdoba by : Jessica A. Coope

Download or read book The Martyrs of C¢rdoba written by Jessica A. Coope and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 850 and 859 (Christian Era), the Muslim government of Csrdoba ordered the execution of forty-eight Christians. With few exceptions, these Christians invited execution by committing capital offenses: some appeared before the Muslim authorities to denounce Mohammed; others, Christian children of mixed Islamic-Christian marriages, publicly proclaimed their Christianity. Coope investigates the origins of this "martyrs' movement" in Csrdoba, then flourishing as a center of Islamic culture. She cites the fears of radical Christians that conversions to Islam were on the increase and that still more Christians were being assimilated into Arab Muslim culture. These fears were well-founded, and the executions further divided Cordovan Christians: some believed the executed to be martyrs, others argued that these were not martyrs but fanatics and troublemakers. For their part, the Muslim authorities, disposed to be tolerant, would have preferred sectarian peace; the martyrs were given every opportunity to recant. Using Christian sources (particularly the hagiographies of St. Eulogius) and Arabic accounts to understand the complex tensions in Muslim Spain between and among the Muslim majority and Christian minority, Coope presents a valuable and fresh view of this society at the apogee of al-Andalus, Muslim Spain. Jessica A. Coope is an assistant professor of history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.


From Jesus to Christ

From Jesus to Christ

Author: Paula Fredriksen

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2008-10-01

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0300164106

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"Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor


Book Synopsis From Jesus to Christ by : Paula Fredriksen

Download or read book From Jesus to Christ written by Paula Fredriksen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor


The Making of the New Martyrs of Russia

The Making of the New Martyrs of Russia

Author: Karin Hyldal Christensen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-02

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1351850350

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Following the end of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church has canonized a great number of Russian saints. Whereas in the first millennium of Russian Christianity (988-1988) the Church recognized merely 300 Russian saints, the number had grown to more than 2,000 by 2006. This book explores the remarkable phenomenon of new Russian martyrdom. It outlines the process of canonization, examines how saints are venerated, and relates all this to the ways in which the Russian state and its people have chosen to remember the Soviet Union and commemorate the victims of its purges. The book includes in-depth case studies of particular saints and examines the diverse ways in which they are venerated.


Book Synopsis The Making of the New Martyrs of Russia by : Karin Hyldal Christensen

Download or read book The Making of the New Martyrs of Russia written by Karin Hyldal Christensen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the end of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church has canonized a great number of Russian saints. Whereas in the first millennium of Russian Christianity (988-1988) the Church recognized merely 300 Russian saints, the number had grown to more than 2,000 by 2006. This book explores the remarkable phenomenon of new Russian martyrdom. It outlines the process of canonization, examines how saints are venerated, and relates all this to the ways in which the Russian state and its people have chosen to remember the Soviet Union and commemorate the victims of its purges. The book includes in-depth case studies of particular saints and examines the diverse ways in which they are venerated.


The Era of the Martyrs

The Era of the Martyrs

Author: Aaltje Hidding

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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One of the most traumatic experiences of Late Antique Christians was the Great Persecution, begun by Emperor Diocletian and his Tetrarchic colleagues in 303 CE. Here Aaltje Hidding unites research of traditional memory studies with work done by cognitive scientists to examine how they remembered the Persecution. The resulting methodological framework, the 'cognitive ecology', systemically studies all what can be covered by this term - social surroundings, cognitive artefacts and the physical environment - and bridges the gap between individual and collective memory. The author analyses the remembrance of the Persecution in three different regions along the Nile river. In Oxyrhynchus, the thousands of papyrus fragments found at the city's rubbish dump give a vivid image of the martyrs in the daily lives of the Oxyrhynchites. In Antinoopolis, known for the cult of the physician saint Colluthus, she zooms in on the rituals and practices at a martyr's sanctuary. Finally, in Dandara, the rich hagiographical dossier of the anchorite Paphnutius shows how old memories of the Persecution became mixed with new monastic experiences. The Bohairic and Greek Passion of Paphnutius appear in their first complete English translations.


Book Synopsis The Era of the Martyrs by : Aaltje Hidding

Download or read book The Era of the Martyrs written by Aaltje Hidding and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most traumatic experiences of Late Antique Christians was the Great Persecution, begun by Emperor Diocletian and his Tetrarchic colleagues in 303 CE. Here Aaltje Hidding unites research of traditional memory studies with work done by cognitive scientists to examine how they remembered the Persecution. The resulting methodological framework, the 'cognitive ecology', systemically studies all what can be covered by this term - social surroundings, cognitive artefacts and the physical environment - and bridges the gap between individual and collective memory. The author analyses the remembrance of the Persecution in three different regions along the Nile river. In Oxyrhynchus, the thousands of papyrus fragments found at the city's rubbish dump give a vivid image of the martyrs in the daily lives of the Oxyrhynchites. In Antinoopolis, known for the cult of the physician saint Colluthus, she zooms in on the rituals and practices at a martyr's sanctuary. Finally, in Dandara, the rich hagiographical dossier of the anchorite Paphnutius shows how old memories of the Persecution became mixed with new monastic experiences. The Bohairic and Greek Passion of Paphnutius appear in their first complete English translations.


The Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles

Author: P.D. James

Publisher: Canongate Books

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 93

ISBN-13: 0857861077

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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


Book Synopsis The Acts of the Apostles by : P.D. James

Download or read book The Acts of the Apostles written by P.D. James and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Age of Martyrs

The Age of Martyrs

Author: Giuseppe Ricciotti

Publisher: Tan Books

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780895556318

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In The Age of Martyrs; the famous Catholic historian Abbot Giuseppe Ricciotti records the epochal events of Roman history from the rise of Diocletian (284) to the death of Constantine the Great (337); a period which witnessed the last and greatest of the 10 persecutions of the Christians by the Roman government. Impr. 318 pgs; PB


Book Synopsis The Age of Martyrs by : Giuseppe Ricciotti

Download or read book The Age of Martyrs written by Giuseppe Ricciotti and published by Tan Books. This book was released on 1992 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Age of Martyrs; the famous Catholic historian Abbot Giuseppe Ricciotti records the epochal events of Roman history from the rise of Diocletian (284) to the death of Constantine the Great (337); a period which witnessed the last and greatest of the 10 persecutions of the Christians by the Roman government. Impr. 318 pgs; PB